Suzette Harbin (July 4, 1915 – September 5, 1994) was an American actress and dancer.
Early life
Harbin was from
Ledbetter, Texas.
Harbin was raised in California, first in
Pacific Grove, California
Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The population at the 2020 census was 15,090. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey.
Pacific Grove has numerous Victorian-era houses, ...
, and then in Los Angeles. Harbin graduated from
Jefferson High School
This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Buildings Elementary schools
*Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas
*Thoma ...
in 1934, soon after the school's buildings were destroyed in the
1933 Long Beach earthquake
The 1933 Long Beach earthquake took place on March 10 at south of downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach, California, on the Newport–Inglewood Fault. The earthquake had a magnitude estimated at 6.4 , and a ...
.
["Deaths: Suzette Harbin Bailey" ''Los Angeles Sentinel'' (March 2, 1995): A9. via ]ProQuest
ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...
Career
Harbin worked as an artists' model in Los Angeles in the 1930s.
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''The Official Central Avenue Directory'' (August 1939): 6. Harbin's film appearances included roles in ''
So Red the Rose
''So Red the Rose'' is the only studio album by the Duran Duran-spinoff group Arcadia, released in 1985. It included the singles " Election Day", "Goodbye Is Forever" and " The Flame". The album peaked at #23 on the Billboard 200 in January 198 ...
'' (1935), ''
Up Jumped the Devil
''Up Jumped the Devil'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Mantan Moreland.
Plot
Washington and Jefferson are two criminals who are just released from prison. They look for jobs to avoid being arrested ...
'' (1941), ''
Cabin in the Sky
Cabin may refer to:
Buildings
* Beach cabin, a small wooden hut on a beach
* Log cabin, a house built from logs
* Cottage, a small house
* Chalet, a wooden mountain house with a sloping roof
* Cabin, small free-standing structures that serve as ...
'' (1943), ''
Stormy Weather'' (1943), ''
I Dood It
''I Dood It'' (UK title ''By Hook or by Crook'') is a 1943 American musical-comedy film starring Red Skelton and Eleanor Powell, directed by Vincente Minnelli, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay is by Fred Saidy and Sig Herzig an ...
'' (1943), ''
Jam Session
A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ext ...
'' (1944), ''
To Have and Have Not
''To Have and Have Not'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1937 by Charles Scribner's Sons. The book follows Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida. ''To Have and Have Not'' was Hemingway's second novel set in t ...
'' (1944), ''
Ziegfeld Follies
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Follies of the ...
'' (1945), ''
Look-Out Sister'' (1947), ''
The Foxes of Harrow
''The Foxes of Harrow'' is a 1947 American adventure film directed by John M. Stahl. The film stars Rex Harrison, Maureen O'Hara, and Richard Haydn.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Production Design (Lyle R. Wheeler, Maur ...
'' (1947), ''
The Pirate'' (1948), ''
Sky Dragon'' (1949), ''
Destination Murder'' (1950), ''
The Cimarron Kid
''The Cimarron Kid'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Audie Murphy and Beverly Tyler.
Plot
Bill Doolin (Audie Murphy) is released from jail and is going home on the train when it is held up by his boy ...
'' (1952), ''
Skirts Ahoy!'' (1952), ''
Lydia Bailey
''Lydia Bailey'' is a 1952 American historical film directed by Jean Negulesco, based on the novel of the same name by Kenneth Roberts. It stars Dale Robertson and Anne Francis.
Plot
In 1802, lawyer Albion Hamlin travels from Baltimore to Ca ...
'' (1952), ''
Bomba and the Jungle Girl'' (1952), ''
The Green-Eyed Blonde'' (1957). She was also in an episode of the television program ''
Wagon Train
''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...
'' (1958). She was sometimes told that she was "too pretty" for the roles available to African-American actresses in mainstream films of the 1940s and 1950s.
In 1954, Harbin went to Korea to give 25 performances for American troops at military installations there, headlining the "first all-Negro entertainment package to tour Korea." She also toured military bases in
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...
that year, in a troupe where she was the only African-American performer.
In 1960 she retired to the
Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach.
History Monterey
Monterey was founded in ...
and directed children's theatre; she also worked as a Monterey County juvenile officer. She moved back to Texas in 1980, and worked as a tour guide at the airport in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
.
Personal life
Harbin married Hildred Claude Johnson in 1938, and for a time used the name Suzette Harbin-Johnson.
She was injured in a car accident in 1952. She married caricature artist Calvin Bailey in 1954.
"Actress Suzette Harbin Weds Artist Cal Bailey"
''Jet'' (November 11, 1954): 17. Harbin died in 1994, aged 79 years, in San Antonio, Texas.
Filmography
References
External links
*
Harbin on the cover of ''Jet'' magazine
(July 22, 1954).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbin, Suzette
1915 births
1994 deaths
American actresses
20th-century American women