Black Actresses, Classic Era 2. List 2 of 2 lists.
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- Ruby Dandridge was born on 3 March 1900 in Wichita, Kansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Beulah (1950), Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Gallant Lady (1942). She was married to Cyril Dandridge. She died on 17 October 1987 in Los Angeles, California, USA.47 acting credits, from 1933-1962.
Radio performer.
1900-1987, 87. - Daisy Bufford was born on 20 April 1913 in Franklin, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Love on Toast (1937), Forgotten Faces (1936) and Sophie Lang Goes West (1937). She died on 18 December 1987 in Contra Costa County, California, USA.29 acting credits, from 1927-1944.
1913-1987, 74. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Lillian Randolph was born on 14 December 1898 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944) and Magic (1978). She was married to Garcia Delano "Gossie" McKee and James Lott . She died on 12 September 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.109 acting credits, 1934-1979.
1898-1980, 81.- Marietta Canty was born on 30 September 1905 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. She was an actress, known for Rebel Without a Cause (1955), The Heavenly Body (1944) and The Lady Is Willing (1942). She died on 9 July 1986 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.40 acting credits, from 1940-1955.
Broadway from 1933.
Political activist and humanitarian.
Received numerous awards, including Humanitarian award.
1905-1986, 80. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Theresa Harris appeared with more stars of the Golden Era of Hollywood than anyone else. She sang, she danced, she appeared in movies and TV. She graced the screen with her magnetic presence and most times stole scenes from the top stars of the day every chance she got and made a lot of dull films worthwhile. Although stereotyped by receiving only maid roles, Theresa stepped outside the stereotype any chance she got, to show she was glamorous, classy, beautiful, and a true actress. While she often played maids, she always showed dignity, grace, and demanded respect. Theresa didn't exactly fit the mammy/maid stereotype fore she was a petite beauty, a stark contrast from Louise Beavers and Hattie McDaniel, and Theresa was one of the very few black women to not fit that stereotype on screen.
There were quite a few movies in which Theresa got a chance to let her light shine and make you forget her maid costume and see her as a talented actress. In the pre-Code classic Baby Face (1933), she and Barbara Stanwyck had equal screentime, which was rare between black and white actors at that time. Playing Chico, Stanwyck's friend and co-worker, Harris gave a moving and memorable performance that contributed to the film becoming one of the essentials of the classic genre. Theresa was allowed to be sexy, glamorous, and her own person, not simply a servant who jumped at her employer's every beck and call, a rarity for a black actress in a maid part in the 1930s, and a true friendship was shared between Stanwyck and Harris' characters, another rarity. In Professional Sweetheart (1933), Harris played a spunky, sexy maid who teaches Ginger Rogers a thing or two about being "hot", and ends up replacing Rogers as a singer, singing a hot song on the radio that turns on the white male listeners, another shocker and rarity at the time for a black actress. But pre-Code movies usually pushed the envelope, which shows in both 'Baby Face' and 'Professional Sweetheart'. Though Theresa played maid roles most of her movie career, she had showed moments of excellence in many other films such as Hold Your Man (1933), Black Moon (1934), Gangsters on the Loose (1937), Jezebel (1938), The Toy Wife (1938), Tell No Tales (1939), Buck Benny Rides Again (1940), Love Thy Neighbor (1940), Blossoms in the Dust (1941), Cat People (1942), and I Walked with a Zombie (1943), among others.
Theresa was a versatile talent; besides acting, she could sing beautifully and dance divinely, when she had the chance in such movies as Thunderbolt (1929), 'Baby Face', 'Professional Sweetheart', Banjo on My Knee (1936), 'Buck Benny Rides Again', What's Buzzin', Cousin? (1943), and The French Line (1953). When Theresa got the chance to show her beauty and sex appeal, it was often with her screen boyfriend, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson; they were dynamic on screen together in 'Buck Benny Rides Again' and 'What's Buzzin', Cousin?'. In the former, they sing and dance tap, classical, Spanish, and swing in a musical number, "My, My".
Theresa Harris was perhaps the hardest-working woman in Hollywood, appearing in close to 90 films, working at every major studio with most of the big stars. She was respected by studio executives, producers, directors, and co-workers alike, who sometimes went out of their way to get her more lines and screentime. Harris married a doctor and retired from the movies in the late 1950s, living comfortably after having carefully invested the money she made during her career in the films. She was a patient woman who never gave up hope that there would come a time when she would be able to play more than just maid parts. Nevertheless, in every role, she displayed class, dignity, beauty, and true acting talent, not simply the old stereotypes associated with black actors at that time.95 acting credits, 1929-1958.
1911-1985, 73.- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, MO, in 1906 to Carrie McDonald, a laundress, and Eddie Carson, a musician. Her early life hinted at her future career. She first danced for the public on the streets of St. Louis for nickels and dimes. Later she became a chorus girl on the St. Louis stage. At age 15 she married Pullman porter William Howard Baker, but left him when she ran away from St. Louis at age 17, feeling there was too much racial discrimination in the city. She eventually made her way to Paris, France. Her first job in Paris was in "La revue negre". Her next significant job was at the Folies Bergere, where she was a member of the club's all-black revue. It was there, in 1925, that she first performed her famous "banana dance". She quickly became a favorite of the French, and her fame grew, but she had many ups and downs during her career. Although popular in France, during the "Red Scare" era of the 1950s, she was falsely accused of being a Communist and informed that she was no longer welcome in the US (in 1937 she had renounced her American citizenship, utterly disgusted by the blatant and official racism against blacks, and became a French citizen).
In 1961 Josephine was awarded the Legion of Honor, France's highest award. In the late 1960s she began having financial difficulties, and stopped performing in 1968. Grace Kelly, who by that time had married Prince Rainier of Monaco and was now known as Princess Grace of Monaco, offered her a home in Monaco when she learned of Josephine's financial problems. At the request of Princess Grace, Josephine performed at Monaco's summer ball in 1974 and was a great success. That same year she staged a week of performances in New York City and called the show "An Evening with Josephine Baker". She had just begun a Paris revue celebrating her half-century on the stage when on April 10, 1975, she was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage and went into a coma. She died without regaining consciousness. Her funeral was held in Paris, and she was buried in Monaco.Ikiru (1952). 1952. Performer.
12 acting credits, 1924-1973.
17 Soundtrack credits .
26 self credits, 1948-1974.
France -awarded Legion of Honor.
1906-1975. (68).- Actress
- Soundtrack
1930s and 1940s film actress Louise Beavers was merely one of a dominant gallery of plus-sized and plus-talented African-American character actresses forced to endure blatant, discouraging and demeaning stereotypes during Depression-era and WWII Hollywood.
It wasn't until Louise's triumphant role in Fannie Hurst's classic soaper Imitation of Life (1934) that a film of major significance offered a black role of meaning, substance and humanity. Louise's servile role as housekeeper Delilah, who works for single white mother Claudette Colbert, was a poignant and touching, three-dimensional character that had its own dramatic story. Brilliantly handling the heartbreaking co-plot of an appeasing single parent whose light-skinned daughter (played by Fredi Washington) went to cruel and desperate lengths to pass for white. While Louise certainly championed in the role and managed to steal the lion's share of reviews right from under the film's superstar, the movie triggered major controversy and just as many complaints as compliments from black and white viewers. This certainly did not help what could have been a major, positive shift in black filmmaking. Instead, for the next two or more decades Louise was again forced back to secondary status.
Ms. Beavers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 8, 1902 and moved with her family to the Los Angeles area at age 11. A student at Pasadena High School and a choir member at her local church, her mother, a voice teacher, trained Louise for the concert stage but instead the young girl joined an all-female minstrel company called "Lady Minstrels" and even hooked up for a time on the vaudeville circuit. A nursing career once entertained was quickly aborted in favor of acting. Her first break of sorts was earning a living as a personal maid and assistant to Paramount star Leatrice Joy (and later actress Lilyan Tashman). By 1924 she was performing as an extra or walk-on in between her chores. A talent agent spotted her and gave her a more noticeable role in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927). She went on to gain even more visibility, but was invariably stuck in the background cooking or cleaning after the leads. Despite this her beaming smile and good nature paid off.
Following scene-grabbing maid roles to such stars as Mary Pickford in Coquette (1929) Linda Watkins in Good Sport (1931), Mae West in She Done Him Wrong (1933), Constance Bennett in What Price Hollywood? (1932) and Jean Harlow in Bombshell (1933), Louise received the role of her career. Her poignant story line and final death scene deserved an Oscar nomination and many insiders took her snub as deliberate and prejudicial. Five years later her close friend Hattie McDaniel would become the first black actor to not only earn an Oscar nomination but capture the coveted trophy as well for her subordinate role in Gone with the Wind (1939).
Despite their individual triumphs, both ladies continued in stereotyped roles. Occasionally Louise was rewarded with such Hollywood "A" treats as Made for Each Other (1939) with Carole Lombard, Holiday Inn (1942) starring Bing Crosby, and especially Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. In The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), she offered lovely moments as the baseball star's mother.
Although film offers dried up in the 1950s, Louise managed to transfer her talents to the new TV medium, and was one of a number of character actresses hired to play the wise-cracking, problem-solving maid Beulah (1950) during its run. "Beulah" was one of the first sitcoms to star a black actor. She also had a recurring role in Disney's "The Swamp Fox". In 1957, she made her professional stage debut in San Francisco with the short-lived play "Praise House" as a caregiver who extols the Bible through song. Her last few films, which included The Goddess (1958), All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) and the Bob Hope comedy The Facts of Life (1960) were typical stereotypes and unmemorable.
A long time bachelor lady who finally married in the 1950s, the short, heavyset actress was plagued by health issues in later years, her obesity and diabetes in particular. She lost her fight on October 26, 1962, at age 60 following a heart attack. In 1976 she was posthumously inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Maidie Norman was born Maidie Ruth Gamble on October 16, 1912, in Villa Rica, Georgia, to Louis and Lila Gamble. She received a B.A. from Bennett College in 1934 and a master's degree from Columbia University three years later. She also attended the Actors Lab in Hollywood from 1946 to 1949.
Norman first appeared on film in The Peanut Man in 1947. Throughout the fifties-not a good time for film roles for black women-she appeared in a number of films, such as Bright Road (1953) with Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte and Torch Song (1953); About Mrs. Leslie and Susan Slept Here in 1954; and 1956's Written on the Wind. These were often servant roles, with a special fifties blandness. Still, Norman was skillful and professional in her execution of them. In 1962, she got a chance to chew up the scenery with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
In 1968-69, Norman was an artist-in-residence at Stanford University and, throughout the seventies, she was lecturer, director, and acting teacher at UCLA. At the same time, Norman was highly visible on television, appearing in Mannix, Adam 12, Streets of San Francisco, Kung Fu, The Jeffersons, and others. She was also part of the cast of Roots: The Next Generation in 1979.
Norman was a founding member of the American Negro Theater West; in 1977, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame; and an award in her name is presented each year for outstanding research by an undergraduate in Black Theater at UCLA. She died on May 6, 1998.103 acting credits, 1947-1988.
#3 credit, The Well (1951). 1951.
B.A. Bennet College, 1934
M.A. Columbia University, 1937.
Artist-in-Residence, Stanford University.
