Evelyn Louise Keyes was an American film actress. She is best known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.
Spencer Williams was an American actor and filmmaker. He portrayed Andy on TV's The Amos 'n' Andy Show and directed films including the 1941 race film The Blood of Jesus. Williams was a pioneering African-American film producer and director.
Amanda E. Randolph was an American actress and singer. She was the first African-American performer to star in a regularly scheduled network television show, appearing in DuMont's The Laytons.
Evelyn Preer, was an African American pioneering screen and stage actress, and jazz and blues singer in Hollywood during the late-1910s through the early 1930s. Preer was known within the Black community as "The First Lady of the Screen."
Madame Sul-Te-Wan was the first African-American actress to sign a film contract and be a featured performer. She was an American stage, film and television actress for over 50 years. The daughter of former slaves, she began her career in entertainment touring the East Coast with various theatrical companies and moved to California to become a member of the fledgling film community. She became known as a character actress, appeared in high-profile films such as The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916), and easily navigated the transition to the sound films.
The Homesteader (1919) is a lost black-and-white silent film by African-American author and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. The film is based on his novel inspired by his experiences.
See China and Die is a 1981 television film written, produced and directed by Larry Cohen.
The Spider's Web is a 1926 Oscar Micheaux film starring Evelyn Preer. It was remade in 1932 as The Girl from Chicago.
Harry Arthur Gant was a cinematographer and film director whose work includes African American films. He directed for the Lincoln Motion Picture Company. He was the only white person at the film company.
Zack Williams was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films including leading roles as in Son of Ingagi. His career spanned silent films from the early 1920s to talkie (sound) films of the late 1940s. He appeared with other black actors in the 1929 film Hearts in Dixie.
Elcors "Shingzie" Howard was an actress in the U.S. She appeared in several Oscar Michaux films. She also worked for the Colored Players Film Corporation.
The Melancholy Dame is a short American comedy film made with an African American cast and released in 1929. It was an Al Christie film based on the Octavus Roy Cohen comedy series called "Darktown Birmingham" published in the Saturday Evening Post. Arvid Gillstrom directed and Florian Slappey was portrayed by Charles Olden. The film was produced and released by Paramount Pictures, and includes racial caricatures. It has been described as the first African American talkie. It featured a vision of high society and comic dialogue set in a Birmingham restaurant with a piano and dance show. The Los Angeles Times summarized the plot as, "A cabaret owner’s wife demands that her husband fire the sexy star attraction. Little does she know that the singer and the club owner were once married." It is a 2-reel film. The film is extant and posted on YouTube along with other films from the series.
Dark Manhattan is a black and white American film produced in 1937 by a partnership of African Americans Ralph Cooper and George Randol. Harry Fraser directed the film, which was written by Randol who was also the executive producer. The film was the only one made by Randol-Cooper Productions.
Edward Thompson (1898–1960) was an actor in the United States. He appeared in several films with African American casts. He worked on films with his wife Evelyn Preer, Spencer Williams, and other prominent African American actors including in Al Christie productions. He played in various theater productions as an actor, including in a musical dancing role in Darktown Follies.
Absent is a 1928 American silent drama film starring Clarence Brooks. It was directed by Harry Gant. The film is about a veteran with memory loss who finds employment at a mining camp, aids his hosts, and finds new purpose. It was produced by Rosebud Film Corporation. It was followed on by Brooks in Georgia Rose.
The Lady Fare or Lady Fare is a 1929 American short comedy film directed by William Watson, from a story by Octavus Roy Cohen, and screenplay by Spencer Williams. It was produced by Al Christie and filmed by the Christie Film Company.
Music Hath Harms is an American film released in 1929. A two-reel short it was produced by Al Christie. The film stars Spencer Williams and Roberta Hyson with musical performances by Curtis Mosby and the Blues Blowers. It was part of the Florian Slappey series. The story features a con man promising to wow an audience with a musical performance. The film remains in existence and is available online.
Brown Gravy is a 1929 American comedy film with an African American cast. William Watson directed the Al Christie production. It was among the early "talkie" films released with African American casts. Octavus Roy Cohen wrote the story, part of a series he wrote for the Saturday Evening Post adapted to film in collaboration with Christie. The film's thin plot includes themes addressing religion, fraternal organizations, con men, and family life.
Oft in the Silly Night is an American short comedy film released in 1929. It was produced by Al Christie from a story by Octavus Roy Cohen, part of a series published in the Saturday Evening Post and adapted to film in Christie productions. Among the early "talkie" films featuring an African American cast, the film survives and is available online.
Reform School is a 1939 Million Dollar Productions American film produced by Harry M. Popkin, directed by Leo C. Popkin, written by Joseph O'Donnell and Hazel Jamieson and starring Louise Beavers.
