Billy McClain
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William C. McClain (12 October 1866 – 19 January 1950) was an African-American acrobat, comedian and actor who starred in minstrel shows before
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He wrote, produced and directed several major stage and outdoor extravaganzas, and wrote a number of popular songs. He was influential in extending the range of minstrel shows far beyond the traditional conventions of the time, giving them appeal to much wider audiences. He toured in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. Later he promoted boxing and played several minor roles in movies.


Life


Early years

William C. McClain was born on Elm Street in
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, Indiana, on 12 October 1866. He played cornet in Bell's Band when he was a boy, appearing in public for the first time in 1881 at Crone's Garden. In 1883 he joined Lew Johnson's Minstrels, then moved to Heck and Sawyer's Minstrels and then Blythe's Georgia Minstrels. McClain joined Sells Brothers' and Forepaugh's Circus in 1886 for a tour of the Hawaiian islands. He was the first black player with the circus. In 1887 he was with the Gigantic Comedy company. McClain recalled playing with Cleveland's Minstrels at the Gaiety Theater in Kansas City in 1887. In that show he and Tom Brown were the first to do a sketch of a Chinaman and a "coon". He played with Cleveland's Minstrels in 1890, and toured with this company in the United States and Canada in 1891. On 10 January 1891 McClain was performing with Cleveland's Colored Minstrels in San Francisco when he fell from his trapeze and had three teeth knocked out. In 1892 McClain trained as a boxer. Early in the 1890s McClain and his wife Cordelia joined the Hyers Sisters Company. In 1892 the couple joined the extravaganza ''South Before the War'', in which McClain was stage manager and the leading black comedian. The show was exceptional for the time in being mixed-race. McClain claimed to be the first to put a
cake walk The cakewalk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" (dance contests with a cake awarded as the prize) held in the mid-19th century, generally at get-togethers on black slave plantations before and after emancipation in the Southern Unit ...
on the stage, in ''South before the War''. Around then McClain was star of ''Suwanee River'', an otherwise all-white show. In the summer of 1893 McClain directed the black performers in a spectacular reenactment of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
Siege of Vicksburg, which was staged outdoors on Manhattan Beach in Coney Island. In 1894 the McClains joined ''On the Mississippi'', a Southern comic melodrama produced by Davis and Keough.


