Adrienne Wartts, Author at • Page 2 of 4

Academic Historian

Adrienne N. Wartts received her M.A. in American Culture Studies, with an emphasis in African American Studies, from Washington University in St. Louis. She is an adjunct professor of film studies at Webster University. As a contributing writer for Jerry Jazz Musician magazine, she has interviewed Rick Coleman, author of Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock ‘N’ Roll and Elizabeth Pepin, author of Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era. Adrienne is the recipient of the 2009 Norman Mailer Writers Colony Scholarship for biography writing.

Alvin Childress (1907-1986)

Alvin Childress is best remembered for his role as the philosophical easy-going character Amos on the Amos n’ Andy show, a popular all-black cast sitcom of the early 1950s that depicted the antics of three friends in Harlem. Childress was born on September 15, 1907 … Read MoreAlvin Childress (1907-1986)

Lillian Randolph (1915-1980)

Lillian Randolph was a 20th Century actress who routinely, yet proudly, presented the role of the black domestic in film and radio and defended her right to maintain such characters in an intelligent fashion for much of her career. Randolph was born in Knoxville, Tennessee … Read MoreLillian Randolph (1915-1980)

Juanita Moore (1922-2014)

Veteran actress Juanita Moore is fondly remembered for her tear-jerking role of Annie Johnson in Douglas Sirk’s 1959 remake of Imitation of Life. Moore was a groundbreaking actress best known for her role as Lana Turner’s character’s black friend in the film. In 1960 she … Read MoreJuanita Moore (1922-2014)

Ethel Moses (1904-1982)

Actress and dancer Ethel Moses, who became a leading lady in silent and sound black films, was the daughter of well-known New York Baptist Minister W.H. Moses. She began her show business career as a dancer in 1924, when she was cast with internationally-renowned entertainer … Read MoreEthel Moses (1904-1982)

James Edwards (1918-1970)

One of the first African American actors to receive critical acclaim, James Edwards was born in Muncie, Indiana in 1918. He majored in psychology at Knoxville College in Tennessee and continued his education at Northwestern University where he received a master’s degree in drama. While … Read MoreJames Edwards (1918-1970)

Hilda Simms (1918-1994)

Hilda Simms was born Hilda Moses to Emile and Lydia Moses in 1918 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She briefly studied teaching at the University of Minnesota before relocating to New York where she met and married William Simms and gained professional acting experience at Harlem’s American … Read MoreHilda Simms (1918-1994)

Ben Carter (1907-1946)

Actor-turned casting agent Ben Carter often portrayed an obliging domestic in Hollywood films, but later became one of the few African American agents in the movie capital dedicated to promoting and enhancing the careers of some of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors and actresses of color … Read MoreBen Carter (1907-1946)

Ernest Anderson (1916-1997)

Legendary actor Ernest Anderson gained notoriety for his monumental performance in the 1942 film In This Our Life – a single, supporting role that facilitated the alteration of negative depictions presented of African Americans in Hollywood film. Born in 1916 in Lynn, Massachusetts, Anderson was … Read MoreErnest Anderson (1916-1997)

Lucia Lynn Moses (ca. 1906- )

Lauded for her masterful performance in her only film, Lucia Lynn Moses began her show business career as a chorus girl at New York’s legendary Cotton Club in the early 1920s and went on to perform in the theater. She made her film debut when … Read MoreLucia Lynn Moses (ca. 1906- )

Edna Mae Harris (1914-1997)

Actress Edna Mae Harris made a name for herself as a lead in underground films of the 1930s and 1940s, which depicted the life of the black bourgeoisie. Harris was born in Harlem, New York, in 1914 to Sam and Mary Harris. Her father was … Read MoreEdna Mae Harris (1914-1997)