Soft White Underbelly interview and portrait of Mamie White (sister of Jesco White, the Dancing Outlaw), an Appalachian woman from Madison, West Virginia.
I admire this woman for her strength, perseverance, loyalty to family and the way she can smile and or joke around while enduring her hard life..Bless you!
@@dontrll947 I couldn't figure out if the White docs were real or satire, when I saw this I had to watch it. Don't know how I missed it when it came out. I knew the Whites were a real family, maybe hamming it up for the cameras. Glad to see this.
You need to watch "The Dancing Outlaw". It came out in 1991 and was the original. Johnny Knoxville really didn[t do these folks right with his Wild Whites of WV. The first documentary was the best. You will really like it.
@Secret santas Manic Mandy Shes a nice elf you know come to think about it she sure did didn't she? I've seen my uncle do this on my granny's porch, she would have made him pick a switch if he threw it in her yard lmao
I also was born and raised in Boone County West Virginia. I know Mamie. A lot of people was scared of ole Mamie. I was too from the stories I heard. Until I met her. She was good to my mom. She lived at Gordon I lived in Uneeda. About 15 mins away but very very small places. She looks just like her mommy. I moved 6 years ago and now I'm in Colorado Springs. I'm glad to see this interview.
Hey do you know a little boy from boone he was about 11 in 2011? Dylan from boone county he was in foster care? I realize how small the world is lol there was a little boy when i was in foster care in WV all the staff would laugh at him bc he was from Boone... i know it's a stretch but if you know lmk...
My girlfriend and I drove up to West Virginia this AM, went straight to Boone cty, begun asking people where the Whites are, and was pointed toward Mamie’s house. After a couple knocks, she opened the door and welcomed us in. We spoke for an hour, left and returned with weed money for her and a 12-pack of Mountain Dew at her request. Truly one of the most down to Earth souls I’ve ever met, surrounded by a bada** aura. Insanely hilarious. She gave me her number and we’ll be returning tomorrow night to meet more Whites and play some games! PS: Absolutely EVERYONE we asked knew her and where to find her.
I absolutely love Mamie. I watched The Dancing Outlaw with her brother Jesco and saw him on Roseanne Barr. I always wondered what happened to the man who looked like Elvis and damn 20yrs later here comes the Wild and Wonderful Whites. Loved it. And yes I would love to meet Miss Mamie. She is so honest and real. I live in Clarksburg WV and want to meet them. Rock on Mamie. Lots of love from Clarksburg.❤
@@manvsbridge1611 no he didn't, the guys name was Stuart Baker who got fired last year for making sexist and racist comments about an article Dolly Parton did on the BLM. Jesco did a voice over for Early Cuylers DAD, GA GA Pee Pap.
there is something about this woman that makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time. i strongly respect and admire her. we are polar opposites - she is mamie and i am a queer black twenty-year-old woman living in north carolina. i grew up in a completely different time, yet mamie reminds me so strongly of home. the things she's gone through and the wisdom she has to show for it is invaluable. she is a dying breed. i admire this woman for her strength and resilience. what i would give to sit on the phone with her and let her talk unrestrained. thank you for this interview. mamie feels like coming home.
I am so happy to have come across this interview with Maime. She is still a strong, no nonsense person. There is something about Maime that draws people to her. Stay well Maime.
The way she ashes her cigarettes on her pants, and rubs it in, shows that she was raised to not just ash on the floor... She's a strong ass woman, dealt a shit hand, and did the best she good. Godspeed Mamie.
@@mariaa.5829 She doesn't drop her ashes on the floor to make a mess for someone to have to clean up. It's a respect thing. She rubs them into her jeans. I do as well if I don't have an ashtray. Blends right in, washes right out.
Yeah , I always try to keep my cigarette butts instead of just throwing them in the dirt .. no matter where I am .. it's just something that seems like the right thing to do .. I noticed that too .. she said .. don't need no ashtray.. and I won't wash your floor either .. it's the little things sometimes that show alot about someone. No matter how wild her life has been ..