Producer and manager

McClain was hired in 1895 by Nate Salsbury to produce a show called ''Black America''. Salsbury presented the show as educational, to help people understand the colored man. Promotional material said the "Scenes of rural simplicity" portrayed the "lovable, bright side of the true southern negro." The show was put on outdoors in
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,
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,
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,
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and
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There was a cast of 500 black people. It included replicas of cabins in a plantation village, music that included a huge choir of 300, dancing and novelty acts. The Ninth Cavalry Band of the US Army, which consisted of black musicians, played in ''Black America''. In the finale of the show, the mass choir sang several tunes to giant portraits of white Union patriots such as
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
,
William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...
,
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
and
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
, and of the black patriot
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...
. Although billed only as music director, McClain probably created and directed the show, which carries forward elements of much of his earlier work, particularly his script ''Before and After the War''. McClain claimed credit, and his contemporary Tom Fletcher gave him credit. His wife, Cordelia, performed as a soloist. Cordelia McClain had trained as an actress under Billy McClain in Indianapolis. Later she became a stage manager and producer. In a 2 June 1895 report on the Brooklyn show titled "Fun for the Darkies" ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' identified Billy and Cordelia McClain as the aristocracy of Ambrose Park. Billy McClain was simply called the leader of the choruses. The show, presenting "Real Blacks from the Southern Plantations", was perhaps commercial and vulgar but showed the potential for upward mobility of African Americans. Billy McClain starred in A.G. Field's ''Darkest America'', and led the company in a tour of regular theatrical circuits. The show included songs, dances and sketches, and depicted African American life from the plantation up to modern times. A review in the 11 November 1896 ''Colored American'' of Washington D.C. praised the show, full of "clean, bright and wholesome fun". Another reviewer said the "delineation of Negro life, carrying the race through all their historical phases from the plantation, into the reconstruction days and finally painting our people as they are today, cultured and accomplished in social graces, holds the mirror faithfully up to nature." Billy and Cordelia McClain also performed in Sam T. Jack's ''The Creole Show'', less a traditional minstrel show than a vaudeville revue. In 1899 McClain and his wife Cordelia joined M.B. Curtis's ''All-star American Minstrels'' on an Australian tour.
Ernest Hogan Ernest Hogan (born Ernest Reuben Crowdus; 1865 – May 20, 1909) was the first Black American entertainer to produce and star in a Broadway show, '' The Oyster Man'' in 1907, (shows at the African Grove Theatre preceded it by generations) and h ...
, another singer-dancer-comedian, also appeared in this show. The company sailed for
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on 1 June 1899. Curtis abandoned the show soon after it arrived, and Hogan took over. The McClains transferred to Orpheus McAdoo's Georgia Minstrels, and stayed on in Australia after this company went back to the US. In January 1900 McClain was playing in the Opera House, Brisbane, Australia, with the O.M. McAdoo Georgia Minstrels. A reviewer said "The two low comedians of the company−"Billy" McClain and C.W. Walker−had their hearers in fits of laughter throughout the evening, their reappearance on the stage after their turns in the first part being always the signal for fresh outbursts of mirth. Before the interval ballads were well rendered by Madame Cordelia... While in Australia McClain acted as manager for the Australian black boxing contender
Peter Felix Peter Felix (17 July 1866 – 11 November 1926) was a boxer from Australia. Early life Peter Felix was born on 17 July 1866 on the West Indian Island of St. Croix in the Danish West Indies, the same birthplace as boxer Peter Jackson. Felix ...
. After returning to the USA McClain appeared in
Gus Hill Gus Hill (born Gustave Metz; 22 February 1858 – 20 April 1937) was an American vaudeville performer who juggled Indian clubs. He later became a burlesque and vaudeville entrepreneur. Hill was one of the founders of the Columbia Amusement Compan ...
's ''Smart Set'' company, which starred performers such as
Ernest Hogan Ernest Hogan (born Ernest Reuben Crowdus; 1865 – May 20, 1909) was the first Black American entertainer to produce and star in a Broadway show, '' The Oyster Man'' in 1907, (shows at the African Grove Theatre preceded it by generations) and h ...
,
Tom McIntosh Thomas S. "Tom" McIntosh (February 6, 1927 - July 26, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, arranger, and conductor. McIntosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of six siblings. He also had an elder half-sibling by his fath ...
and Sherman H. Dudley. The troupe staged vaudeville-style shows with comedy sketches, songs, dances and specialty acts. McCain and Hogan put together the original show. McCain contributed to a ''Smart Set'' musical comedy called ''Southern Enchantment''. A review of a performance at the Empire Theatre in
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on 13 October 1902 said, "The advent of a new darky sensation, the like of which our eyes have never seen before, greets the world. The ''Smart Set'' is the smartest set of colored people ever put together, on one stage in America..." A March 1903 review said "In many respects the show was a notable departure from the exhibitions of the past, in that it sought to put a better front to Negro life." In September 1903 the ''Smart Set'' opened its second season in Boston. McCain was stage manager but
Tom McIntosh Thomas S. "Tom" McIntosh (February 6, 1927 - July 26, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, arranger, and conductor. McIntosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of six siblings. He also had an elder half-sibling by his fath ...
replaced Hogan as George Washington Bullion. On 14 May 1904 the ''Indianapolis Freeman'' reproduced a review published by the ''St. Louis Star'' which said, In 1904 J. Edward Green succeeded McClain as stage manager and producer of the ''Smart Set''. Gus Hill's ''Smart Set'' put on the touring show ''The Black Politician'', a musical comedy, in 1904-08. Music and lyrics were by
James Reese Europe James Reese Europe (February 22, 1880 – May 9, 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African-American music scene of New York City in the 1910s. Eubie Blake called him ...
and
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 Pennsy ...
. It starred Jim Burris, Tom Logan and Irvin Allen. Billy McClain wrote and performed in the play.


