The Anita Bush Players, also known as the Anita Bush All-Colored Dramatic Stock Company was organized by Actor Anita Bush in New York City in 1915. An actor, dancer, and producer, Anita Bush turned to drama after a back injury ended her dancing career in … Read MoreAnita Bush Players
Charles Gordone was born Charles Edward Fleming on October 12, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio to parents William and Camille Fleming. He took his stepfather’s surname of Gordon when his mother remarried when he was five years old. The family moved to Elkhart, Indiana, his mother’s … Read MoreCharles Gordone (1925-1995)
Charles Sidney Gilpin, an actor, singer, and vaudevillian dancer, was the most successful African American stage performer in the early 20th Century. He is best known for his portrayal of Brutus Jones in Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones. A Richmond, Virginia, native, Gilpin attended St. … Read MoreCharles Sidney Gilpin (1878-1930)
Kenneth Howard Norton was born on August 9, 1943 in Jacksonville, Illinois. An all around athlete, Ken excelled in varsity track and football in high school, and earned a football scholarship to Northeast Missouri State University. He left school during his sophomore year after getting … Read MoreKen Norton (1943-2013)
Flip Wilson was the first African American to host a hit variety series on television. The Flip Wilson Show aired from 1970 to 1974 and in addition to high ratings, Wilson won two Emmy Awards: one was for Outstanding Variety Series and the other for … Read MoreFlip Wilson (1933-1998)
The African Company was the first known black theatre troupe. In 1816, William Henry Brown (1815-1884), a retired West Indian steamship steward, acquired a house on Thomas Street in lower Manhattan, New York. He offered a variety of instrumental and vocal entertainments on Sunday afternoons … Read MoreAfrican Company / African Grove Theatre
Actor, director, and narrator Roscoe Lee Browne was born on May 2, 1925 in Woodbury, New Jersey, the son of Sylvanus Browne, a Baptist minister, and Lovie Lee. A bright student who excelled in the study of literature, Browne graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania … Read MoreRoscoe Lee Browne (1925-2007)
Born September 18, 1905 in Oakland, California, Eddie Anderson’s career as an entertainer began at the age of 14 when he teamed up with his brother Cornelius in a song-and-dance act. Anderson’s career continued onto the silver screen where he had parts in movies such … Read MoreEddie “Rochester” Anderson (1905-1977)
Born July 28, 1914, in Los Angeles, California, Woody Strode (Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode) was first of the star football athletes to become a successful film actor. He and Kenny Washington integrated the National Football League (NFL), and Strode played for the Los Angeles Rams … Read MoreWoody Strode (1914-1994)
The physical presence that black British actor Harry Baird brought to the movie screen was largely a consequence of the United Kingdom going through the birthing pain of racism during the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Guyana, this premier black actor was no Paul Robeson, … Read MoreHarry Baird (1931-2005)