Lecturer, Director, Acting Teacher, UCLA.
founding member, American Negro Theater West.
LA Woman of the Year award.
N.A.A.C.P. Award for Contributions to Education.
1912-1998, 85.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Martina Arroyo was born on 2 February 1937 in New York, USA. She is an actress, known for A Bread Factory, Part One (2018), The Odd Couple (1970) and Luna (1979).1937 -. New York.
Luna (1979). 1979. Soundtrack credit.
1 acting credit
1- soundtrack credit
9 self credits, 1967-2013.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Her father Joseph was a minister and her mother was named Ella Mae. Her birth name was Pearly Mae but her parents anticipated she would be a boy and when a girl was born she was nicknamed "Dickie". Her brother was entertainer Bill Bailey (1912-1978). She spent her early life in Washington DC where she received her early education. Bailey frequently appeared in the Old Howard theater in downtown Washington. As a young woman she toured the Pennsylvania mining towns as a dancer and later as a singer in Vaudeville. She starred in the film St. Louis Blues opposite Nat King Cole, which was the biography of W.C. Handy. Her greatest theater role was in the Broadway musical "Hello Dolly".19 acting credits, 1947-1989.
18 soundtrack credits.
25 self credits, 1949-1989.
Composer, singer, songwriter.
Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom.
1918-1990, 72.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dorothy Jean Dandridge was born on November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruby Dandridge (née Ruby Jean Butler), an entertainer, and Cyril H. Dandridge, a cabinet maker and minister. Under the prodding of her mother, Dorothy and her sister Vivian Dandridge began performing publicly, usually in black Baptist churches throughout the country. Her mother would often join her daughters on stage. As the depression worsened, Dorothy and her family picked up and moved to Los Angeles where they had hopes of finding better work, perhaps in film. Her first film was in the Marx Brothers comedy, A Day at the Races (1937). It was only a bit part but Dandridge hoped it would blossom into something better. She only appeared in another film in 1940, in Four Shall Die (1940).
Meanwhile, she dropped out of high school and became part of a musical trio which performed with the orchestra of Jimmie Lunceford. During the late 30s, she dated music composer Phil Moore, who was instrumental in launching her career as a nightclub singer and big band vocalist.
Her next few screen roles in the early 1940s tended to be small stereotypical roles of black girls or princesses - such as Bahama Passage (1941) and Drums of the Congo (1942), She was the singing star of the western themed all-black-cast "soundie" (short musical) Cow-Cow Boogie (1942) and appeared in movies that showcased her talents as actress and singer, like Hit Parade of 1943 (1943) as the vocalist of Count Basie's Band, and twice as the vocalist of Louis Armstrong's Band in Pillow to Post (1945) and Atlantic City (1944).
Those brought her headline acts in the nation's finest hotel nightclubs in New York, Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas. She may have been allowed to sing in these fine hotels but, because of racism, she couldn't have a room in any of them. It was reported that one hotel drained its swimming pool to keep her from enjoying that amenity.
In 1954, she appeared in the all-black production of Carmen Jones (1954) in the title role. She was so superb in that picture that she garnered an Academy Award nomination but lost to Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954). She did not get another movie role until Tamango (1958), an Italian film. She did six more films, including, most notably, Island in the Sun (1957) and Porgy and Bess (1959). The last movie in which she would ever appear was The Murder Men (1962) (1961).
Dandridge faded quickly after that, due to an ill-considered marriage to Jack Dennison (her first husband was Harold Nicholas), poor investments, financial woes, and alcoholism.
She was found dead in her apartment at 8495 Fountain Avenue, West Hollywood, on September 8, 1965, aged 42, from barbiturate poisoning. She left $2.14 in her bank account, and a handwritten letter: "In case of my death - whoever discovers it - Don't remove anything I have on - scarf, gown, or underwear. Cremate me right away - if I have any money, furniture, give it to my mother, Ruby Dandridge - She will know what to do.". She was cremated and her ashes were interred in the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
She was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6719 Hollywood Blvd. on January 18, 1983.34 acting credits, 1935-1962.
12 Soundtrack credits.
21 self credits, 1941-1965.
1922-1965, 42.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist and civil rights activist. She is best known for originating the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun (1961).
She also starred in The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), Cat People (1982), Do the Right Thing (1989), and American Gangster (2007).
Her film debut was That Man of Mine (1946).
For her performance as Mahalee Lucas in American Gangster (2007), she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. As of 2019, she stands as the second oldest nominee for Best Supporting Actress, behind Gloria Stuart who was 87 when nominated for her role in Titanic for the 70th Academy Awards, 1998.
Dee died on June 11, 2014, at her home in New Rochelle, New York, from natural causes at the age of 91.113 acting credits, 1946-2013.
90 self credits, 1962-2016.
Hunter College graduate, 1944.
1922-2014, 91.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lena Calhoun Horne was born June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. In her biography she stated that, on the day she was born, her father was in the midst of a card game trying to get money to pay the hospital costs. Her parents divorced while she was still a toddler. Her mother left later in order to find work as an actress and Lena was left in the care of her grandparents. When she was seven, her mother returned and the two traveled around the state which meant that Lena was enrolled in numerous schools. For a time she also attended schools in Florida, Georgia and Ohio. Later she returned to Brooklyn.
Lena quit school when she was 14 and got her first stage job at 16 dancing and later singing at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, a renowned theater in which black performers played before white audiences immortalized in The Cotton Club (1984)). She was in good hands at the club, especially when people such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington took her under their wings and helped her over the rough spots. Before long, her talent resulted in her playing before packed houses.
If Lena had never made a movie, her music career would have been enough to have ensured her legendary status in the entertainment industry, but films were icing on the cake. After she made an appearance on Broadway, Hollywood came calling. At 21 years of age, Lena made her first film, The Duke Is Tops (1938). It would be four more years before she appeared in another, Panama Hattie (1942), playing a singer in a nightclub. By now Lena had signed with MGM but, unfortunately for her, the pictures were shot so that her scenes could be cut out when they were shown in the South since most theaters in the South refused to show films that portrayed blacks in anything other than subservient roles to whites. Most movie studios did not want to take a chance on losing that particular source of revenue. Lena did not want to appear in those kinds of stereotyped roles and who could blame her?
In 1943, MGM loaned Lena to 20th Century-Fox to play the role of Selina Rogers in the all-black musical Stormy Weather (1943), which did extremely well at the box office. Her rendition of the title song became a major hit on the musical charts. In 1943, she appeared in Cabin in the Sky (1943), regarded by many as one of the finest performances of her career. She played Georgia Brown opposite Ethel Waters and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in the all black production. Rumors were rampant that she and Waters just did not get along well, although there was never any mention of the source of the alleged friction. However, that was not the only feud on that picture. Other cast members sniped at one another and it was a wonder the film was made at all. Regardless of the hostilities, the movie was released to very good reviews from the ever tough critics. It went a long way in showing the depth of the talent that existed among black performers in Hollywood, especially Lena.
Lena's musical career flourished, but her movie career stagnated. Minor roles in films such as Boogie-Woogie Dream (1944), Words and Music (1948) and Mantan Messes Up (1946) did little to advance her film career, due mainly to the ingrained racist attitudes of the time. Even at the height of Lena's musical career, she was often denied rooms at the very hotels in which she performed because they would not let blacks stay there. After Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), Lena left films to concentrate on music and the stage. She returned in 1969 as Claire Quintana in Death of a Gunfighter (1969). Nine years later, she returned to the screen again in the all black musical The Wiz (1978) where she played Glinda the Good Witch. Although that was her last big-screen appearance, she stayed busy in television appearing in A Century of Women (1994) and That's Entertainment! III (1994).
Had it not been for the prevailing racial attitudes during the time when Lena was just starting her career, it's fair to say that it would have been much bigger and come much sooner. Even taking those factors into account, Lena Horne is still one of the most respected, talented and beautiful performers of all time.19 acting credits, 1935-1973.
53 Soundtrack credits.
1917-2010, 92.- Music Artist
- Actress
- Soundtrack
An out-of-wedlock child, Eartha Kitt was born in the cotton fields of South Carolina. Kitt's mother was a sharecropper of African-American and Cherokee Native American descent. Her father's identity is unknown. Given away by her mother, she arrived in Harlem at age nine. At 15, she quit high school to work in a Brooklyn factory. As a teenager, Kitt lived in friends' homes and in the subways. However, by the 1950s, she had sung and danced her way out of poverty and into the spotlight: performing with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe on a European tour, soloing at a Paris nightclub and becoming the toast of the Continent. Orson Welles called her "the most exciting girl in the world". She also spoke out on hard issues. She took over the role of Catwoman for the third and final season of the television series Batman (1966), replacing Julie Newmar. Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer in her home in Weston, Connecticut, on Christmas Day 2008.70 acting credits, 1948-1910.
44 soundtrack credits.
1927-1908, 81.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born Rosetta Olive Barton, Rosetta LeNoire was the goddaughter of famed tap dancer "Bojangles" Bill Robinson. She was in the landmark all-black version of "Macbeth," directed by Orson Welles in the 1930s. Former president Bill Clinton presented her with the National Medal of the Arts in 1999. Appeared in the movies Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Brewster's Millions (1985), and the television series Family Matters (1989), in which she played the role of Estelle 'Mother' Winslow.34 Acting credits.
Acted in films from 1952 on.
Directed by Orson Welles.
Awarded American National Medal of the Arts in 1999.
Broadway producer.
1911-2002, 90- Actress
- Soundtrack
One the most successful entertainers of the Black vaudeville stage, also known as the Chitlin Circuit, was Jackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken in 1894. At the apex of her long career, she was earning $10,000 a week at Harlem's Apollo Theatre. Mabley focused on conventional topics such as family and others not normally covered by comedians of the era, white or Black, such as infidelity, poverty, welfare, and inebriation.
Billed as the Funniest Woman in the World, she adopted her original stage name from a boyfriend, Jackie Mabley, and began her career at 14. A teenage runaway, she joined the Negro troupe of Henry Bowman and Tim Moore and, in a short time, became a success. Quick-witted and quick-tongued, Mabley's unorthodox, self-assured routines as an outspoken grandma while wearing bag-lady clothes--old-fashioned print dresses and floppy hats--was a favorite with Black female audiences, particularly when she was lampooning the psychology of men. Her career spanned five decades, although white audiences did not know of her until the early 1960s. Mabley played Carnegie Hall in 1962. Mainstream TV appearances in the 1960s included variety appearances on shows hosted by Flip Wilson, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967), and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967). She was an inspiration for irreverent female comics of that era, including Phyllis Diller and, in her final years, Mabley poked fun at the president and other government officials.5 acting credits, 1933-1974.
1894-1975, 81.
