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Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata (March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952), known professionally as Canada Lee, was an American professional boxer and actor who pioneered roles for
African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
. After careers as a
jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...
, boxer and musician, he became an actor in the
Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. It was one of five Federal ...
, including the 1936 production of ''Macbeth'' adapted and directed by
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
. Lee later starred in Welles's original Broadway production of '' Native Son'' (1941). A champion of
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
in the 1930s and 1940s, Lee was
blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...
and died shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...
. He advanced the African-American tradition in theatre pioneered by such actors as
Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...
. Lee was the father of actor Carl Lee.


Biography


Early life

Lee was born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata on March 3, 1907, in the San Juan Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. His father, James Cornelius Lionel Canegata, was born on the Caribbean island of St. Croix, and as a youth had migrated to New York, where he married Lydia Whaley Gadsen. Raised by his parents in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
, Lee had an aptitude for music, and at age seven he began studying violin and piano with J. Rosamond Johnson at the Music School Settlement for Colored People. He made his concert debut at age 11, performing a student recital at Aeolian Hall. But after seven years of music studies, without explanation, he put away his violin and ran away from home. In 1921, aged 14, Lee went to
Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...
, and began a two-year career as a jockey. Lee returned to his parents' home in Harlem in 1923 with no idea what he was going to do next. He considered returning to music, but an old school friend suggested that he try boxing. At one amateur match, fight announcer Joe Humphries saw the name "Canagata, Lee" on the card he was using. He tossed the card aside and instead announced "Canada Lee"—a name that Lee liked and adopted. In the amateur ring he won 90 out of 100 bouts and the national amateur lightweight title.


Professional boxer

Lee turned pro at age 19, in October 1926, and became a favorite with audiences. At and about , he fought as a
welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
. His boxing statistics vary due to incomplete coverage and record keeping for the sport in the 1920s and 1930s. Boxing historian Donald R. Koss documents Lee having 60 bouts 1927–31, the majority of them taking place 1927–28. ''
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 ...
'' reported that Lee had some 200 professional matches and lost only about 25. During his victorious 10-round bout with Andy Divodi at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
on December 12, 1929, Lee was dealt a blow over his right ear that detached his retina. With treatment his vision could have been saved, but Lee feared losing his successful career and masked his injury. In time he lost all sight in his right eye. He quit professional boxing in 1933. Despite having made an estimated $90,000 during his boxing career (roughly equivalent to $ million today), Lee was broke. "Just threw it away," Lee later said. Lee eventually lobbied for insurance, health care, financial consultation and retirement homes for fighters. "The average boxer possesses little education," he said in 1946. "If he winds up broke, he has no trade, no education and nobody to turn to." As Lee's fighting career began to wind down, he put together a small dance band that played at obscure clubs. When an old friend, sportswriter
Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television host, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York News ...
, plugged him in his new entertainment column, Lee and his group began landing better engagements. His career as a bandleader peaked in 1933 when his group played at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem. The following year he opened his own small club, The Jitterbug, which he managed to operate for six months. When it closed he had no prospects, and his mother convinced him to simply get a job.


