Henry Jines was an American vaudeville actor. He starred in stage productions including Irvin Miller's Broadway Rastus , [1] and performed in blackface.
Jines was from Atlanta, Georgia. In 1913 he had reportedly been writing vaudeville sketches and lyrics for about six years. [2] The St. Louis Argus reviewed a show he featured in with Frank Montgomery, Blondie Robinson, Frank "Chinese" Walker, and Florence McClain February 1921. [3]
Henry Sterling Creamer was a popular song lyricist and theater producer. He was born in Richmond, Virginia, and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, often collaborating with Turner Layton, with whom he also appeared in vaudeville. He was African American.
Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles, was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. His long career mirrored changes in American entertainment tastes and technology. His career began in the age of minstrel shows and moved to vaudeville, Broadway theatre, the recording industry, Hollywood films, radio, and television.
Florence Mills, billed as the "Queen of Happiness", was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian.
Shuffle Along is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-American musical theater, credited with inspiring the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and '30s.
Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive.
Therese Gardella was an American performer on the stage and screen whose stage persona was Aunt Jemima. She was of Italian descent. She performed on both stage and screen, usually in blackface. Tess was born in Glen Lyon, Pennsylvania, to John and Louisa Gardella. She came to New York City in 1918, singing in dances and nightclubs and also political rallies.
Flournoy Eakin Miller, sometimes credited as F. E. Miller, was an American entertainer, actor, lyricist, producer and playwright. Between about 1905 and 1932 he formed a popular comic duo, Miller and Lyles, with Aubrey Lyles. Described as "an innovator who advanced black comedy and entertainment significantly," and as "one of the seminal figures in the development of African American musical theater on Broadway", he wrote many successful vaudeville and Broadway shows, including the influential Shuffle Along (1921), as well as working on several all-black movies between the 1930s and 1950s.
Aubrey Lee Lyles, sometimes credited as A. L. Lyles, was an American vaudeville performer, playwright, songwriter, and lyricist. He appeared with Flournoy E. Miller as Miller and Lyles as a popular African-American comedy duo from 1905 until shortly before his death. in 1929 they appeared on film as grocers in the Vitaphone Varieties short comedy film They Know Their Groceries.
Frank Aloysius Robert Tinney was an American blackface comedian and actor.
Irvin Colloden Miller was an American actor, playwright, and vaudeville show writer and producer. He was responsible for successful theater shows including Broadway Rastus (1921), Liza (1922), Dinah (1923), which introduced the wildly popular black bottom dance, and Desires of 1927 starring Adelaide Hall. For thirty years he directed the popular review, Brown Skin Models, influenced by the Ziegfeld Follies but exclusively using black performers. "In the 1920s and 1930s, he was arguably the most well-established and successful producer of black musical comedy."
Odessa Warren Grey was milliner, entrepreneur, and performer in Harlem, New York. She is best known as the star of the silent film, Lime Kiln Field Day (1913) where she co-stars with Bert Williams.
Juanita Stinnette Chappelle was a singer and vaudeville performer, as well as co-founder of Chappelle and Stinnette Records during the Harlem Renaissance era. Their record label was founded around 1921 and is considered one of the earliest labels owned and operated by African Americans. They produced 6 records, five of which they performed on.
Freddie Crump, also referred to as Freddy Crump, Fred Crump and Rastus Crump was a drummer from the United States. He performed in various vaudeville productions including with Gonzelle White in Cuba, performed in Europe, and was featured in several films. He was African American.
Mazie King was an American dancer, singer, and vaudeville performer.
Emmett Anthony was an American vaudeville comedian who appeared on stage in various revues and shows. In December 1915 he arrived in New Orleans on the S.S. Brunswick to perform at the Iroquis Theater. He was also in the film Son of Satan and was part of Blackville Corporation's 1915 touring revival, The Mayor of Jimtown touring show in 1923, and Harlem Darlings revue in 1929. He featured as a regular at the Crescent Theatre in 1913. He was in Liza in 1923. He received a favorable assessment for his part in Put and Take.
Cora Green was an American actress, singer, and dancer, billed as "The Famous Creole Singer".
Gertie Brown Moore was a vaudeville performer and one of the first African-American film actresses. Brown is most famous for her part in the 1898 silent film Something Good – Negro Kiss, which went viral in 2018.
Charlotte Grady Roxborough was a singer, dancer, and comedian who performed in theatrical productions and vaudeville as well as films. She was born to Wesley, a white father, and Susan (Kelly) Grady. She performed at the Pekin Theatre in Chicago where she was a star member of its stock company. She starred in William Foster's The Pullman Porter, in 1912, the first black motion picture production.
Broadway Rastus was a 1915-1928 revue written by Irvin Miller. It toured for several years at various venues with casts including many successful performers. Miller performed in the show. Other cast members included Esther Bigeou and Henry Jines. Lester Walton reviewed a Philadelphia performance of the show lauding many of the performances and calling the show a diamond in the rough that would benefit from more funding.
Blondie Robinson, also sometimes written as Blondi Robinson, was an African American renowned vaudeville comedic act performer.