The Emperor Jones- Actress
- Soundtrack
After working as early as the 1910s as a band vocalist, Hattie McDaniel debuted as a maid in The Golden West (1932). Her maid-mammy characters became steadily more assertive, showing up first in Judge Priest (1934) and becoming pronounced in Alice Adams (1935). In this one, directed by George Stevens and aided and abetted by star Katharine Hepburn, she makes it clear she has little use for her employers' pretentious status seeking. By The Mad Miss Manton (1938) she actually tells off her socialite employer Barbara Stanwyck and her snooty friends. This path extends into the greatest role of her career, Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). Here she is, in a number of ways, superior to most of the white folk surrounding her. From that point her roles unfortunately descended, with her characters becoming more and more menial. She played on the "Amos and Andy" and Eddie Cantor radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s; the title in her own radio show "Beulah" (1947-51), and the same part on TV (Beulah (1950)). Her part in Gone with the Wind (1939) won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, the first African American actress to win an Academy Award, it was presented to her by Fay Bainter at a segregated ceremony, she had to sit at the back away from the rest of the cast.95 acting credits, 1932-1952.
10 Soundtrack credits.
1895-1952, 57.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Nina Mae McKinney is known as the seductress "Chick" from Hallelujah (1929), the first all-black, all-sound musical. Even though she was acknowledged as a great actress, singer and dancer by audiences in the U.S. and Europe, today she is mostly forgotten. She certainly had the looks, enthusiasm, and acting talent to succeed. But as she and other black women of her time learned, there wasn't much work for a black woman other than as a maid, "mammy" figure, or prostitute. Hollywood was scared to take a chance on an attractive black woman, to make her into a glamorous sex symbol as they would with an attractive white actress. There would be no true glamorous black female sex symbol until Lena Horne's arrival in 1942. Nina learned, as did other black actresses, that there was little success to be had after an initial big splash.
McKinney was born in 1913 in the small town of Lancaster, South Carolina, eventually to become an international figure as an actress, singer and band leader. Her given name was Nannie Mayme McKinney. Her parents, Hal and Georgia McKinney, moved from Lancaster to New York City and left the child with her great-aunt, Carrie Sanders. "Aunt Carrie" lived in a small apartment in the backyard of Col. Leroy Springs, father of businessman and flying ace Elliott White Springs. Aunt Carrie worked as a cook and housekeeper for the Springs family. As soon as Nannie Mayme was old enough she ran errands for Lena Jones Springs, who gave her a bicycle to ride to the post office to pick up the mail. Nannie Mayme's first public performances were riding stunts, or "cutting capers", as amazed bystanders called it. She appeared in plays at the black Lancaster Industrial School (founded by Springs), where she quickly learned the lines of the entire cast.
At about age 13 she headed for New York to stay with her mother, Georgia Crawford McKinney. Choosing Nina Mae as her stage name, she managed to get a job as a chorus girl in the Broadway play "Blackbirds". Her lively performance caught the attention of MGM producer/director King Vidor, who gave her a starring role in Hallelujah (1929). It was the first all-black sound musical features, even though many theaters billed the film as "a story of murder and redemption in the Deep South." This melodrama was not widely acclaimed at the time, but movie historians now see it as an interesting introduction to black theater (one critic described it as having "a crude power").
Nina was signed by MGM to a five-year contract, but in that period she made only two films, Safe in Hell (1931) and Reckless (1935) (in which she didn't even appear on screen; she dubbed Jean Harlow's songs). Hollywood could accept black character actresses like Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen having a close relationship with white characters in a film, but would not allow a beautiful black actress the same natural role. However, her first film gave her the opportunity to appear in a number of all-black cast or black-themed films, including Sanders of the River (1935) with Paul Robeson, Dark Waters (1944) and Pinky (1949) (as Rozelia), which is considered her finest film.
She had much more success on stage. She played Jeanne Eagels' role in "Rain" at Harlem's famed Apollo Theatre. She proved that she could well have become one of America's enduring performers--she had the talent, the beauty, and the star power, but she realized that the doors to real success were permanently barred to her in Hollywood. She soon left the U.S. for Europe. She made film and stage appearances all over the Continent, from Paris and London to Dublin and Budapest, and became known as "The Black Garbo".
When war broke out in Europe she returned to New York, where she married jazz musician Jimmy Monroe and put together a band and toured the country. In the 1950s and 1960s she lived in Athens, Greece, where she was known as the "Queen of Night Life." In the late 1960s she came back to New York but did not perform, and died in New York City in 1967, at age 54, of a heart attack. Her death went virtually unnoticed; trade papers such as Variety and black publications such as Jet and Ebony didn't even print an obituary, and one newspaper that did only called her an "entertainer" and didn't name the church where the funeral would be held.
Not everyone forgot her, though; in her home town of Lancaster, South Carolina, on a wall across from the Courthouse, is a mural with portraits of famous people from Lancaster. Among them two faces stand out. One is former President Andrew Jackson. The other is Nina.24 acting credits, 1929-1950.
8 Soundtrack credits.
Singer, Band Leader.
Film and Stage appearances in Europe.
After the war, returned to New York and married jazz musician Jimmy Monroe, and formed a band.
1950s and 1960s lived in Greece.
1912-1967, 54.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Thelma McQueen attended public school in Augusta, Georgia and graduated from high school in Long Island, New York. She studied dance with Katherine Dunham, Geoffrey Holder, and Janet Collins. She danced with the Venezuela Jones Negro Youth Group. The "Butterfly" stage name, which does describe her constantly moving arms, actually derives from dancing the "Butterfly Ballet" in a 1935 production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Her stage debut was in "Brown Sugar," directed by George Abbott for whom she did several other stage shows. In 1939 she appeared as the shop girls' assistant Lulu in The Women (1939) and in her most famous role, the irresponsible, whiny Prissy of Gone with the Wind (1939) ("Oh, Miss Scarlett, I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies").
Two other notable appearances among her string of silly maid parts were in Flame of Barbary Coast (1945) and Mildred Pierce (1945). From 1947 to 1951, she was a regular on the radio show "Beulah" and then in the TV version 1950-52.
In 1980, a Greyhound Bus Lines guard mistook her for a pickpocket and handled her roughly, throwing her against a bench and cracking several of her ribs. She sued for assault, and after several years of litigation, she was awarded $60,000. She chose to live very frugally on the money and retired to a small town outside Augusta, Georgia, where she lived in anonymity in a modest one-bedroom cottage.
On the night of Dec. 22, 1995, a fire broke out in her home, and she was found by firefighters lying on the sidewalk outside with severe burns over 70 percent of her body. She said her clothes caught fire while she was trying to light a kerosene heater in her cottage, which was destroyed by the fire. She was taken to Augusta Regional Medical Center, where she died at age 84.20 acting credits, 1939-1989.
Studied dance with Katherine Dunham, Geoffrey Holder and Janet Collins.
BA, New York City College, 1974 in Political Science.
1911-1995, 84- African American actress Juanita Moore entered films in the early 1950s, a time in which few black people were given an opportunity to act in major studio films. Fortunately Moore's roles began improving as Hollywood developed a social consciousness toward the end of the decade. In 1959 she received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Imitation of Life (1959), a glossy updating of a once controversial Fannie Hurst novel about racism. Within the next decade Hollywood underwent several sociological upheavals, and Juanita was one of the beneficiaries. She became a fixture in black-oriented films of the 1960s and 1970s, appearing in such films as Uptight (1968), Thomasine & Bushrod (1974) and Abby (1974). She also appeared in Walt Disney Pictures' The Kid (2000), and was in a total of more than 50 films. Moore retired in 2001 and passed away New Year's Day 2014 . She was 99.14 acting credits, 1964-2005.
1914 - 2014, 99 - Beah Richards left her native Vicksburg, Mississippi, for New York City in 1950. She would not acquire a significant role on stage until 1955,when she appeared in the off-Broadway show "Take a Giant Step" convincingly portraying an 84-year-old grandmother without using theatrical makeup. In 1962 she appeared in writer James Baldwin's "The Amen Corner" directed by noted actor/director/activist Frank Silvera, who told Richards "Don't act, just be." She credited Silvera with helping her further develop the subtlety and quiet dignity that distinguished all of her performances.
A prolific actress, poet and playwright, her first authored play was "All's Well That Ends" that delved into the issues of racial segregation. Always ahead of her time, she defined herself as "Black" when the term "Negro" was the preferred ethnic/racial label of Black Americans. Richards would bring her salutary satisfaction with being "Black" and her immense acting talents to the role of the peacemaking mother in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), a role for which she was nominated for an Oscar. Additionally, she appeared in "Purlie Victorious" by Ossie Davis and "The Little Foxes" by Lillian Hellman.
In 1988, she won an Emmy Award for her performance in Frank's Place (1987). Although stricken with emphysema, she delivered a tour-de-force performance on the ABC legal drama The Practice (1997) in 2000; she received her second Emmy Award for this performance three days before her death in her native Vicksburg.74 acting credits, 1958-2000.
poet and playwright.
1948 graduate of Dillard University.
1920-2000, 80. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Best known for the role of Florida Evans on the 1970s sitcoms Maude (1972) and Good Times (1974), African-American actress Esther Rolle proved to be as spirited and iron-willed off-camera as well. The gap-toothed actress with the gravelly voice was born in Pompano Beach, Florida, the 10th child of 18 born to Caribbean farming immigrants. Her first important work came with the Negro Ensemble Company and over the years would earn a solid careworn reputation in such theater plays as "The Blacks", "Blues for Mister Charlie", "The Amen Corner", "A Raisin in the Sun" and "A Member of the Wedding". Ironically, her father insisted she promise him that she would never become a servant or maid in real life. She didn't, and however Esther would have her biggest successes playing just those types of roles. She caught the attention of television producer Norman Lear while performing on stage who cast her in the Maude (1972) supporting role in 1972. Audiences loved her so much as the feisty domestic who stood her ground, and then some, against her volatile and liberal-minded employer Maude Findley (Bea Arthur), that Esther earned her own spin-off series with Good Times (1974). Compelled to fight racial stereotypes, she insisted before accepting the series that a strong father figure be central in the show (actor John Amos). And while she still played the role of a lower middle-class maid, the show's emphasis was to be on her home and family life, not her outside work. Still, Esther left the show for one season when she was unhappy about the negative role model perpetuated by Jimmie 'JJ' Walker's jive-talking character J.J., but later returned after the producers assured her that more responsibility would be taken. In other assignments, she won an Emmy Award for the television movie Summer of My German Soldier (1978) and gained further respect for her work in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979) and for her film work in Driving Miss Daisy (1989) and Rosewood (1997). Two of her sisters, Estelle Evans and Rosanna Carter, were also character actresses. Afflicted with diabetes, Esther's health failed in the 1990s and toward the end of her life she was on kidney dialysis. The actress, who was divorced and had no children, died nine days after her 78th birthday on November 17, 1998.43 acting credits, 1964-2000.
Asadata Dafora troup director.
Negro Ensemble Company member.
Spelman College graduate, 1942.
Attended Yale.
NAACP Chairman's Civil Rights Leadership Award.
1920-1998, 78 years.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Isabel Sanford was a Broadway actress for over thirty years before moving to Hollywood. She made numerous guest appearances on TV, including a stint as a supporting cast member on The Carol Burnett Show (1967). Until her passing, Isabel continued to act frequently, most recently in a series of commercials for Old Navy stores with The Jeffersons (1975) co-star, Sherman Hemsley. She made several commercials for Nick-at-Nite as well when the cable channel premiered The Jeffersons (1975).55 acting credits, 1967-2002.
3 soundtrack credits.
57 self credits, 1968-2004.
Started in films at the age of 50, in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
30 years on Broadway.
