A Ham Actor

I recently went to see Grease: The Musical in Cardiff.  It was an excellent show apart from the actor playing Danny.  He could sing and dance superbly, but overacted terribly.  He was what we call a ham actor.  So where did this phrase come from?

Ham first appears in America in 1882.  It was slang for a performer who overacts, an inferior actor or performer.  It is actually a shortened form of hamfatter (from 1880), which was a term of contempt for an actor of low grade, such as a minstrel.  These second rate actors had to use ham fat on their faces as a base for theatre make-up, as they couldn't afford the better greasepaint and oils.

The word hamfatter or ham fat man was closely linked to minstrels in late 19th/early 20th century America.  There is even a song called De Ham Fat Man.  The language is shocking to our politically correct world today, so be warned... http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/songster/13-de-ham-fat-man.htm

I have also discovered an article in the New York Times in 1883 discussing the origins of hamfatter and ham-fat man, which also refers to this phrase's negro connections.  You can read this article here http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0DE2DE1731E433A25756C0A9659C94629FD7CF

It's surprising to discover that this phrase has such fascinating origins.  It gives a whole extra dimension  to it's meaning, doesn't it?

Sources:
Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (1988), Chambers
Green, Jonathan (2000) Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, Cassell & Co, London.
Traditional Music (unknown) De Ham Fat Man [online] Available from: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/songster/13-de-ham-fat-man.htm (accessed 14 August 2011)
Uncle Rufus (1883) 'Hamfatters and a Ham Fat Man' New York Times, 5th March [online] Available from http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0DE2DE1731E433A25756C0A9659C94629FD7CF (accessed 14 August 2011)


Juliana