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Otis, My Man!
Ask
anyone named Otis. Ask him if he is not routinely hailed as "Otis,
my man!" by virtually all who know him. Otis Wilson, Otis Jennings,
Ottis Anderson – all have become Otis-My-Mans. Even Otis Campbell, the
town drunk from Mayberry R.F.D.
  But the original Otis-My-Man is not really an Otis at
all. DeWayne Jessie was part of Universal Studios' stable of character
actors when he was offered the role of Otis Day, the roadhouse
rhythm-and-blues singer in "Animal House" – National Lampoon's
occasionally raunchy but, unfailingly, funny tribute to college
fraternity life. Now he's Otis – for life. "He's taken over,"
Jessie admitted. "He's taken over as far as performing goes. But
when I get my bills, it's DeWayne Jessie."
Released in 1978, "Animal House" became one
of the top 50 grossing movies of all time – though not all the grossing
was done at the box office. And though it lasted just two scenes,
Jessie's role was among the most memorable – first for the
Knight's toga-party rendition of "Shout!" and then for their
appearance at the Dexter Lake Club, where an alert freshman pledge
noticed that, "We're the only white people here."
There, one of the Delta road-trippers hailed from the
bar, "Otis, my man" – only to get a stony stare in return.
American race relations have never been summed up so succinctly.
"About two days after the film was released, I got a call from a
guy in Rhode Island wanting us to come out on the road," Jessie
said. "I didn't go, but then Los Angeles based producers Ron Kurtz
and Don Podolor called and said 'Let's give it a try!'" The rest is
Rock 'n' Roll history.
Otis toured to sold out crowds immediately. In fact,
in Galveston, Texas he drew 375,000 to his Mardi Gras concert. "It
was done in reverse," states Ron Kurtz. "First we toured
successfully (more than 260 concerts the first year alone), then we did a
feature full length video. Now we have an album on MCA Records
produced by George Clinton."
Jessie's career started at age 17 when he played a
student who couldn't read in "Halls of Anger," a Jeff Bridges
vehicle. He kept busy in the 70's with roles in "Car Wash,"
"Thank God It's Friday," "Where the Buffalo Roam"
and "The Bingo Long Traveling All-stars and Motor Kings,"
which starred Billy Dee Williams as the ace of a barnstorming black
baseball team. "I won a Image award for that – Billy won best actor
and I won best supporting actor (He played Rainbow, a mute.)," he
said.
"That night Universal offered me 'Animal House.'
At first I said no, but before I walked out the door, something hit me
in the back of the head and said, 'Fool, you better take it.' I had a
ball. And John Belushi, contrary to popular belief, was not the kind of
person you’ve read about in 'Wired,' as far as his work goes. He was a
professional. He was flying from Eugene to New York to do 'Saturday
Night Live' all the time. I thank God I met him, because he taught me a
lot about control."
Jessie claims to have done "a little
singing" before tackling Otis, but he based his character on his
brother, Obie, who had a group, called The Slayers. "I don't know
if they were similar, " Jessie said. " I really can't say...
yeah. I would say... no, they were a lot different." The Jessie /
Day concert repertoire is about what you'd expect: movie favorites
"Louie, Louie," "Shout!" and "Shamalama Ding
Dong" mixed in with old standards like "Function at the
Junction." Plus, of course, new album material.
Otis Day & The Knights may be available for your next special
event!
For booking information, click
HERE!
Genre: R&B
Genre: Party
Styles:
.Classic Rock.
.Soul.
.Frat Rock.Formed: in 1978
Based: ..in California
..in Los Angeles
Showcase video available.
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