5 Golden Globe nominations.
Numerous Emmy nominations.
Won 1 Emmy.
Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1917-2004, 86- Estelle Evans was born on 1 October 1906 in Hartswell, British West Indies. She was an actress, known for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Learning Tree (1969) and The Clairvoyant (1982). She was married to Walter Alexander Evans. She died on 20 July 1985 in New York City, New York, USA.9 acting credits, 1962-1984.
1906-1985, 78. - Actress
- Soundtrack
The child of a teenage rape victim, Ethel Waters grew up in the slums of Philadelphia and neighboring cities, seldom living anywhere for more than a few weeks at a time. "No one raised me, " she recollected, "I just ran wild." She excelled not only at looking after herself, but also at singing and dancing; she began performing at church functions, and as a teenager was locally renowned for her "hip shimmy shake". In 1917 she made her debut on the black vaudeville circuit; billed as "Sweet Mama Stringbean" for her tall, lithe build, she broke through with her rendition of "St. Louis Blues", which Waters performed in a softer and subtler style than her rivals, Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Beginning with her appearances in Harlem nightclubs in the late 1920s, then on the lucrative "white time" vaudeville circuit, she became one of America's most celebrated and highest-paid entertainers. At the Cotton Club, she introduced "Stormy Weather", composed for her by Harold Arlen: she wrote of her performance, "I was singing the story of my misery and confusion, the story of the wrongs and outrages done to me by people I had loved and trusted". Impressed by this performance, Irving Berlin wrote "Supper Time", a song about a lyncing, for Waters to perform in a Broadway revue. She later became the first African-American star of a national radio show. In middle age, first on Broadway and then in the movies, she successfully recast herself as a dramatic actress. Devoutly religious but famously difficult to get along with, Waters found few roles worthy of her talents in her later years.28 acting credits, 1929-1972.
38 soundtrack credits, 1929-2009.
35 self credits, 1934-1976.
1896-1977, 80- Claudia McNeil was born on 13 August 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She was an actress, known for A Raisin in the Sun (1961), Black Girl (1972) and The DuPont Show of the Month (1957). She was married to Herman McCoy and Henry Smith. She died on 25 November 1993 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.24 acting credits, 1958-1983.
1917-1993, 76 - Actress
- Soundtrack
Fredi Washington was a pioneering African-American actress whose fair skin and green eyes often were impediments to her showing her extraordinary acting skills. Her talent was often overlooked because of people's obsession with her race and color. In the few films in which she acted her enormous talent as an actress couldn't be hidden.
Her first film performance was with Duke Ellington in a musical short, Black and Tan (1929), as a dancer. In Hollywood she was urged to "pass" for fully white by studio heads, who said they would make her a bigger star than Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Constance Bennett and Greta Garbo. Fredi refused. Her best-known role was as the original Peola, in the controversial film Imitation of Life (1934). She appeared with Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones (1933) and in a few other films with her skin darkened. Her best work was on the stage, notably in "Mamba's Daughters" with Ethel Waters. Fredi never made it to the top like her contemporaries Waters, Josephine Baker, and Nina Mae McKinney because she didn't look "black" enough. But Fredi had what it took, as is more than evident in the few films that she did do.
Her best work was as an activist. She was the head of the Negro Actors Guild, helping black performers get a fair chance in the entertainment industry. Hopefully, people who discover her work today will see her beauty and talent shine through and look beyond her skin color, unlike most people of her time.10 acting credits, from 1922-1937. Broadway actress.
1 soundtrack credit for Black and Tan, 1929.
1903-1994, 90- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Etta McDaniel was born on 1 December 1890 in Wichita, Kansas, USA. She was an actress, known for The Great Man's Lady (1941), What a Man! (1944) and The Pittsburgh Kid (1941). She died on 13 January 1946 in Los Angeles, California, USA.58 acting credits, 1933-1945.
1890-1946, 55.- An African-American veteran performer who struggled in vain to build a film career following a top role in an early all-black musical, Fannie Belle DeKnight found herself in a dead end situation trapped in an unflattering, stereotyped role and her film career went nowhere. Best known for her benevolent, upbeat character of Mammy in the King Vidor musical Hallelujah (1929), the first all-black feature film, she made only one more film, the musical short A Rhapsody in Black and Blue (1932) starring Louis Armstrong.
She was born Fannie Belle Johnson in Richmond, Virginia on May 22, 1869, during the "Reconstruction" period following the Civil War. Her parents, Frank and Purie Johnson, encouraged her interest in the arts and she grew in popularity singing and performing in church socials and amateur theatre shows. She wound up marrying her pianist Samuel Knight, a Barbados-born musician, in 1896. The couple toured together and she eventually changed her stage name in consideration.
The Texas-born Vidor cast her in her most famous support role (she is billed here as Fanny Belle DeKnight) in 1928 after seeing her in a couple of concert performances. Co-starring Nina Mae McKinney and Daniel L. Haynes and with a 20s flavor, this spiritual film focuses on the toils of a black family living on a cotton plantation in the Deep South. When nothing came of her film career, Fannie and her husband continued to perform musically across the country in concert. She would also appear in short-runs on Broadway, including the drama "Taboo" (1922), "Lulu Belle" (1926) and "Carry Nation" (1932).
The couple eventually retired their act and settled in her native Richmond in later years. She was a widow by the time she died tragically on April 28, 1950, at age 81, after her clothes accidentally caught fire at home from a kitchen wood stove. She was buried in the Woodland Cemetery in Richmond.2 acting credits, 1929 and 1932.
1869-1950, 80 years.
Music teacher. - Lillian Fitzgerald was born in October 1875 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Temptation (1935) and Let's Merge (1930). She died on 9 July 1947 in New York City, New York, USA.3 acting credits, 1930-1939.
1875-1947, 71 - Actress
- Soundtrack
Juanita Hall was an American actress from New Jersey. She is primarily remembered for her roles in two Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musicals ("South Pacific" and "Flower Drum Song") and in their respective film adaptations. In 1950, Hall became the first African American actress to win a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1901, Hall was born in Keyport, New Jersey to an interracial couple. Her father was African-American and her mother was Irish-American. Hall was orphaned at an early age, but she and her siblings were raised by her maternal grandparents. She received her secondary education at the Keyport High School, a public high school. She then received classical training at the Juilliard School, a private performing arts conservatory located in New York City.
By the early 1930s, Hall served as the assistant director for the Hall Johnson Choir. She went on to become both a leading Broadway performer. and a regular performer in the clubs of Greenwich Village. Her signature role was that of the Vietnamese trader Bloody Mary in "South Pacific". She portrayed the character in 1,925 Broadway performances at the Majestic Theatre.
In 1958. Hall recorded the music album "Juanita Hall Sings the Blues", backed by experienced jazz musicians. That same year, Hall returned to the role of Bloody Mary in the film adaptation of "South Pacific". Due to doubts on whether the aging actress could perform the role's key songs, the opera singer Muriel Smith (1923-1985) was hired as the character's singing voice.
Hall continued her performing career until 1962, when she was forced to leave a road show tour due to poor health. Hall was suffering from diabetes for the last decade of her life, and she lost her eyesight due to complications from diabetes. She retired to the Lillian Booth Actors Home, an assisted-living facility located in Englewood, New Jersey. The Actors Fund of America financed her medical treatments until her death in 1968. Hall died at the age of 66, from complications of diabetes.8 acting credits, 1939-1961.
8 soundtrack credits, 1937-2012.
Broadway lead actress.
Trained at Julliard.
Received 1950 Tony Award for best supporting actress in a musical.
1901-1968, 66.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Norma Miller and Frankie Manning were both consultants on the Lindy Hop dance scene at the Roseland Ballroom. However, only Frankie Manning has been given credit as a dance consultant. Otis Sallid/choreographer said "Just for the record. I studied for a month with Frankie Manning so that the work in this film would be accurate. I brought him and Norma Miller on as a consultant so that the larger world would know and revere them."28 credits, 37-16.
1919 --- Actress
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Betty Allen was born on 17 March 1927 in Campbell, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Appointment with Adventure (1955), Camera Three (1955) and I Love Lucy (1951). She was married to Ritten Edward Lee II. She died on 22 June 2009 in Valhalla, New York, USA.1927-2009. (82). Ohio, USA.
11 credits, 1935-1962.
Wilberforce College student.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Myrtle Anderson was born on 26 May 1907 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for The Green Pastures (1936), Lux Video Theatre (1950) and Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949). She died on 5 October 1978 in Los Angeles, California, USA.18 acting credits, 1936-1957.
1907-1978, 71- Edna Barr is known for Drums o' Voodoo (1934) and The Spider's Web (1927).2 acting credits, 1927, 1934
- Lucille Battle was born on 24 January 1918 in Arkansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Lucky Ghost (1942). She died on 24 February 2005 in Palmdale, California, USA.6 acting credits, 1934-1943
- Attractive Eunice Brooks was an Oscar Micheaux actress. In his early films she was his leading actress...and a fine dramatic actress. She appeared in Oscar Micheaux's first talkie film "The Exile.", playing a Femme Fatale. She's a woman who has taken over a mansion and become a wealthy woman but turns the house into a low-down club where you could get drunk, party all night and carouse. The house is also the house where she leads men into ruin but suffers for it in the end. She also played Mrs. Austin in "The Girl from Chicago" where she again gave a wonderful performance. Eunice Brooks was by far Oscar Micheaux's best dramatic actress. Not much is known about her, hopefully family members will come to light and tell us about this wonderful actress who should serve as a positive role model for Blacks to follow in the acting field.2 acting credits, '31-'32
- Anita Brown is known for Song of the South (1946) and Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935).10 acting credits, 1934-1947.
- Anne Brown is known for Swedish Auto (2006).1912, Maryland, USA -2009, Norway. (96).
2 acting credits
1 soundtrack credit.
4 self credits, 1935-2004.
Julliard trained. - Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Marie Bryant was one of the most popular Black exotic dancer of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Her sexy dancing had lots of culture and class with wowing costumes to top it. Films such as The Duke Is Tops (1938) and Gang War (1940) are the films that featured her dancing a sexy African dance. When her dancing career ended, she started a successful singing career appearing in many movies featuring her marvelous voice. She has many films which are available to her credit showcasing her multi-talents, she's one of the greats of Black Entertainment.13 acting credits, '38-'56.
1917-1978, 60.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Grace Bumbry was born on 4 January 1937 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Carmen (1968) and Aïda (1977). She was married to Erwin Jaeckel. She died on 7 May 2023 in Vienna, Austria.1937-. Missouri, USA.
7 acting credits, 1965-1988.
1 soundtrack credit
16 self credits.- Anita Bush born in Washington, District of Columbia in 1883. began in Vaudeville theatre as part of the comedy team Williams and Walker in the early 1900's, and later became well-known on the drama theatre's on Broadway. This beautiful black performer starred in only two movies, the first was a Western/drama/mystery 'The Bull-Dogger' in 1921 and her second film was an action/adventure 'The Crimson Skull' in 1922 both films consisted of an all-black cast made for the Norman Film Manufacturing Company of Jacksonville, Florida. She as later worked as the Secretary of the Negro Actors Guild until her death in The Bronx, New York in 1974 age 90.2 acting credits, 1921, 1922.
Vaudeville, Broadway actress.