I love this woman, she can survive when most would die. I feel so bad she grew up poor but she is full of knowledge and could tell us all a thing about our meger wants. Thank you for interviewing her.
Looking just like her mother now. I still tear up every time that part in Wild and Wonderful Whites comes on. I’m actually glad to see she’s still around.
Really? You wouldn’t choose millionaire? So you would rather be surrounded by hardship, depression and death then become a millionaire and make sure your kids or grandkids are set up for the rest of their lives.. To each their own I guess.
@@Ninnjette- lol. I am talking about if I was in a situation that I needed someone to have my back I'd choose Mamie over a millionaire everytime. Mamie would give someone the shirt off her back if they needed it. Most people with $ are not giving. They are greedy. $ doesn't mean everything in life. As long as my family have what they need that's all that matters to me. God has always provided for us and anything we have extra we have extra we share with people in need.
So glad to see Mamie & an update on things with the White family! Honestly one of the BEST documentaries I've ever seen about her & her family. So incredibly real & just to see their day to day struggles and how she still fights through & is really the matriarch for her family... really amazing woman. I wish they had a reality show for this family. That would be so much more interesting than 99% of all the other trash they have on TV these days.
I wouldn't say she's that amazing. You're forgetting about the bit where she brags about slinging Oxycontin on the side, as well as pretending to be mentally ill in order to get welfare. Also, the bit where they're having a birthday party for their dear old mother, Bertie Mae, and they all just launch into smoking pot and snorting Xanax in front of her while she cries at one point. Don't get me wrong, I found the documentary entertaining, but in a kind of Jerry Springer way.
@@NicoleRW86 Their movie was called The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. It was on Netflix I think. Johnny Knoxville produced it. It really is a CLASSIC!!👍🏻✌🏻
Talking Feet is the film about D Ray and The Dancing Outlaw is about Jesco. The wild and wonderful Whites by Jackass Productions is the reality doc about the White family. A film company from England also did a film about Jesco and White Lightenin is just based on Jesco.
@@anniereyes4527 Her name is Alida, she's younger than him. Norma was quite a bit older. I loved her! I have a video saved of her singing a song about Hank.
I love seeing the respect given to Mammie in the comments. She's tough as a pine knot but gentle and genuine as a cotton field. She has had a hard life, she's not mean but she doesn't take shit from anyone and she protects her family fiercely. If I ever had to be part of a group to survive I'd want her in on my team 💯
@Dondus didit ok , we'll just pretend I believe you , for arguments sake , now you get on back to the trailer park and watch your 7 screaming welfare brats while you wait on that big fat government check ..You're welcome btw ☺
@Dondus didit and if Dondus isn't country AF then I don't know what is. I guarantee you're setting in a filthy house right now that doesn't belong to you..
wow! I have watched your videos for years and i just now saw this video! I was born in Boone Co. WV and lived there until i was 4. Luckily my mom was smart enough to get us out of there and moved us to NC, bc poverty and addiction are so prevalent there, NO jobs unless you wanna work in the coal mines. Literally the last time i visited Boone Co. (where myself and Mamie were born the entire little town was almost completely abandoned. All the stores were shut down, vandalized, windows busted out. It was horrific. Mamies family is infamous in Boone Co. everyone knows the White family. My dad continued to live in Boone Co after we left and he personally knew Mamie and used to party with her back in the day! I cant believe I have never ran across this video considering how long i have been subscribed and actively watched your channel! Love your content Mark, I hope you realize the impact you are making and continue to make content. These people need their voices heard bc they would otherwise be unheard without your platform. Your interviews give us an insight to see how terrible the circumstances are for our fellow brothers and sisters out there and help us understand just how lucky we are to have the lives we have.
I was born & raised in rural Appalachia West Virginia. I was also treated badly because I was poor. Since I’ve grown up, got out of WV, made something of myself, own/live in a nice home & have material junk. as an adult, those same ppl that treated me like crap try and act like we’re old buddies now on Facebook. No thanks! I love this, I’m proud of my humble background and have so much respect for Mamie!
