Editing Stepin Fetchit (section)

==Early life==
Little is known about Perry's background other than that he was born in [[Key West, Florida]], to [[West Indies|West Indian]] immigrants.<ref name="Lamparski" /> He was the second child of Joseph Perry, a cigar maker from [[Jamaica]] (although some sources indicate [[the Bahamas]])<ref>United States Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Tampa Ward 5, Hillsborough, Florida; Roll: T624_162; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0054; FHL microfilm: 1374175.</ref> and Dora Monroe, a [[seamstress]] from [[Nassau, The Bahamas]]. Both of his parents came to the United States in the 1890s, where they married.  By 1910, the family had moved north to [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]], Florida. Another source says he was adopted when he was 11 years old and taken to live in [[Montgomery, Alabama]].<ref name="Lamparski" />

His mother wanted him to be a [[dentistry|dentist]], so Perry was adopted by a [[quackery|quack]] dentist, for whom he [[shoeshiner|blacked boots]] before running away at age 12 to join a [[Traveling carnival|carnival]]. He earned his living for a few years as a singer and tap dancer.<ref name="Lamparski" />