1883-1974, 90. - Celeste Cole was born on 26 July 1908 in Dallas, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for The Exile (1931) and The Darktown Revue (1931). She died on 5 October 1984 in Southfield, Michigan, USA.2 acting credits, '31.
1907-1984, 77. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Vivian Dandridge was born on 22 April 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935), Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat (1941) and Brown Sugar (1986). She was married to Gustav Friedrich, Ralph Bledsoe, Jack Montgomery and Warren Bracken. She died on 26 October 1991 in Seattle, Washington, USA.19 acting credits, '33-'53.
1921-1991, 70- Actress
- Soundtrack
Cleo Desmond was born on 25 April 1880 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Mokey (1942), Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1941) and The Easiest Way (1917). She died on 6 October 1958 in San Diego, California, USA.8 acting credits, from 1917-1942.
1880-1958, 78- Additional Crew
- Actress
- Music Department
Dancer, choreographer, composer and songwriter, educated at the University of Chicago. She made world tours as a dancer, choreographer, and director of her own dance company. She directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York, and was artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University. She also appeared in the Broadway musicals "Bal Negre" and "Carib Song". Joining ASCAP in 1964, her popular-song compositions include "Coco da Mata" and "New Love, New Wine".8 acting credits, 1941-1958.
Dancer, choreographer, songwriter, composer.
Director, Katherine Dunham School of Dance.
Artist-in-Residence, Southern Illinois University.
Awarded American National Medal of the Arts.
Founded Ballet Negre at the age of 21.
1909-2006, 96.- Gorgeous Josephine Edwards was the singing and acting sensation in the entertaining race film/Black Cinema movie, "Mystery In Swing." She gave a great performance as one of the scorned lovers of a playboy trumpet player, she witnesses the murder of her lover, and before she condemn the murderer, she is murdered after singing her swan song. Josephine stole the movie with her emotional, heartfelt singing of the beautiful song "You Can't Fool Yourself About Love," and finishing it with a little swing dancing. She appeared in another race film playing Mantan Moreland's daughter in "One Dark Night" but that film is presumed lost.
Josephine was a nightclub dancer and singer in the 1930s and 1940s. She and her husband Frog Edwards had a dance team for several years performing at such places as the legendary Creole Palace in San Diego for many years. Josephine had the beauty, singing and acting talent, and screen presence, had times been different, she definitely would had become a huge star of stage and screen, but because of her race she was denied the opportunity. Hopefully more info will surface on this great beauty and great talent.2 credits, '39,'40 - Evelyn Ellis was born on 2 February 1894 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for The Lady from Shanghai (1947), The Joe Louis Story (1953) and A Son of Satan (1924). She died on 5 June 1958 in Saranac Lake, New York, USA.6 acting credits, 1924-1956.
1894-1958, 64 years.
Stage and TV actress.
Originated the role of Crown's Bess in the play "Porgy". - Actress
- Soundtrack
Ruby Elzy was a pioneer black opera singer who appeared on stage, radio and film. A native of Mississippi, Elzy created the role of Serena in George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" on Broadway in 1935. She made her film debut opposite Paul Robeson in 1933's "The Emperor Jones" while still a student at New York's Juilliard School. Her most prominent screen moment came in 1941's "Birth of the Blues," starring Bing Crosby, when she sang "St. Louis Blues." She had just completed the 1943 tour of "Porgy and Bess" when she died following an operation for what was thought to be a minor condition. She was married twice; her second husband was actor Jack Carr, who appeared on stage with her in "Porgy and Bess" and who also appeared in a number of films.5 acting credits, 1933-1941.
Opera singer.
Trained at Juilliard.
1908-1943, 35.
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Emperor Jones- Actress
- Soundtrack
Francine Everett, who was called the most beautiful woman in Harlem and one of the most beautiful actresses to appear on screen. She became a familiar face with black audiences through the race films, now known as Black Cinema. She was one of the few who became a movie star through Black Cinema and could call themselves a true actress. Blacks could relate to the beauty because despite her roles, she maintained a down to earthness about her, warmth and was attainable more so than Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge who in Hollywood movies developed aloofness and had to please white audiences more so than Blacks and had to let go of some of the black image. The films in Black Cinema may have been low-budgeted but Francine's performances surely weren't, she gave her all in films, as though they were Hollywood movies. Francine didn't have a lot of directions in her movies but being the true actress she was, she didn't need much direction to give a stellar performance.
When she wasn't acting, she was in soundies, singing or dancing, it's said she appeared in over a 100. She modeled clothes and hairstyles for print ads, magazines and newspapers. Also she sang in nightclubs, her lovely singing voice possess soul, allure, and charm which she also showcased in many movies. She was also quite a dancer, dancing in a dance group called The Four Black Cats that traveled the U.S. Her stage appearances included, Humming Sam and Swing It which were both very popular shows on Broadway.
Francine started in show business at a young age. She studied and acted with the Federal Theater in Harlem, which was sponsored by the Works Progress Administration. She married legendary actor 'Rex Ingram' i who gained fame in his starring role on screen in "Green Pastures." It's been said Francine was offered the role of one of the angels but turned it down mainly because it was stereotyped.
Francine appeared in the most important films of Black Cinema, the ones that could be called a true movie. She appeared in Paradise in Harlem (1939), 'Keep Punching (1939), Big Timers (1945),"Stars on Parade," '_Tall, Tan, and Terrific' (1946)_, '_Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.' (1946)_, '_Ebony Parade' (1947)_ (which also starred Dorothy Dandridge) and its been said she appeared in 2 Hollywood movies, "Lost Boundaries" and 'No Way Out (1950).
In "Paradise In Harlem," Francine shone brighter than any in the cast when she gave a compelling performance doing Shakespeare by portraying Desdemona. Francine was fantastic as the woman who pleads/sings for her life to be spared.
She only appeared in a few films but substantial films where she showed versatility and talent and proves why she's one of the best black actresses in history. She's done more in her few films than most have done in many films.
Hollywood surely wanted Francine, but first Hollywood felt Francine should pay her dues by playing maid roles first, which she refused. She didn't want to play stereotypes when she could play roles suited for an actress in Black Cinema.10 acting credits, 1939-1950.
Model, singer, dancer.
1920-1999, 79.
No Way Out.- Florence Field is known for Lucky Ghost (1942).3 acting credits, '36-'42.
- Ida Forsyne was born on 1 January 1883 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for The Green Pastures (1936), A Daughter of the Congo (1930) and Birthright (1938). She was married to Arthur Belton Hubbard, ? Forsyne, Usher Henry Watts and James Frank Dougherty. She died on 19 August 1983 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.2 credits, '30,'36.
1883-1983, 100 - Louise Franklin was a gorgeous, winsome lady full of sex appeal and charm who graced the movie screen and stages from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was a popular California chorus girl, dancer, and actress who appeared in popular nightclubs, soundies, race films, and black musical numbers featured in Hollywood films. She was a wonderful, vibrant dancer full of grace whose talent in dancing varied. No film was complete without Louise's presence, if she wasn't dancing in films, she was acting in them. She was an extra and dancer in most of all the California-based race films and in Hollywood films she had various roles, most of which weren't stereotypical. In the film "I Love a Bandleader," Louise played a non-stereotypical role as a sexy elevator operator who Eddie Rochester flirts and sings to. In the short scene there was no denying her beauty, sex appeal, and charm; she had all the makings of a star.
Louise was one of many beautiful, ambitious black actresses who were denied fame and fortune in Hollywood and were only offered stereotypical roles but Louise, like many others, did the best with the roles she was offered by playing her roles with class. Louise danced in legendary films, "Cabin In The Sky" and "Stormy Weather," and appeared in many Lena Horne's musicals. She was also a featured dancer in Duke Ellington's Jump For Joy and many other stage shows.
In the black community, Louise Franklin was regarded as one of the most popular beauties. She received publicity and notoriety in the black press. She appeared on the cover of Jet magazine and in other popular black magazines showcasing her beauty. By the mid-1950s Louise retired from show business.41 acting credits, 1936-1958.
1917-1992, 74. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Mabel Garrett has only had a few appearances in Oscar Micheaux's films like "Ten Minutes To Live" and "Veiled Aristocrats," but in her few scenes she was able to leave a lasting impression on all who've seen her. Mabel's vibrant, magnetic, charming personality and lively dancing surely must tell you she must have been well liked in her time because even today movie viewers never forgot her. She is one of Micheaux's many talented ladies.2 acting credits, 1932- Minnie Gentry was born on 2 December 1915 in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Bad Lieutenant (1992), Black Caesar (1973) and Apprentice to Murder (1988). She was married to Lloyd Gentry. She died on 6 May 1993 in New York, USA.18 acting credits, from 1970-1992.
Born in 1915. Didn't start with films until 1970.
Great Grandmother of actor Terrence Howard.
Some Movies: The Brother from Another Planet, Bad Lieutenant (1992)
Broadway actress from 1946-1975.
Karamu Theater for over 60 years, intermittently.
1915-1993, 77 - Mildred Gover was born on 16 September 1905 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for Telephone Operator (1937), Day-Time Wife (1939) and The Great American Broadcast (1941). She died on 11 September 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Actress, 52 credits. In films from 1931-1946, many uncredited.
Actress in Stella Dallas.
1905-1947, 41. - Jessica Grayson was born on 7 March 1886 in Iowa, USA. She was an actress, known for The Little Foxes (1941), Syncopation (1942) and Homecoming (1948). She died on 27 February 1953 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.14 acting credits, 1939-1950.
1886-1953, 66 years. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Cora Green began performing at the age of 14. She never had any formal training, but her natural contralto voice made her an immediate success. She teamed with blackface comedian William Pugh for several successful engagements, and while appearing at the notorious Panama Club in Chicago, joined Florence Mills and Ada Smith (aka Bricktop) to form the Panama Trio. They were a big hit and toured the Pantages Circuit, with Carolyn Williams replacing Bricktop. Green later created a vaudeville act with comic Hamtree Harrington, with whom she starred in the 1921 revue in "Put and Take," and on Broadway in "Strut Miss Lizzie" in 1922 and "Dixie to Broadway" in 1924. They also recorded for Brunswick Records and played the Palace Theater in 1927. She headlined the 1929 revue "Ebony Showboat" and filmed a Vitaphone short, "Cora Green--the Famous Creole Singer," performing "I'll Tell the World," "Trav'lin' All Alone" and "Brother-in-Law Dan". The film is considered lost, but the soundtrack disc still survives. For five years, she was the sensation of Broadway and Europe and appeared with Fletcher Henderson's orchestra at Loew's State Theater in 1931. She had sole star billing in Oscar Micheaux's 1938 all-black film "Swing!," in which she sang "Heaven Help This Heart of Mine" and "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon." She also starred in Edgar G. Ulmer's 1938 black film "Moon Over Harlem" and in the 1939 stage musical "Policy Kings" at the Nora Bayes Theatre in New York. Not much is known about her later years or when she passed away.3 acting credits, '29,'38, '39.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Reri Grist was born on 29 February 1932 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Der Barbier von Sevilla (1968), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1980) and Tatort (1970). She has been married to Dr. Ulf Thomson since 1966.1932 -. New York.
11 acting credits, 1956-1996.