@@tedcruzisthezodiackiller 😉…. I tell people Im so Country Ive EATEN my pet! …. Actually true… when I was little we had a couple Rabbits… I STILL vividly remember my Daddy knocking it in the head and my Mama fried it up like Chicken. I miss my Mamas Biscuits and Cornbread 😩…
@@bovinebeautymoo2884 Reminds me if my Dad skinning deer hung from our garage lol I LOVED all the the veggies & fruit we grew in our garden. I would snap green beens right off in the hot sun and eat them. They were so good 😊
She is a star. She is on the documentary "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia". Its free on Tubi right now. I think she meant video instead of movie.
Hi Mamie. If you read this, I could talk with you for hours. Seriously. I have traveled through West Virginia and Virginia. The hills are seeping real history. The people and places are another way into American life. Really glad that Mark was able to film your experiences.
I grew up in East Tennessee and West NC. To say the culture is unique is a huge understatement. Unfortunately it, like many others, is dying out. The homogenization of culture is the worst thing about the internet, social media, and how connected our modern world is.
If you call poverty, drug addiction, & living off the government "unique". Ok🤔. There's a whole "documentary" type movie called The Wild Wests of West Virginia. Gives a good look at their lifestyle, which is basically poverty, drug addiction, & living off the government
@@melissamissingchriscornell2513 The documentary is called The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Funny that you'd try to correct and insult someone when you're barely literate yourself.
@@melissamissingchriscornell2513 Also, forming your opinion of an entire culture based off one family is incredibly ignorant. Not that I expect much of someone with your obviously limited mental capacity.
I'm glad to see Mamie is doing well. She is such a nice person and has a heart of gold. After spending time talking to her I just fell in love with her personality. True and honest kindness. ❤
Flaming Mamie! I saw a picture of her a few years back from when she was around 18. And I don't know if I've ever seen a more drop dead gorgeous woman in my life. She's always been such a polite woman to me. She's the last of a dying breed. This place was better when people had that spirit. Looking out for each other. Getting together on the weekends, having a few beers, burning one or two, and just enjoying being alive. Now, in the wake of pharmaceuticals ripping the heart out of this community, addicts turned to meth and are mostly just empty shells walking around, trying to find something to steal, and carrying on a conversation with the sky. She represents a different era of this place and of this country. You don't have a clue what poor looks like until you've been to Southern West by god Virginia. People aren't going crazy on meth here. Hopelessness already did that. The drugs are a symptom of this place. When you see a tweeker talking to a lamp post, you need to remember that they chose to feel like that in order to get away from the reality of this place. That's the best way I can think to describe what it's become here. I worked for the Census last year in Boone County. And so many places are empty now, it felt like I was writing an obituary for our community. I actually had Miss Mamie White on my list one day. I was afraid she might be aggravated because I showed up asking all those questions. And she was just as nice as could be. Most older people around here are, if you show them some common respect and dignity. This place won't be worth looking at when that generation is gone. I hope that spirit lives on in some of us. God bless you, Mamie.
The lady is like a wind-up toy....you asked a single question and she launched into a non-stop story about wringing chickens, eating beans, and wallpapering a house. She got stories for days.
I love the way she speaks it’s so much more than an accent, more like a dialect, an Appalachian patois. And she makes everything sound fun, even if it isn’t.
Nobody wants to hear bitching and bawling around here. Everyone has their share of trouble. Worse in the older days. These people lived like they were in Bangladesh.
@@lisaaxe9062 I was born and raised in Knoxville, TN. Even though I live CLOSE to the city, i have lived deep out in the country and farm land. So I literally understood every word she says. It isn't hard for me at all. But see, hearing people talk like this to me, is just normal. I don't think anything of it. I don't speak like this but have family that does. And people around me... It's not an uncommon way of talk. :) Is that bad? Lol
I could listen to this lady talk all day love hearing her stories of the way she grow up and just her life in general . She really needs a reality show
A true matriarch. Come from absolutely nothing and even when her daddy couldn't she found a way. That grit and that determination just radiates from her. Much respect to you Mamie.