Later career

McClain lived in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France, from 1906 to 1913. He played in London and Paris in 1906 with
Fred Karno Frederick John Westcott (26 March 1865 – 17 September 1941), best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English theatre impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularising the custard-pie-in ...
's comedy troupe. They put on a popular show at the
Casino de Paris The Casino de Paris, located at 16, rue de Clichy, in the 9th arrondissement, is one of the well known music halls of Paris, with a history dating back to the 18th century. Contrary to what the name might suggest, it is a performance venue, not ...
and then moved to the
Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...
. His wife also performed with the troupe, as did an unknown comedian named
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
. While in France McClain drove a 40 hp
De Dion-Bouton De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer, which operated from 1883 to 1953. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton, and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux. Ste ...
from Paris to
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
in a record time for touring cars. Writing from Paris in April 1910, McClain said he was the first Negro to produce, play, sing, dance and talk in French. In 1911 McClain was based in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, Belgium, running a boxing school. McClain managed and trained the heavyweight boxer
Sam McVey Samuel E. MacVea (May 17, 1884 – December 23, 1921), better known as Sam McVey, was an American Hall of Fame heavyweight boxer during the early 20th century. Famously known as the ''"Oxnard Cyclone"'', he ranked alongside Jack Johnson, Joe Je ...
. In 1931 McClain moved to Los Angeles and obtained a position with the Pasadena police department as a physical trainer. In August 1931 he appeared on stage for the first time in 21 years in a benefit performance, playing the two leading roles from ''
Uncle Tom Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. The character was seen in the Victorian era as a ground-breaking literary attack against the dehumanization of slaves. Tom is a deeply religious Chri ...
'' - Uncle Tom himself and the slave owner Simon Legree. While working for the police department he acted in several films. These included ''Nagana'' (1933), starring
Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in 1929 as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy '' Ninotchka'' ( ...
, the short ''Rhapsody in Black'', where he sang four "southern melodies", and ''
Dimples A dimple, also called a gelasin (, ), and a fovea buccalis, is a small natural indentation in the flesh on a part of the human body, most notably in the cheek. Numerous cultures believe that cheek dimples are a good luck charm that entices peop ...
'', starring
Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...
. Between 1933 and 1946 McClain appeared in many other film roles, although often these were minor parts and he was not credited. He played a servant, butler, footman, cook and janitor. His last role was as "Uncle Ben" in
Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (; born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American Theatre director, stage director and film director. From a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovat ...
's suspense drama '' Undercurrent'' (1946). His name was misspelled in the end credits as "McLain." Billy McClain died on 19 January 1950 when the trailer he was sleeping in caught fire. McClain was one of the pioneers in introducing "vaudevillized minstrelsy", which opened a wider range of styles on the eve of the
ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...
era. Despite his great ability, he was handicapped by prejudice against African Americans. Thus he was reportedly arrested in Kansas City in 1902 for the offense of "having too much jewelry for a colored man." He may have failed to change from his stage clothes to street clothes before leaving the theater. During his lifetime he neither claimed nor received full recognition for his achievements.


Work


Plays

Billy McClain wrote and performed in several plays, including: *''Down on the Swanee River'' *''Before and After the War'' *''From the Jungles to the Senate'' *''The Black Politician''


Songs

Bill McClain wrote a number of popular songs: *''Pretty May'' *''Don't Forget Mother at Home'' *''Hand Down the Robe'' *''Dar's Gwine to Be a Great Resurrection'' *''Phonograph de News'' *''The Old School House'' *''Shake, Rattle and Roll'' (1897).