3 soundtrack credits.
2 self credits.- Beulah Hall Jones was born on 28 July 1899 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Cameo Kirby (1930) and The Realization of a Negro's Ambition (1916). She was married to Emitt Emanuel Wyndon and Dr. E.E. Wyndon. She died on 8 October 1952 in Los Angeles, California, USA.4 acting credits, 1916-1934.
1899-1952, 53 years. - Attractive with plenty of personality and versatility, dancer Consuela Harris was the sensational and considered best of the shake, hot, swinging dancers in the 1930s. Consuela was a New York headliner and the darling of the night club patrons and crowds in the East and West who raved over her charm and artistry. She performed at the famous Sebastian's Cotton Club in California and other New York highlights. She was one of the rare dancers who told a story with her dancing. Flexible and graceful she was. Consuela appeared showing off her dancing talents in two Oscar Micheaux films, "Swing" from 1938 and God's Stepchildren also from 1938. She was also in the movie, "Harlem on the Prairie" with Herb Jeffries. Hopefully more info will surface on this great dancer.3 acting credits, '37,'38
- Georgette Harvey was born on 31 December 1884 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair (1939), Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934) and Back Door to Heaven (1939). She died on 17 February 1952 in New York City, New York, USA.4 acting credits, '34-'39.
1884-1952, 67. - Actress
- Additional Crew
Maggie Mae Hathaway was quite a lady, who had many talents, and in her every conquest she left a memorable mark. Maggie isn't as well-known as Lena Horne or Dorothy Dandridge, and she's been overlooked by movie historians and history books, but she definitely did her part by contributing her talent and beauty to Hollywood and helping in opening the doors for black actors and actress.
Maggie usually portrayed sassy, witty, sexy ladies on screen. In her small parts on screen, she shined, her spunk was undeniable. She played a maid in a Warner Brothers musical short, "Quiet, Please!" where she did a hot jitterbug dance. She was a dancer in The Marx Brothers "At The Circus." She appeared in "Cabin In The Sky," during the cabaret scene, she was memorable for her sexy walk into the cabaret. In "Stormy Weather," she was a stand-in for Lena Horne. In most of all her film appearances, whether she had a small part or non-speaking part, her presence was always magnetic.
Maggie also was a singer who wrote and recorded blues and jazz records in the late 1940's.
Maggie is probably more memorable for being an activist for civil and equal rights. She often fought hard and long for the rights and inclusion of people of color, not only in entertainment, but in the community, and even in sports, specifically golf. She has a golf course named in her honor in Los Angeles, California. She also was the founder of the NAACP Image Awards. She also was a writer for the Los Angeles Sentinel.12 acting credits, 1938-1962.
Civil and equal rights activist.
Wrote and recorded blues and jazz.
1908-1999, 91.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Cleo Herndon was born on 29 June 1908 in Falls County, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for Dark Manhattan (1937). She was married to Fred Pleasant. She died on 2 June 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA.7 acting credits, '34-'45.
1908-?- Gertrude Howard was born on 13 October 1892 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA. She was an actress, known for I'm No Angel (1933), The Wet Parade (1932) and His Captive Woman (1929). She died on 30 September 1934 in Los Angeles, California, USA.24 Acting credits, 1925-1934.
1892-1934. (41). - Actress
- Soundtrack
Olga James was born on 16 February 1929 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She is an actress, known for Carmen Jones (1954), Sealab 2020 (1972) and The Bill Cosby Show (1969). She was previously married to Cannonball Adderley and Len Chandler.Carmen Jones
4 acting credits, 1954-1972.- Additional Crew
- Actress
- Music Department
Conductor and arranger, educated at Wilberforce University (MA), and Allen University (Mus. D.) She conducted the Eva Jessye Choir, with appearances in universities and colleges with symphony orchestras and in festivals throughout the United States and Europe. On Broadway, she appeared in the musical "Porgy and Bess" (and was the choral director for all "Porgy and Bess" productions between 1935 and 1958 including American and European tours) and "Lost in the Stars", and the opera "Four Saints in Three Acts", plus films and television, as well as television writing and directing. Also, she was an American consultant for the BBC in London, head of the music department at Morgan State College, and composer-in-residence for Maryland State College. Joining ASCAP in 1957, her musical arrangements included "An' I Cry", "Who Is That Yondah?", and "The Spirit o' the Lord Done Fell on Me", plus sixteen songs and stories for the collection "My Spirituals".4 acting credits, 1929-1969.
Has Mus.D.
Conductor, arranger, television writer and director.
Head of music department at Morgan State College.
Hallelujah musical director, 1929.
1895-1992, 97- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mae Johnson became well-known within the black entertainment world in the 1930's and 1940's. Mae Johnson started her career performing in Harlem nightclubs. She was a sensational personality who had a lot of sex appeal but with class. She was a great singer and all around wonderful entertainer. She started out with a small part in Earl Carroll's Artists and Models which got her a lot of attention. Mae said in an interview that Duke Ellington discovered her and told her if she went to New York she could take New York by storm, and he was right. She performed at many premier black nightclubs like the Grand Terrace, Ubangi Club, and the legendary Cotton Club where she was a huge success. She shared the bill with Cab Calloway, The Nicholas Brothers, and The Berry Brothers, she was such a huge success as a featured artists that Walter Winchell selected her for three consecutive years as the most outstanding artist. One of her acts was doing a Mae West impersonation which was always a hit. Her resemblance to Mae West in face and body and name made her one of the best Mae West impersonators in her time.
Mae gave an outstanding performance in "Keep Punching," her first and only starring film. Mae played the role of a femme fatale perfectly attempting to lure legendary boxer Henry Armstrong, her co-star in "Keep Punching," to the ruins but she secretly falls in love with him. She redeems herself by going to a church and emotionally praying to God for forgiveness for drugging his drink and to help him win a victory in the ring and she promises to turn her life around. Mae Johnson's versatile performance made "Keep Punching" one of the best of Black Cinema. Mae went West and appeared in a handful of Hollywood films that had black musical numbers. She gave a memorable performance in Lena Horne's "Stormy Weather" singing the legendary song "I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City," since being an actress was hard for blacks in the 1930s and 1940s, Mae didn't get a lot of opportunities deserved to her, so she hooked up with Austin McCoy and recorded some songs and she appeared in one of her last successes, a hit play titled "Two In A Bed" with Louise Beavers, where Mae received favorable reviews.3 acting credits, 1937-1943.
Top performer in New York.
3 consecutive years as Most Outstanding Artist.
1916-1999, 82.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mable Lee started dancing at the age of three and was still dancing past the age of eighty. She was performing in public at the age of four; by twelve she was dancing in night clubs in her native Atlanta. At nineteen, she went north to New York City where she got her first job dancing in the chorus at the West End Theater on West 125th Street in Harlem. She was soon soloing at the Apollo Theater, as well as appearing in comedy skits with comics like Dewey 'Pigmeat' Markham and John 'Spider Bruce' Mason. After appearing in USO shows during World War II, Mable went before the cameras, appearing at least one hundred Soundies until about 1946, when she went to Europe for a time. Upon her return to the States, she starred in the 1952 Broadway revival of "Shuffle Along," and would later appear in the national touring company of the Broadway musical "Bubblin' Brown Sugar" (1976). In 2008, Mable Lee was named to the American Tap Dance Association Hall of Fame.10 acting credits, 1940-1948- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Born in 1916 in Chicago, Jeni Le Gon trained at Mary Bruce's School of Dancing and performed as a chorus girl, later in vaudeville, from age 16. In Hollywood she appeared in her debut film, Hooray for Love (1935), as dancing partner of the great Bill Robinson. Though primarily a dancer, Jeni sang well and was an appealing, attractive light actress when (rarely) given the chance. In Hollywood films 1935-49, her earlier appearances were in specialty dance numbers; later, as with most black stars of the time, in servant roles. In the forties, Jeni played leads or second leads in at least 5 independently produced all-black cast films. She appeared on the New York stage periodically (playing leads in all-black productions) and later managed the Dance and Drama Playhouse in Los Angeles. After guest appearances on "Amos 'N' Andy" (1951) she faded from public view.25 acting credits, 1936-2007.
Dance partner, Bill Robinson
Opened a dance school in the 60s.
Managed Dance and Drama Playhouse.
Inducted into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2002.
1916-2012, 96.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Unsung great Babe Matthews was a fabulous singer of songs. She was quite capable of singing anything from blues, jazz, swing, gospel, rhythm and blues. She was a singer before her time, Aretha Franklin has nothing on her. Whatever Babe sang she put over with style, excellence, and much energy. She made you stop and listen. The 1930s were the high years for her, she was one of the most popular, most wanted performer of her race. She appeared in quite a few movies displaying her fine talents as singer, dancer and actress. As an actress, she usually played the hands on the hips, rolling eyes, feisty, wise-cracking wife alongside her husband who also was a performer and her sometime partner, Eddie Matthews. They were in every film they appeared in together. Their work was original and entertaining, they were a great husband and wife team but Babe made a name for herself and was more popular than her husband. She was truly a great performer of the golden era of Black Entertainment and Harlem.3 acting credits, '34-'39.- Pearl McCormack was born on 29 April 1908 in Kingston, Jamaica. She was an actress, known for The Scar of Shame (1929), Harlem After Midnight (1934) and Phantom of Kenwood (1933). She was married to Paul Laguerre. She died on 14 December 2003 in Miami, Florida, USA.3 acting credits, 1927-1934
- 2 acting credits, '32,'47.
- In the 1920s and 1930s Ethel Moses was one of the most popular Harlem performer. Then she became the most popular, most recognizable, most beloved actress of Black cinema in the late 1930s and even to this day. Ethel Moses was what you might call a Harlem star. She was apart of the Golden Era of Harlem and during her tenure on the stage she was called "One of the Most Beautiful Women in America". She was also voted "The Most Beautiful Girl on Stage," and Ethel was also voted "The Most Shapely Dancer." Ethel Moses started her career in the mid 1920s, she became a popular chorine dancing in popular Black Broadway Shows, "Shuffle Along," "Keep Shuffling," and "Showboat." Ethel entertained at Harlem's most popular nightclubs, The Cotton Club, Connie's Inn and Ubangi Club. Then Ethel Moses went on to become a popular feature dancer. She danced with Cab Calloway's band; she even was in a few shorts with Cab, the first was "Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho" filmed at the Cotton Club. Ethel is one of the ladies that Cab sings "The Lady with the Fan" to and then Ethel was in "Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party." Ethel then danced and traveled with Lucky Millander's band around the world, mostly abroad, and wowed audiences with her grace in dancing and her beauty. Then Ethel Moses became an actress; never a Hollywood actress but she was apart of American cinema just the same. She was better then Black actresses in Hollywood because through Black Cinema Ethel got to be versatile and play roles of people from all walks of life without a stereotype. Ethel got her start in Legendary filmmaker Oscar Micheaux's films. Micheaux was very fortunate to get Ethel Moses to star in his films, Ethel was popular, she was name value, she could draw people to his films and that's exactly what she did. Ethel Moses brought beauty, loveliness, graciousness and mystery to Oscar Micheaux films, just the same as she did on stage, which helped take the minds off of the sometime offensive work of Micheaux's. Ethel truly became a movie star through Micheaux's films. Ethel's first starring role was in "Temptation," premiered at the Howard Theater around 1936 or 1937, at opening night, 5,000 people mobbed Ethel to get a glimpse of the Bronze Venus (as she was called in the film) and to get an autograph. A police escort aided Ethel in getting through the crowds after giving an interview.
