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Ethel Waters was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her notable recordings include "Dinah", "Stormy Weather", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Heat Wave", "Supper Time", "Am I Blue?", "Cabin in the Sky", "I'm Coming Virginia", and her version of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow". Waters was the second African American to be nominated for an Academy Award, the first African American to star on her own television show, and the first African-American woman to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
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.
Evelyn Preer, was a pioneering American stage and screen actress and jazz and blues singer of the 1910s through the early 1930s. Preer was known within the black community as "The First Lady of the Screen."
Octavus Roy Cohen (1891–1959) was an early 20th century American writer specializing in ethnic comedies. His dialect comedy stories about African Americans gained popularity after being published in the Saturday Evening Post and were adapted into a series of short films by Al Christie featuring actors Charles Olden, Spencer Williams Jr., Evelyn Preer, and Edward Thompson.
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.
Harlem on the Prairie (1937) is a race movie, billed as the first "all-colored" Western musical. The movie reminded audiences that there were black cowboys and corrected a popular Hollywood image of an all-white Old West.
The Ethiopian Art Theatre — originally called the Chicago Folk Theatre, later the Colored Folk Theatre, also referred to as The Ethiopian Art Players — was an African American theatre company based out of Chicago, Illinois. The company was an influential albeit short-lived (1922/1923–1925) group founded during the Harlem Renaissance. There are differing views over the precise year that the company was founded, 1922 or 1923. The founder was Raymond O'Neil, a white theatre director, and its principal sponsor was Mrs. Sherwood Anderson, also white; though all its performers were African American. The organization was unique and controversial during its era, primarily for being one of the few African American Theatre Companies to perform European theatrical works, but also, among other things, for producing theatrical works of African American playwrights for both African American and Non-African American audiences.
The Lincoln Theater is a historic theater in South Los Angeles, California. The Moorish Revival building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. Sometimes referred to as the "West Coast Apollo", the Lincoln Theater was one of the most significant establishments along the Central Avenue Corridor that became the cultural and business hub of the African American community in Los Angeles from the 1920s to the 1950s. For more than 30 years, the Lincoln featured live theater, musical acts, talent shows, vaudeville, and motion pictures, including live performances by the leading African-American performers of the era, including Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, the Nat King Cole Trio, and Billie Holiday. The Lincoln Theater was managed and directed by Jules Wolf The theater was converted to use as a church in 1962 and continues to be used for religious services.
The Spider's Web is a 1926 Oscar Micheaux film starring Evelyn Preer. It was remade in 1932 as The Girl from Chicago.
Georgia Rose was a 1930 film. It was directed by Harry Gant and stars Clarence Brooks. It followed the 1928 film Absent with Brooks as its star.
Rang Tang is a musical that premiered July 12, 1927, on Broadway at the Royale Theater and ran for 119 performances, including a 14-week overrun, during which, the production moved September 12, 1927, to the Majestic – finishing October 24, 1927. It was acclaimed as one of the most successful black musical revues of the latter 1920s, and owed much to a star-laden cast headlined by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. The book — in 2 acts and 12 scenes — is by Kaj Gynt; the lyrics are by Joseph H. Trent; the music is composed by Ford Dabney, who tailored some of the songs for Mae Barnes and Evelyn Preer; the score and post-production music was published by Leo Feist; all copyrighted in 1927 and copyrights renewed in 1954.
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.
Roberta Hyson was an American 20th-century actress, dancer, and singer. She appeared in several all African American-cast early talking films by Christie Film Company, and had a leading role in The Melancholy Dame (1929).
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.
The Framing of the Shrew is a 1929 American comedy film. It features an African American cast. It was produced by Al Christie and the story was by Octavus Roy Cohen. It was directed by Arvid E. Gillstrom. The plot depicts a husband who gets the upper hand on his wife using various tactics.
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.
Charles Olden was an actor on stage and screen in the United States. He had a leading role in a pair of films made with African American casts. He was also in theatrical performances with other prominent African American actors of stage and screen including Evelyn Preer.
References
- ↑ "Evelyn Preer The Melancholy Dame". 20's Jazz.
- 1 2 Liebenson, Donald (October 12, 1997). "Amos Shelved, but Not Andy". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "Film legend and pioneer, Spencer Williams Jr". amsterdamnews.com.
- ↑ Cripps, Thomas (February 3, 1977). Slow Fade to Black. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199727872 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Donald, James; Friedberg, Anne; Marcus, Laura (January 1, 1998). Close Up: Cinema And Modernism. A&C Black. ISBN 9780304335169 – via Google Books.