I have a good story. When I lived in Van Mamie came up to my place at almost midnight with two of her young grandchildren in a rickety old car driving on the pot hole filled roads, I lived just a few miles apart at the time. I definitely wasn’t expecting anyone at this hour but I heard a knocking and it was little Dakota and Lulu asking me if I wanted to trade them for a cow skull because they had heard I was looking for skulls to paint. So we make the trade an I sit the skull in the house to go outside and chat with Mamie for a few. At the time I had pet snakes and probably had one with me or mentioned it and she started going on about how much she hated snakes, she’s not afraid of anything but snakes but she said she was hanging out with some band and they had a snake and she said, and I quote “I was drinking my drink, I was snorting my smoke, and I was smoking my pill and I told them the devil won’t bite the devil so give me that sonofabitch” and she told me she held it until she sobered up and made them take it she was “afraid” again. But the devil won’t bite the devil, remember that. Mamie is the biggest, the baddest, and the meanest. So anyways they leave and I go inside to check out the skull and you can tell it’s been outside but it had a nice color. While I’m looking at it a wasp flies, I kill it, crisis averted... expect I pick it up again another wasp flies out, I kill it, I start to hear a loud buzzing coming from the skull. I run and fill the tub with water and toss the skull in it and there was a small nest inside this skull, this cow skull I can almost guarantee one of those kids carried on their lap the whole way to my house, this skull full of wasp that wouldn’t come out on the devil herself, Mamie white, and those “sonsofbitches” didn’t come out until after Mamie left almost 20/30 minutes after me taking the skull inside and having a conversation with her, they didn’t come out until she left my driveway. Because obviously “the devil won’t bite the devil”
My great-grandmothers’ name was Mamie. I’ve been told that she lived in Savanna, Ga., where my grandmother came from. Mamie I’ve been told, chewed tobacco…and had supposed Cherokee ancestry. Somehow I’m reminded of her watching this interview. I find Mark’s interviews FASCINATING.
@@millennialfalcon8958 I like to say that southern people are just a little more gracious then the rest of the world. So I call it " southern grace". Nobody can put it in you, and nobody can take it away. It's something you're born with. 👍
Yep you're right there!! When we say the other day that could be yesterday or 10 years ago too. lol. I travel a lot for work. I spend more time talking about southern ways then anything. I officiate sports for a living so I deal with mostly high school to college age kids. It amazes me how many of them are truly interested in our ways. I talked to about 15 kids for over a hour about it just today. They hear my accent and want to know more.
“If you can’t cut the mustard, lick the jar.” Mamie you and your family are legends. We, your fans, love you. I watched the Wild and Wonderful Whites when it came out and I’ve been keeping tabs on your family here or there over the years. I’m so sorry to hear about Sue Bob. I live in NY and the drugs are just as bad here. People doing drugs that make them lose their damn minds…. Thank you Soft White Underbelly for interviewing Mamie. She is one hell of a woman. Love you Mamie 🥰
@@erinlynnxo I did yes. However i do have a little trouble understanding her thick country accent at times. I remember being fascinated by the documentary. Incredible family. What happened to Sue Bob?
I have been totally fascinated with this family since I watched "The Wild Wonderful White's From West Virginia". Survivors, all of them, and you can tell even in the documentary that Mamie has a heart for children. Can I add that her father and brother are such talented dancers!?
My God Mark....you done found some of my people up yonder in West Virginia... it's great...the Whites remind me of some my kinfolk and some of the other folks around here in southern Virginia....and I just love it.. your interviews are always a pick up for me when I'm feeling low
This lady is telling a story of saving a life and gets interrupted with "have you ever considered leaving West Virginia?" Ffs,that's not a story you interrupt..
Lmaoooo man I said the same thing! Like damnit Mark, I was sooooo intrigued just for him to interrupt with that question of ALL questions he could’ve asked 😭😂
She's something! Love her style & hope & pray she lives ALOT longer than just to get her babies grown! I want somebody to take care of her she deserves it!