Ethel Moses was billed as "The Black Jean Harlow" while in movies because of her resemblance to the white star. Ethel went on to star in other important films of Oscar Micheaux's like Underworld, God's Stepchildren, Birthright, and other black independent films, "Policy Man," "Harlem Mania," and "Gone Harlem." What made Ethel Moses a movie star and so likable was she brought warmth, sincerity, naturalness, charisma, and mysterious to the screen. Ethel in a way was like America's Sweetheart who could do no wrong. Most actresses as curvaceous and gorgeous as Ethel usually played seductresses and Femme Fatales but not Ethel. Ethel always portrayed the long-suffering good girl who always finds herself in trouble but always prevailed. She also portrayed the stand-by-her-man type. Ethel was like a Greta Garbo, she had mystique and without a spoken word, her face could tell a story. Ethel's screen and stage image was sexy but innocent, mysterious, warm, and alluring. Ethel never had to do much to receive attention. Ethel was something the black community needed at the time because Ethel dispelled the myths that black women were hard, cold-hearted, and fast, among other stereotypes. Ethel always had class and a heart of gold that anyone would love and enjoy.
In her time Ethel Moses was very popular and both the black and white newspapers raved about her. She always received wonderful reviews with her dancing and acting. The only bad publicity Ethel received was in 1939, when the German Bund Meeting was at the Madison Square Garden, Ethel and others were escorted out by police because of their protesting against the Nazis gathering but Ethel wasn't looked down upon, she was actually applauded for protesting. By the beginning of the 1940s, Ethel retired from show business but her contributions to Harlem, Black Cinema, American Cinema and Black history hasn't been overlooked.8 acting credits, 1924-1939.
1904-1982, 78. - Lucia Lynn Moses was born on 23 December 1908 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She was an actress, known for The Scar of Shame (1929). She died in October 1984 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA.1908-1984, 75.
The Star of Shame, 1927 - Actress
- Soundtrack
Sexy comedienne Florence O'Brien stole many a scenes with her sassy, brassy comedy, much in the same way as Una Merkel, Patsy Kelly and Clara Bow. Her comedic talent was seen on screen in such independent black films as Double Deal (1939), Lucky Ghost (1942), While Thousands Cheer (1940), Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1941), Stormy Weather (1943) and others. She was one of the very few non stereotypical black comedians of her time. She brought smiles to audiences' faces with her presence, whether it was a big or small part, and became popular film favorite in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and still makes people smile today.19 acting credits, 1939-1947.
1912-2006, 93.- Hilda Offley was born on 27 June 1894 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Miracle in Harlem (1948), Sepia Cinderella (1947) and Keep Punching (1939). She was married to Creighton Thompson. She died in May 1968 in New York City, New York, USA.3 credits, '39,'47, '48
1894-1968, 73 - Bernice Pilot was born on 28 June 1897 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for On Such a Night (1937), My Bill (1938) and Hearts in Dixie (1929). She died on 22 September 1981 in San Bernardino, California, USA.34 acting credits, from 1929-1947.
Born 1895-? - Actress
- Soundtrack
Amanda Randolph was born on 2 September 1896 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for The Amos 'n Andy Show (1951), The Danny Thomas Hour (1967) and The Danny Thomas Show (1953). She was married to Harry Hansberry. She died on 24 August 1967 in Duarte, California, USA.46 acting credits, 1933-1967.
Recorded singer, played piano and sang blues.
1896-1967, 70- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Alice B. Russell is better known as Oscar Micheaux's wife, but she played important parts in almost all of her husband's films. Alice usually played the sympathetic mother figure, a mature role model, a guardian angel to young naive ladies, etc. She was a wonderful emotional actress, never overdoing her sadness and pain but just enough to move you. Alice proved to be a fine actress in many roles - whether small or large she made her presence known. Ten Minutes to Live (1932), Murder in Harlem (1935), God's Step Children (1938), Birthright (1938), among others, had moments that let her light shine.11 acting credits, from 1927-1948.
Also credited in costume and wardrobe, producer, casting department, miscellaneous crew.
1892-1984, 92- Emily Santos was one of the most beautiful showgirls, chorus girls, and models in the late 1930s and 1940s during the Golden Era of Harlem. She was a tall beauty who had poise, class, and allure that was so noticeable even in extra parts in the Black Cinema films she appeared in. Her beauty always got her mentioned in the black newspapers of the time and like most beauties, her beauty got her into movies. She appeared in 3 race films, the first being "Keep Punching" she was one of the beauty contestant in a beauty contest in the nightclub scene, she was the first beauty who alluring looks into the camera and turns and looks over her shoulder, the second film "Sunday Sinners," Emily was an noticeable extra in different scenes and she also was one of the chorus girls in a dance number, the third film "Murder on Lenox Avenue," Emily finally got a real part, a part with more to do, in the film she showed she was more then just a gorgeous face, she played a nose in the air, sort of snooty, wanna be more then what she was showgirl and in the role she also showed comedic flair. "Murder on Lenox Avenue" was surprisingly her last film. Since there wasn't much movie work for black actresses in Hollywood, especially ones who didn't fit the stereotypical image, Emily wouldn't have had much of a chance, but through race films she was able to display her beauty and her acting abilities for the world.3 acting credits, '39.'40,'41
- Gertrude Saunders was born on 25 August 1903 in North Carolina, USA. She was an actress, known for Sepia Cinderella (1947) and Big Timers (1945). She died in April 1991 in Beverly, Massachusetts, USA.3 credits, '38,'45,'47.
1903-1991, 87. - Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, classical and jazz musician Hazel Scott became one of America's premier pianists of her time. Born on June 11, 1920, this child prodigy first started tickling the ivories at age 3 under the guidance of her mother. She moved with her family to the U.S. in 1924 where she started performing in New York City and receiving scholarships to study classical music at the Juilliard School of Music -- all of this by age 8. Her mentors in jazz technique were Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson. Topping her talents off with a warm singing voice to complement her glamorous presence, she was a club and radio star by the late 30s and performed with such notables as Count Basie. She gained some attention for her swinging versions of classical themes. Hazel appeared in the productions "Singing Out the News" and "Priorities of 1942" on Broadway and played twice at Carnegie Hall. As a sometime actress, Hazel became a noted specialty performer in musical motion pictures, including "Something to Shout About" (1943), "I Dood It" (1943) and "Broadway Rhythm" (1944) during the war-era while releasing dozens of albums during her prime. Her most famous hit was "Tico Tico" and her catchy boogie-woogie style proved quite popular during the 40s, while her versatility and ability to shift from jazz to classical to blues was incomparable. Hazel married the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., noted Congressman, preacher and editor in 1945. She became the first black woman to host her own television show in 1950 but, within months, the show was canceled. An outspoken personality all her life, she was subsequently accused of being a Communist sympathizer. She refused to perform in segregated theaters and became a vocal critic of both McCarthyism and racial injustice. Following her divorce from Powell, she lived in Paris where she performed and enjoyed racial freedom during the 1960s. Her return to the U.S. marked a second career on TV with guest parts on such shows as Julia (1968) and The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1969) coming her way. Scott continued to perform in clubs until her death from cancer in 1981.9 acting credits, 1943-1970.
1920-1981, 61
Something to Shout About.
Child prodigy.
Had her own TV show.- Hilda Sims was born in 1881 in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for A Debt of Honour (1922), The Experiment (1922) and A Will of Her Own (1915). She died on 25 December 1934 in Westminster, London, England, UK.8 acting credits, 1915-1961.
- Ethel Smith is known for When Men Betray (1928), The Prince of His Race (1926) and The Broken Violin (1927). She was previously married to Roy Atwell.7 acting credits, from 1914 to 1929.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mamie Smith was born on 26 May 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Beginners (2010), Paradise in Harlem (1939) and Murder on Lenox Avenue (1941). She was married to Jack Goldberg. She died on 30 October 1946 in New York City, New York, USA.6 acting credits, 1929-1942.
Early blues singer.
1883-1946, 63- Actress
- Soundtrack
Trixie Smith was born on 16 January 1900 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She was an actress, known for Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Blue Jasmine (2013) and Swing! (1938). She died on 21 September 1943 in New York City, New York, USA.5 acting credits, from 1932 to 1939.
1 soundtrack credit for Blue Jasmine, 2013.
1895-1943, 48- Valaida Snow was the product of a musical family; her mother, a music teacher, taught Valaida and her sisters to play a wide variety of instruments, among them cello, bass, mandolin, violin, clarinet, saxophone and accordion. The girls also sang and danced, but when Valaida turned professional at the age of 15, she began focusing on vocals and trumpet When she was 22, Snow was headlining Barron Wilkins' Harlem cabaret show, and throughout the remaining years of the 1920s, she toured relentlessly, appearing throughout the U.S. in conjunction with the Will Mastin Trio and performing in London and Paris , pretty soon she won the admiration of Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines and its success helped her. By all rights Snow should have been a major superstar, but as a black performer she was subject to considerable racism; worse still, as a woman, she was an outsider even within the jazz community - her perfect pitch, gifts for arranging and brilliant trumpeting did not help her cause, but only made her that much more of a curiosity. Snow traveled to Europe with her husband Ananais Berry for more shows and eventually she made cameos appearance as herself in Take it from me (1937) and Piéges (1939); however, in 1941, while in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen, she was captured by German forces and interned in a concentration camp in Wester-Faengle. Eighteen months later, she was freed as an exchange prisoner, and allowed to return to New York; tragically, Snow never fully recovered from the ordeal - scarred psychologically as well as physically, she attempted to return to performing, but the spark was clearly gone, so much so that when Hines saw her appear live in 1943 he reportedly did not even recognize her. Following her marriage to manager Earle Edwards, she continued to work in spite of her personal suffering, but after playing the Palace Theater in New York on May 30, 1956, she died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage.2 acting credits, 1937, 1938.
Trumpeter, arranger. Played many instruments. Toured Europe. Captured by German Forces and interred in concentration camp.
1902-1956, 53 - Actress
- Soundtrack
Madame Sul-Te-Wan was born on 7 March 1873 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for Maid of Salem (1937), In Old Chicago (1938) and Safari (1940). She was married to Robert Reed Conley. She died on 1 February 1959 in Hollywood, California, USA.56 acting credits, 1915-1958.
1873-1959, 85- Libby Taylor was born on 20 April 1902 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Another Part of the Forest (1948), Stage Struck (1936) and Hollywood Hotel (1937). She died on 23 August 1961 in Los Angeles, California, USA.63 acting credits, 1932-1953.
1902-1990, 87
The Great McGinty - Anita Thompson was born on 28 March 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for A Man's Duty (1919) and By Right of Birth (1921). She was married to Guy Reynolds, Dwight Lloyd Dickinson and Charles Henri Ford. She died in December 1980 in Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.2 acting credits, 1919,1921
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Attractive Mae Turner was one of the top femme fatales, vamps, and hussies of Black Cinema in the 1930s. She usually played the woman who was the ruin of a man. She was a fine actress who perfected the "woman you love to hate" role and do you wrong and smile a devilish, crooked smile. She was like the Black Claire Trevor and Barbara Stanwyck. What makes Mae an exceptional actress was she made movie audiences believe she was a wicked woman, but she really wasn't. That's good acting when you make watchers believe you are what your portraying.