Film roles

Film roles included: *1933: ''
Nagana Animal trypanosomiasis, also known as nagana and nagana pest, or sleeping sickness, is a disease of non-human vertebrates. The disease is caused by trypanosomes of several species in the genus ''Trypanosoma'' such as '' T. brucei'' (which also ...
'' - The King *1934: '' Black Moon Black House'' - Servant (uncredited) *1934: ''
The World Moves On ''The World Moves On'' is a 1934 American drama film directed by John Ford and starring Madeleine Carroll and Franchot Tone. It was the first Hollywood code approved film. Plot In 1825, two families, cotton merchants in England and America, ...
'' - Black Frenchman (uncredited) *1934: ''Name the Woman'' - Butler *1934: ''
The Mighty Barnum ''The Mighty Barnum'' is a 1934 film directed by Walter Land and starring Wallace Beery as P.T. Barnum. The movie was written by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, adapted from their play of the same name. Beery had played Barnum four years earl ...
'' - Barnum's Footman (uncredited) *1935: ''
So Red the Rose ''So Red the Rose'' is the only studio album by the Duran Duran-spinoff group Arcadia, released on 18 November 1985 by Parlophone. It included the singles " Election Day", " The Promise", " Goodbye Is Forever" and " The Flame". The album peake ...
'' - Servant in Kitchen (uncredited) *1935: ''
Diamond Jim ''Diamond Jim'' is a 1935 biographical film based on the published biography '' Diamond Jim Brady'' by Parker Morell. It follows the life of legendary entrepreneur James Buchanan Brady, including his romance with entertainer Lillian Russell, a ...
'' - Cook (uncredited) *1935: '' The Virginia Judge'' - Boy (uncredited) *1936: ''
Anthony Adverse ''Anthony Adverse'' is a 1936 American epic historical drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Fredric March and Olivia de Havilland. The screenplay by Sheridan Gibney draws elements of its plot from eight of the nine books in Hervey ...
'' - Black Slave Being Whipped (uncredited) *1936: '' Down the Stretch'' - Uncle Lew (uncredited) *1936: ''
Dimples A dimple, also called a gelasin (, ), and a fovea buccalis, is a small natural indentation in the flesh on a part of the human body, most notably in the cheek. Numerous cultures believe that cheek dimples are a good luck charm that entices peop ...
'' - Rufus *1936: ''
The Plainsman ''The Plainsman'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. The film presents a highly fictionalized account of the adventures and relationships between Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity J ...
'' - Old Servant (uncredited) *1937: '' Saratoga'' - Butler (uncredited) *1937: '' Black Aces'' - Cook (uncredited) *1937: ''
Boy of the Streets ''Boy of the Streets'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by William Nigh and written by Gilson Brown and Scott Darling. The film stars Jackie Cooper, Maureen O'Connor, Kathleen Burke, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Marjorie Main and Matty Fain. Th ...
'' - Black preacher (uncredited) *1938: ''
The Toy Wife ''The Toy Wife'' is a 1938 American drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Luise Rainer and Melvyn Douglas. The period film was produced by Merian C. Cooper and written by Zoë Akins. Plot Set before the American Civil War, ''The To ...
'' - Black Orchestra Leader (uncredited) *1938: ''
Angels with Dirty Faces ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' is a 1938 American crime drama film directed by Michael Curtiz for Warner Brothers. It stars James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, The Dead End Kids, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and George Bancroft. The screenplay was wr ...
'' - Janitor (uncredited) *1938: '' Kentucky Zeke'' - Zeke (uncredited) *1939: ''
Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islan ...
'' - Governor's Servant (uncredited) *1939: ''
Espionage Agent ''Espionage Agent'' is a pre–World War II spy melodrama produced by Hal B. Wallis in 1939. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, ''Espionage Agent'', like many Warner Bros. movies, clearly identifies the Germans as the enemy. This was unlike many other mov ...
'' - Manservant at Ball (uncredited) *1939: '' Pride of the Blue Grass'' - Black Groom (uncredited) *1946: '' Undercurrent'' - Uncle Ben (as Billy McLain)


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McClain, Billy 1866 births 1950 deaths 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American vaudeville performers