I met Mamie at a Hank 3 show in Morgantown in 2014. I asked her if I could take a picture with her. She hesitated, then said yes as long as I promised I wouldn’t post it on social media. I later found out I was the only person she let take a picture with her and I have NO idea why that is. Of course I respected her wishes. She was a very nice person if I’m judging from that one encounter.
I think her and her family was a part of documentary at the film festival about 20 yrs ago I think that’s what she’s talking about. (Filming movies. ) Lol
She's a good woman who was dealt a shitty hand in life, and carved out a existence from muddy water's. Just to survive. And take care of the one's she loves, and I find that admirable. Just like on the phone with the inmate, it sounded like she was helping someone else out, trying to pull some strings to get the job done, to help someone else.. Who else caught that? And she spoke to the young man with respect, even though his situation wasn't good, she even made him laugh a little. God bless this woman and her family!
I met her and brother in Georgia and she give me new mother advice bc I was 7 months pregnant. She was precious and just as sweet as could be. That was 10 years ago, I love you Mamie ❤️🕊️
Honestly Im so happy to see she's alive and well. And rocking a cup head shirt!? She's my kind. My family is from and lived in that area she's from and other southern states near that state. It helps me understand the past and understand where my family is from and why they are the way they are.
Mamie White's early life was much like my own, including living in a shack were my mom made flour paste to put over the cracks to try to keep out the cold. My grand kids think it's made up stuff when I tell them of my early life. Kids today have no idea what 'rough' mean, smh.
My grandmother told me her house was like that. Wallpapered with newspaper. She also made dresses out of potato sacks & never had a pair of shoes until she was almost an adult. I never understood why she had so many shoes when I was young. She told me she would never be without shoes again.
Outhouse, corn cobs, insulating holes in your shoes with news paper, 2 outfits 1 to work and play in, the other to go to school in. Eating raccoon,road kill deer, squirrels.Hauling water in milk cans, and waiting on that good ole commodity cheese and peanut butter.
Now before you enter that hole and you haven't even begun, you might want to rethink that cuz you'll be reading and investigating for hours and days lmao
People can laugh or try and make fun of her, but I've got respect for someone who can say her biggest regret is that she may die before she can raise her grandkids because their parents aren't there for them. That's a good heart underneath what this camera may show. I wish her and her family the best.
I have Appalachian roots, 2 generations removed as my grandparents moved and raised their family in Chattanooga. All 5 of their children have done well for themselves. Growing up talking to my grandmother, you could tell she was of a different time and culture but a smart woman.
I've watched ww wv over 100 times. I'm a huge fan and i love mamie. We've chatted a few times and honestly the best conversation i ever had. She's kind...salt of the earth if you don't mess with her or her family....i truly love her. And her whole family are a special kind...god bless em all. Thank you Mark...what a treat.
The wild and wonderful whites is one of my favorite things to watch. I own it on dvd. Please someone do a series on these fascinating people! I love them
Wish you could just interview her but let her just talk for an hour telling stories. I could listen to her stories all day lol thanks for this interview Mark
It's an unsung art: storytelling. I grew up in Appalachia(East Tennessee). There is actually a story-telling festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Hillbillies, cowboys, indians, poets and a wide variety of spoken word artists fill several circus tents. There's excellent food offerings, music, and a lovely, walkable downtown in the middle of the fall leaves of October.
As for Mamie and the Whites, you couldn't write a book more colorful. Check out D Ray White youtube video, The Dancing Outlaw documentary, or The Wonderful Whites of West Virginia movie. Mamie's father D Ray was lost in a shotgun skirmish, her sister was murdered and attempted murder also runs in the family.
Yes, I grew up in southwest VA so I know all about it as well lol The accent just feels like home to me. . Thank you for sharing I will check out the RU-vid page 😀
I'm surprised there are no captions on these videos, as I think some people might have trouble understanding these accents. I have years of transcription experience and excel in understanding accents, especially Appalachian and Southern ones. I would be happy to help in any way.