She was also a wonderful, velvet voice singer who crooned to Joe Louis in "Spirit of Youth" and than led him to ruin but redeemed herself. Mae Turner is one of the Queens of Devil-May-Care women of Cinema history. You can love to hate her but enjoy her talents in "Spirit of Youth," "Two Gun Man From Harlem" and, if they're ever found, "Life Goes On" and "Am I Guilty?".
Watching her it's apparent she was one of the few trained actresses in Black Cinema, while attending the University of California, she studied acting and took part in local productions all the while she attained a degree and an A.K.A. sorority pin. She played Lady MacBeth in the Federal Theatre's Coast production of the Orson Welles hit which rocked New York. It was no surprise that Million Dollar Productions, (the first black movie company in Hollywood), wanted Mae and she graced the movies with her elegance and class giving movie watchers her best Vamp but conscience heart action that made Million Dollar company movies the best ever put out by Blacks outside of Hollywood.
Mae Turner is another unsung talent of Movie history, she is arguably one of the best female actress of Black Cinema, hopefully information on her life and career will surface in the near future.4 acting credits, 1938-1940.
University of California graduate.
1908-1999, 91.- Dorothy Van Engle was Oscar Micheaux's most beautiful and talented actress, and he used her in most of his important films: Harlem After Midnight (1934), Murder in Harlem (1935), God's Step Children (1938) and Swing! (1938). She was a favorite of black audiences and her beauty and natural, sophisticated acting took audiences' minds off the sometimes offending--and offensive--work of Micheaux. WIth Van Engle he saw he had a new star, someone who could bring something new and fresh to his movies. Dorothy Van Engle was a fine actress, providing a new image of a black woman on screen, one that had never been seen on the screen before, and seldom afterward. She often played intelligent, insightful, down-to-earth women, women who were always "ladies" because Van Engle was one herself. She didn't act "black", everything she did wasn't "black"; she acted like a fully-rounded human being.
As an actress she got to play women from all walks of life, not just stereotypical "black" characters, and she made you dismiss the race and look at the character, but her pride in her race was obvious. Many black actresses of today could do themselves a favor by watching her. Van Engle didn't have to do much because her face could tell the story. In all her movies she was always watchable. However, when Micheaux stopped making films at the beginning of the 1940s, Dorothy Van Engle disappeared. Nothing was heard about or from her until her death.
Anyone who sees Dorothy Van Engle is taken by her beauty and naturalness and wants to know more about her. She had the sophistication and classiness of Myrna Loy, the coolness of Kay Francis and a perfect face you'll never forget; put them all together and you had Dorothy Van Engle. She was a part of the "Golden Era" of black films and, most importantly, filmmaking, and will not be forgotten. Dorothy Van Engle surely belongs on top as one of the most beautiful women of the screen alongside Hedy Lamarr, Linda Darnell and Gene Tierney. Lena Horne often is credited as the first black lady of the screen, but Dorothy Van Engle really was. She brought beauty, class and intelligence to the image of black women on screen and introduced it to the world.4 acting credits, 1934-1938.
Excellent seamstress, made her own costumes.
1910-2004, 93 - The name Mildred Washington isn't remembered but she appeared in under 15 films in small parts but her presence, finesse, beauty and vivacious personality wasn't small. Mildred was a beautiful, curvaceous, popular Black actress and dancer in the 1920s and 1930s. She started on the stage appearing in musicals for many years and later conquered California nightclubs and theaters becoming a full-fledged, substantial, popular entertainer who was called the sensation of the West. She was headliner and dance director for many years at the legendary Sebastian's Cotton Club. Mildred was the ultimate performer; she was a skilled dancer who knew how to wow a crowd and amaze them with her great dance and lively stage presence as is seen in the Hollywood movies she appeared in. On the side she appeared in Hollywood films because it was her dream to be in movies. Her beauty and outgoing personality helped her into movies like many white females. Mildred had an magnetic charm that couldn't be overlooked on stage and screen. Mildred introduced a new image of Blacks, she wasn't the common homely, sad, blue, and unintelligible type, Mildred was gorgeous, fun-loving, spoke intelligently, had poise and though sexy she was quite dainty and winsome.
In Hollywood Mildred played the role of a maid in the pre-code era which meant Mildred wasn't forced to be demeaning or stereotyped. In the pre-code era, there were no rules, Blacks had more to do outside the stereotype and most importantly was apart of the films they appeared in not just a maid or servant thrown in. Mildred added her own winning personality, sense of humor and spark; she simply glowed on screen. She entertained her white employees when they were down and out, educated them on life, and lifted their spirits. Mildred was one of the few, very few, beautiful black women who played the maid roles, she wasn't overweight or homely but beautiful, engaging, and scintillating, often stealing attention in scenes from leading white stars because of her beauty, talent and sex appeal. Her persona was certainly in the same fashion as Clara Bow, Alice White, and Jean Harlow. Though, Mildred had little to do on screen in a few of her movies, she still took advantage of getting herself recognized. Her maid costumes was just that...a costume, it didn't define her or her talent and that's what the black community loved about her. Mildred got fan mail, requests for her autographed photo, and she was featured in many leading black publications and newspapers. Whether Hollywood wanted her to be a stereotype or not is not the question, she took it upon her own initiative to present herself the way she wanted and she took her roles seriously and presented them the best she thought would entertain the public. "Hearts in Dixie" was one of the first black cast films made in Hollywood where Mildred co-starred, Mildred was said to have gave an excellent performance, the reviews were in Mildred's favor but sadly the film is believed to be lost. Her best role was in "Torch Singer" starring Claudette Colbert, in which she played a maid/confidante to Colbert. In this particular film she showed her awesome versatility and sincerity, where she went from dramatic to comedic naturally in good timing and she did some hot dancing. She was just marvelous in her role that you would forget she was suppose to be a maid, sometimes Mildred forgot, because she made her roles significant by being an actress not a maid.
Mildred was an highly educated and cultured woman, she graduated from Los Angeles High School where she was an honor graduate and valedictorian. She had two years at the University of California at Los Angeles and also studied at Columbia University. She could speak fluent Spanish and French. Mildred chose being an entertainer and actress as her career but her education was always there to fall back on. Off screen she lived well, she dabbled in real estate and one of the few black movie stars who made enough to own a big, beautiful home in which she had a maid working for her. Mildred was truly a Renaissance Black woman and a new kind of Black woman who didn't let anyone hold her back. Mildred was on her way to becoming a full-time actress and studio heads were very satisfied with her previous work and beauty but it was her untimely death in late 1933 that stalled her escalating screen career. During an major earthquake in the spring of 1933, Mildred developed appendicitis when she fell running for cover from Graumans Chinese Theatre. Her death was caused by peritonitis following appendicitis, she died on a Thursday afternoon at the White Memorial Hospital during surgery. She was 28 years old. Her funeral was a star- studded one with many black and white stage and screen stars.12 acting credits, from 1927-1933.
1905-1933, 28 - Actress
- Soundtrack
Gorgeous, versatile Marguerite Whitten (aka Margaret Whitten) was a wonderful, natural actress of "the golden era" of Hollywood and of black cinema. She had a sweet, likable presence on screen and her performances were always enjoyable. Margaret was a fine actress, never having to overact to express herself. She always became her character, mind, heart and soul.
She was one of many black actresses who introduced a different image of black women in movies--sophisticated, intelligent, elegant, graceful and sweet. She appeared in many "A"-grade black movies, then known as "race" films. She gave excellent performances in Spirit of Youth (1938), Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938), _Mystery In Swing (1940)_ and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), films that were popular with black audiences because it had black actors and actresses playing characters from all walks of life. She was always a lovely, appealing leading lady to her leading men, such as Joe Louis, Herb Jeffries, Monte Hawley and Mantan Moreland.
In "mainstream" Hollywood movies, Margaret sometimes had to play the stereotypical roles black performers were usually limited to, but because of her skill and talent she took your mind off the stereotyped character and made you see her as the fine actress she was, and even though the part may have been meant to degrade her or her people, she changed it to something that didn't. In Way Down South (1939) Margaret had a small but significant part. She gave a touching performance as a slave in love with another slave, with both facing being sold and separated. She gave a memorable and moving performance; without a spoken word in some scenes she let her face tell the story and made you feel along with her.
She was a wonderful singer and dancer, which she got to display in a few films. The warmth in her voice, gestures and eyes never cease to be overlooked. Margaret was always magnetic, extremely charming and charismatic, which always helped her steal scenes. Once you see her you'll never forget her.
Margaret Whitten is truly one of the unsung black actresses who contributed to her race and Black and Hollywood cinema, and she deserves much more recognition than she's gotten. Margaret was always an actress and never a stereotype.14 acting credits, '38-'43.
1913-1990, 77- Frances E. Williams was born on 7 September 1905 in East Orange, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for The Jerk (1979), Frank's Place (1987) and Week-End with Father (1951). She was married to William Anthony Hall. She died on 2 January 1995 in Los Angeles, California, USA.38 acting credits, 1939-1994.
1905-1995, 89 - Gladys Williams is known for The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940) and Lying Lips (1939).2 credits, '39,'40
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Eunice Wilson was one of the top entertainers of the 1930s of Black Entertainment. She was called the best. An exceptional song and dance girl she was, her dancing reminds you of Michael Jackson. She was an example of what hot/swing dancing was all about added with class. She was the definition of what a performer must be, she had talent, beauty, spark, personality, magnetism and a heart and love for her abilities, those were the ingredients that won her fame quickly and won her respect from her contemporaries and admirers in the U.S. and Europe and made her one of the main attractions in the most popular nightclubs and theaters. In her youth she was a fun type of performer, not just on stage and screen to show off her abilities but there because she really loved what she was doing and audiences saw that and it rubbed off on them to have fun. Eunice was a good time gal, she was the new type of Black, she wasn't the sad, bluesy type of performer but sexy, proud, full of song and dance and love. Eunice found fame quickly, rising above many who were just as good and had been in the business longer than her but because she had an innate, immense talent of songs and dance and a charming presence that was enticing and couldn't be forgotten. Eunice was a rare female dancer because her dancing could top any men, she was much more than a hip shaking, shimmy dancer. In 1936, Eunice joined the show of the famous Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1936, where there was plenty of great talents but Eunice stood out, she won favorable reviews and pleasing compliments from royalty.
Eunice was in 3 movies that are available that feature her excellent dancing and singing and in 2 films she was a pleasant actress as well. In 1948, Eunice starred in "No Time for Romance," one of the best of Black Cinema and the first black film in color. She was a bit heavier and older but classier and glamorous and she still had the talent of singing a song to the heart that couldn't be resist.
She was an interesting woman on and off stage. Eunice Wilson is and always will be the personification of what made Harlem and Black entertainers of the 1930s and 1940s greats. To this day, her performances in movies is still wowing people. She is truly irresistible.3 credits, '35-'48
1911-1984, 72