[VIDEO] Beware the Executioner at Harlem’s Apollo Theater

Since 1934, the Apollo Theater in Harlem has offered some sort of an Amateur Night in which anybody off the street can come and perform on the world-famous stage, only to be judged with cheers and boos by the audience. For the past three decades, there has been just one "executioner" at the Apollo, the person responsible from kicking people off stage once the boos get too loud. Meet him in this video from our friends at Great Big Story.

Before “American Idol,” “The Voice” or “The X Factor,” there was Amateur Night at the Apollo. Based in Harlem’s Apollo Theater, Amateur Night is a talent competition recognized for launching the careers of icons like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, James Brown and Billie Holiday. But, before any of them became the music legends they are today, they had to face the wrath of one especially hard-to-please audience. Enter C.P. Lacey. For the past 30 years, he’s reigned as the Apollo’s resident “executioner,” kicking contestants offstage when the “booing” gets too loud.