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.
William King was an African-American vaudeville comedian who led the ‘’’Billy King Stock Company’’’ who was described as "a living link between the Harlem Renaissance and nineteenth-century black minstrelsy." He married fellow performer Hattie McIntosh.
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.
Gonzell White, also written Gonzelle White, was an American jazz, blues, and vaudeville performer in the United States.
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.
Hattie McIntosh was a vaudeville performer who toured with successful shows and her husband, fellow performer Tom McIntosh (comedian).
Sybil Lewis was an actress in the United States. An African American, she appeared in several films including musicals during the 1940s. She appeared in African American films and Hollywood pictures. She had starring roles in several African American films including Lucky Gamblers and Am I Guilty? and portrayed smaller roles including as a maid in Hollywood films. She also had a leading role in Broken Strings (film) in 1940.
Maceo Bruce Sheffield was a police detective and an actor in American films. He worked in Los Angeles as a policeman before acting and assisting in the production of films with African American casts. He was also a stuntman and pilot. He portrayed a swindler in Lucky Ghost as Dr. Brutus Blake in the sequel to Mr. Washington Goes to Town. He was the associate producer of both Lucky Ghost and Mr. Washington Goes to Town.
Marion A. Brooks was an actor, playwright, and theater businessman. He partnered on the Bijou theater company at the newly established Bijou Theater in Montgomery, Alabama with players from Chicago. After it folded, he returned to work at the Pekin Theatre in Chicago.
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.
Jerry Mills was a performer at the Pekin Theatre in Chicago. and in films.
Henry Jines was an American vaudeville actor. He starred in stage productions including Irvin Miller's Broadway Rastus, and performed in blackface.
Blondie Robinson, also sometimes written as Blondi Robinson, was an African American renowned vaudeville comedic act performer.
Emory Speer Richardson was an actor who appeared in American films. He was also in numerous theatrical productions.
The McCarver Brothers, Howard McCarver and William McCarver, performed in minstrel and vaudeville shows from the late 19th century into the 20th. William McCarver was lauded for his make-up, contortion, singing, and dancing in his comedy duo performances.
Doe Doe Green was a comic actor. A review of a 1922 performance of his with the Jack "Ginger" Wiggins company described him as a "popular neat dancing comedian". He portrayed Booker T in the 1931 film Enemies of the Law. In the 1937 production Big Blow he was the only African American in the cast playing a role described as "a Negro lost in a white man's world" as he seeks to protect an orphaned white girl.
Harrison Stewart was a comedic actor and lyricist in the United States. He performed at the Pekin Theater in Chicago where he became a star and received top billing.
Joe Byrd was a vaudeville comedian. He was from Jacksonville, Florida.
George Washington Bullion was a popular and long running three act musical comedy by the Tutt Brothers, Salem Tutt Whitney and J. Homer Tutt that debuted in 1910. Trevor L. Corwell, a white English impresario helped book the show. The storyline featured a black tobacco plantation owner aspiring to join high society. The Tutt brothers’ shows George Washington Bullion Abroad and How Newtown Prepared followed up on the characters in 1915 and 1916. Both shows had the characters of Washington and fellow veterans leaving to fight in foreign wars.
