the Black and White Minstrels
/ðə ˌblæk ən waɪt ˈmɪnstrəlz/
/ðə ˌblæk ən waɪt ˈmɪnstrəlz/
- a British group of men and women who sang and danced on the stage and in a popular BBC television show (1958-78). The men often had black make-up on their faces. This type of entertainment had been popular in 19th-century America, and Al Jolson had used similar make-up in his films in the 1930s, but by 1978 this was no longer acceptable to audiences and the show never returned to television.