It also paints a portrait of a man dealing with severe depression, dependent upon alcohol, heartbroken over the murder of his father. Airing in 1991, Dancing Outlaw shows a man passionate about his style of dancing with big dreams. For the show, Young profiled junkyard owners, prison reform experts, songwriters, industrialists, chemical plant operators, white supremacists, hotel owners, and Jesco White. Director Jacob Young, a native of the region, was tapped to direct several of the episodes. PBS had developed a series called Different Drummer which set out to explore life in the Appalachian Mountains. Jessie, her favorite, whom she referred to as “the most beautiful man I could love ” Jesco, “the devil himself ” and Elvis, an obsession Jesco had developed that turned into him spending several hours at a time impersonating the late singer and entertainer. His wife at the time says there were three people within her husband. ![]() ![]() Jesco was already spending his time drinking and huffing gasoline and lighter fluid, but it seemed he was also dealing with undiagnosed cases of manic depression and dissociative disorder. Drinking and drugging were already prevalent, but depression onset by grief didn't help matters. While life didn't seem ideal (especially to us privileged folk) for most residents of Bandytown, but especially the Whites, the tragedy of losing the patriarch of the family sent most of the family down a dark spiral. Ray, Jesco, and Dorsey being gunned down, ultimately ending in the murder of D. Ray was involved in a domestic dispute that originated as a fight between his son Dorsey and a neighbor. His style of dancing was a mix of tapping and clogging. Ray White was a mountain dancer and regional legend having appeared on local television, including being profiled on the PBS special Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance – Flatfoot, Buck, and Tap. As is the case in this part of the country, most work is found in the dangerous mining or logging industries. Ray) in Bandytown, WV which is located in Boone County, smack dab in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. Jesco White was born in 1956, abandoned a few years later, and subsequently “adopted” by Bertie Mae and Donald Ray (better known as D. “I might have an all new life the next time you see me.” A month prior, I had watched The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, which featured Jesco 18 years after Dancing Outlaw. ![]() One of the final things Jesco White says in the short documentary Dancing Outlaw grabbed my heart and crumbled it as if it were a clump of dry soil. When documentary crosses the line into exploitation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |