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Charles Olden (actor)
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. Olden portrayed Florian Slappey in two films. The films and character were adapted in Al Christie productions of Octavus Roy Cohen's "Darktown Birmingham" comedy series published in the ''Saturday Evening Post''. He was part of the Ethiopian Art Theatre group in New York City. Olden won plaudits for his role in an adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Comedy of Errors'' and as George in an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Salome. Filmography *''The Framing of the Shrew'' (1929) as Florian Slappey *''The Melancholy Dame'' (1929) as Florian Slappey Theater *''Comedy of Errors'' (1923), an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play *''Salome'' (1923), by Oscar Wilde, as "A Cappadocian/First Jew". Performed at the Frazee The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evelyn Preer
Evelyn Preer (née Jarvis; July 26, 1896 – November 17, 1932), 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." She was the first black actress to earn celebrity and popularity. She appeared in ground-breaking films and stage productions, such as the first play by a black playwright to be produced on Broadway, and the first New York-style production with a black cast in California in 1928, in a revival of a play adapted from Somerset Maugham's ''Rain''. Early life Evelyn Jarvis was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 26, 1896. After her father, Frank, died prematurely, she moved with her mother, Blanche, and her three other siblings to Chicago, Illinois. She completed grammar school and high school in Chicago. Her early experiences in vaudeville and "street preaching" with her mother are what jump-started her acting career ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Monagas
Lionel John Monagas (June 26, 1889 – September 3, 1945) was an American actor originally from Caracas, Venezuela. A member of the original Lafayette Players company of Harlem, he appeared in theatrical and film productions. Theatre credits Monagas' stage credits are listed at the Internet Broadway Database. * ''Confidence'' (1920) * ''The Heartbreaker'' (1920) * ''An African Prince'' (1920) * ''Salome'' (1923) * ''The Comedy of Errors'' (1923) * ''Runnin' Wild'' (1924) * ''Appearances'' (1925) * ''My Magnolia'' (1926) * ''Miss Calico'' (1926) * ''Slim Slivers'' (1927) * ''Ol' Man Satan'' (1932) * ''Louisiana'' (1933) * ''Hummin' Sam'' (1933) * '' Blackbirds of 1933'' (1933) * ''Roll, Sweet Chariot'' (1934) * ''The Man from Baltimore'' (1920) * ''Walk Together Chillun'' (1936) * '' Conjur' Man Dies'' (1936) * ''The Show-Off'' (1937) * ''One-Act Plays of the Sea'' (1937) * ''Big White Fog'' (1940) * ''The Eternal Magdalene'' (1943) * ''Peepshow'' (1944) * '' Anna Lucasta'' (1944 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African-American Actors
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslaved Africans who are from the United States. While some Black immigrants or their children may also come to identify as African-American, the majority of first generation immigrants do not, preferring to identify with their nation of origin. African Americans constitute the second largest racial group in the U.S. after White Americans, as well as the third largest ethnic group after Hispanic and Latino Americans. Most African Americans are descendants of enslaved people within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of West/Central African with some European descent; some also have Native American and other ancestry. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, African immigrants generally do not self-id ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monte Hawley
Monte Hawley (? - November 30, 1950) was an American actor from Chicago, Illinois. Biography He began his entertainment career as one of the original Lafayette Players. He studied under Richard B. Harrison and, after moving to New York City, acted in works on Broadway. He then moved to Hollywood and appeared in movies, including Oscar Micheaux's first film production. He was an actor in, and stage manager for, the original traveling production of the play '' Anna Lucasta''. According to the ''Philadelphia Tribune'', Hawley was considered one of the most prominent Black "stage and screen actors". He was in several theatrical productions on Broadway. Hawley died on November 30, 1950, in New York City. Filmography *''A Son of Satan'' (1924) *'' Life Goes On'', as District Attorney *'' The Duke Is Tops'' (1938), as George Marshall *'' Double Deal'' (1939), as Jim McCoy *''Reform School'' (1939), as Jackson *'' Four Shall Die'' (1940), as Dr. Hugh Leonard (credited as Monty Hawl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Cooper
Ralph Cooper (January 16, 1908 – August 4, 1992), was an American actor, screenwriter, dancer and choreographer. Cooper is best known as the original master of ceremonies and founder of amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City in 1935. He wrote, produced, directed and acted in ten motion pictures. Titles include, '' The Duke Is Tops'', ''Dark Manhattan'', ''Gangsters on the Loose'' and ''Gang War''. Because of his debonair good looks, he was known as "dark Gable" in the 1930s. Biography Cooper was born on January 16, 1908 in Harlem, New York City. He worked as a dancer in small downtown clubs near New York University, which he attended with plans of becoming a medical doctor. In July 1935, Cooper began the Apollo's Amateur Night which ran every Wednesday night. In 1937, Cooper formed Cooper-Randol Productions with black actor George Randol and soon afterwards Million Dollar Productions with white producers Harry Popkin and his brother Leo Popkin to produce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aubrey L
Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-Germanic ''*albiz'' "elf", "supernatural being" and ''*rīkaz'' "chieftain", "ruler". Before the Norman conquest, the Anglo-Saxons used the corresponding variant ''Ælf-rīc'' (see Ælfric). The feminine form Aubrey is sometimes from Old French Aubree with a different etymology: Albereda,François de Beaurepaire, ''Les noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de l'Eure'', éditions Picard, 1981, p. 123 sometimes a feminine used of the masculine name Aubrey. However, Aubrey is commonly used as a feminine name in the United States. It was the 15th most popular girl's name in the United States in 2012. People Surname * Andrew Aubrey, Lord Mayor of London in 1339, 1340, and 1351 * Anne Aubrey (born 1935), English actress * Brandon Aubrey (born 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyda Webb
Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Lyda'', which derives from ''lydimas'', meaning "slash-and-burn" agricultural method or a plot of land prepared in this way. Names in other languages are spelled as pl, Lida and yi, לידע. History Early history, Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth There are passing mentions of Lida in chronicles from 1180. Until the early 14th century, the settlement at Lida was a wooden fortress in Lithuania proper. In 1323, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas built a brick fortress there. The generally considered founding year of Lida is 1380. The fortress withstood Crusader attacks from Prussia in 1392 and 1394 but was burned to the ground in 1710. Following the death of Gediminas, when Lithuania was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil Mack
Cecil Mack (November 6, 1873 – August 1, 1944) was an American composer, lyricist and music publisher. Biography Born as Richard Cecil McPherson in Portsmouth, Virginia, he attended the Norfolk Mission College and Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (class of 1897) before leaving to go to New York City where the 1900 Federal Census lists his occupation as a stenographer. Mack started writing song lyrics, starting with "Good Morning, Carrie" in 1901. He co-founded the Gotham-Attucks Music Publishing Company in May 1905, in New York City; it was likely the first black-owned music publishing company. In July 1906, an article in ''The New York Age'' referred to Mack as the company's "secretary and treasurer and general business director." In 1907 he wrote the lyrics for the musical ''The Black Politician''. In 1925 he co-wrote the book for the musical ''Mooching Along''. Mack also formed a choir, the Southland Singers, that year. In 1931 he co-wrote the music for the musical ''Rhap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salome (play)
''Salome'' (French: ''Salomé'', ) is a one-act tragedy by Oscar Wilde. The original 1891 version of the play was in French; an English translation was published three years later. The play depicts the attempted seduction of Jokanaan (John the Baptist) by Salome, step-daughter of Herod Antipas; her dance of the seven veils; the execution of Jokanaan at Salome's instigation; and her death on Herod's orders. The first production was in Paris in 1896. Because the play depicted biblical characters it was banned in Britain and was not performed publicly there until 1931. The play became popular in Germany, and Wilde's text was taken by the composer Richard Strauss as the basis of his 1905 opera ''Salome'', the international success of which has tended to overshadow Wilde's original play. Film and other adaptations have been made of the play. Background and first production When Wilde began writing ''Salome'' in late 1891 he was known as an author and critic, but was not yet establ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Christie
Charles Herbert Christie (April 13, 1882 – October 1, 1955) and Alfred Ernest Christie (November 23, 1886 – April 14, 1951) were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs. Early life Charles Herbert Christie was born between April 13, 1880 and April 13, 1882, and Alfred Ernest Christie was born between October 23, 1881 and November 23, 1886, both in London, Ontario. Their father managed the Opera House and their mother was its box-office manager and accountant. Charles graduated from school at age 14, and graduated from the four-year accountancy course in two years at age 16. Career Charles, at age 23, was offered a job as the stage manager for Liebler and Company and accepted it on the condition that his brother Al also be given a job. They worked for the organization for three years. Charles joined the film industry after being hired as an accountant for the Nestor Film Company. William Horsley stated that "I wonder if we would have survived as a viable industry ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Melancholy Dame
''The Melancholy Dame'' is a short American comedy film made with an African American cast and released in 1929. It was an Al Christie film based on the Octavus Roy Cohen comedy series called "Darktown Birmingham" published in the ''Saturday Evening Post'' . Arvid Gillstrom directed and Florian Slappey was portrayed by Charles Olden. The film was produced and released by Paramount Pictures, and includes racial caricatures. It has been described as the first African American talkie. It featured a vision of high society and comic dialogue set in a Birmingham restaurant with a piano and dance show. The ''Los Angeles Times'' summarized the plot as, "A cabaret owner’s wife demands that her husband fire the sexy star attraction (if he doesn’t, she warns, 'there’s going to be a quick call for an undertaker'). Little does she (or the singer’s husband) know that the singer and the club owner were once married." It is a 2-reel film. The film is extant and posted on YouTube along wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Framing Of The Shrew
''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. ''Framing of the Shrew'' was one in a series of films made from Cohen's stories featuring the same characters portrayed by established African American actors and vaudeville performers. Synopsis Privacy Robson decides that he must be free of his wife, Clarry, as she has been pushing for him to find a job. His friend Florian Slappey advises him to go on a hunger strike to get even with her. Privacy takes this advice, however he is unable to resist sneaking some of his wife's cooking even after declining to eat supper. In the end Privacy wins out and is able to continue his daily routine. Cast *Evelyn Preer as Clarry Robson * Edward Thompson as Privacy Robson *Charles Olden as Florian Sl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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