Acting

Lee discovered a love for
Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...
during his years as a prizefighter. He remembered ''
Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...
'' as the first stage production he ever saw: "A big, tough fighter, all muscle, just sobbing," he recalled. His acting career began by accident in 1934. While at a
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
to apply for a job as a laborer, Lee stumbled upon an audition in progress and was recognized by playwright Augustus Smith. Lee was invited to try out, and won a supporting role in ''Brother Mose'', directed by Frank H. Wilson. Sponsored by New York's Civil Works Administration, the show toured the boroughs, playing at community centers and city parks into the fall of the year. In October 1934, Lee succeeded Rex Ingram in the Theatre Union's revival of ''Stevedore'', which toured to Chicago, Detroit and other U.S. cities after its run on Broadway. It was his first professional role. Lee then was cast in his first major role,
Banquo Lord Banquo , the Thane (Scotland), Thane of Lochaber, is a semi-historical character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play ''Macbeth''. In the play, he is at first an ally of Macbeth (character), Macbeth (both are generals in the King's army) an ...
, in the legendary
Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. It was one of five Federal ...
production of ''
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'' (1936), adapted and directed by
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
. "I never would have amounted to anything in the theatre if it hadn't been for Orson Welles," Lee recalled. "The way I looked at acting, it was interesting and it was certainly better than going hungry. But I didn't have a serious approach to it until … I bumped into Orson Welles. He was putting on a Federal Theatre production of ''Macbeth'' with Negro players and, somehow, I won the part of Banquo. He rehearsed us for six solid months, but when the play finally went on before an audience, it was right—and it was a wonderful sensation, knowing it was right. Suddenly, the theatre became important to me. I had a respect for it, for what it could say. I had the ambition—I caught it from Orson Welles—to work like mad and be a convincing actor." ''Macbeth'' was sold out for ten weeks at the Lafayette Theatre. After an additional two weeks on Broadway it toured the nation, including performances at the
Texas Centennial Exposition The Texas Centennial Exposition was a world's fair presented from June 6 to November 29, 1936, at Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. A celebration of the 100th anniversary of Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836, it also celebrated Texas and Western ...
in
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
. After five months in a supporting role, Lee succeeded Rex Ingram as the lead in the stage production ''Haiti'' (1938), portraying Haitian slave turned emperor
Henri Christophe Henri Christophe (; 6 October 1767 – 8 October 1820) was a key leader in the Haitian Revolution and the only monarch of the Kingdom of Haiti. Born in the British West Indies, British Caribbean, Christophe was possibly of Senegambian descent ...
. One of the Federal Theatre Project's most popular productions, ''Haiti'' was seen by some 90,000 people at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem and at Boston's Copley Theatre. In January 1939, with the end of the Federal Theatre Project, Lee gained a role in '' Mamba's Daughters'' (based on
DuBose Heyward Edwin DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1925 novel '' Porgy''. He and his wife Dorothy, a playwright, adapted it as a 1927 play of the same name. The couple worked with composer Georg ...
's 1929 novel), a Broadway success that toured North America and returned to Broadway for another brief run in 1940. Lee took a break from the road tour to make his motion picture debut in '' Keep Punching'' (1939), a film about boxing. He made his radio debut as narrator of the weekly
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
jazz series ''Flow Gently, Sweet Rhythm'' (1940–41). As that regular series came to an end, he opened a restaurant at 102 West 136th Street, Canada Lee's Chicken Coop, which offered authentic South Carolina cuisine, jazz and blues. Lee kept it going despite chronic financial difficulties. Lee played the lead role in the 1940 revival of Theodore Ward's '' Big White Fog''. A 1938 Federal Theatre Project production, the play was remounted by the newly created Negro Playwrights Company, founded in New York by Ward,
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...
,
Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...
, Theodore Browne, Richard Wright and
Alain Locke Alain LeRoy Locke (September 13, 1885 – June 9, 1954) was an American writer, philosopher, and educator. Distinguished in 1907 as the first African American Rhodes Scholar, Locke became known as the philosophical architect—the acknowledged " ...
. Lee became a star overnight in his ultimate stage success, '' Native Son'' (1941), an adaptation of Richard Wright's
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
staged on Broadway by Orson Welles. The show was a spectacular hit for both Welles and Lee, who starred in the initial New York run, a 19-month national tour, and a second run on Broadway with accessible ticket prices. "Mr. Lee's performance is superb," wrote
Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theater critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...
of ''
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 ...
'', who called him "certainly the best Negro actor of his time, as well as one of the best actors in this country." Wright also applauded the performance, noting the contrast between Lee's affable personality and his intensity as Bigger Thomas. The sympathetic portrayal of a black man driven to murder by racial hatred brought much criticism however, especially from the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and the Legion of Decency, and the ensuing pressure forced the play to close. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Lee continued to act in plays and in films. In 1942, he played in two comedies by
William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...
, and earned approving reviews despite the generally negative response to these plays. In 1943, his name was above the title on the marquee for ''South Pacific'', a race-themed drama directed by
Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...
that again was panned by critics but won Lee critical praise. Perhaps Lee's best known film role was in
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
's '' Lifeboat'' (1944), in which he played ship's steward Joe Spencer, one of 8 men and women who survive the sinking of the freighter carrying them from New York to London and are joined in their lifeboat by a survivor of the crew of the U-boat that destroyed their vessel. According to a June 22, 1943, ''
Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' news item, Lee was the first actor cast for the film. The script was criticized for making Joe "too stereotypical". Lee testified that he attempted to round out the character by revising dialogue, primarily eliminating repeated "yessir"s and "nossir"s that sounded subservient,Sklaroff, Lauren Rebecca (2009). ''Black Culture and the New Deal: The Quest for Civil Rights in the Roosevelt Era''. University of North Carolina Press, , p. 231 and cutting some actions. An
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
critique of the film condemned the role of Joe and praised Lee's performance. The ''
Baltimore Afro-American The ''Baltimore Afro-American'', commonly known as ''The Afro'' or ''Afro News'', is a weekly African-American newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the flagship newspaper of the ''AFRO-American'' chain and the longest-running Africa ...
''s review, while commenting on the character's shortcomings, praised Lee's portrayal. Historian Rebecca Sklaroff, while writing in 2009 that Joe's role was more "tokenistic" than black roles in the wartime films ''Sahara'' and ''Bataan'', wrote that Joe was depicted as compassionate, dependable and heroic. He is the only one who resists the impulse of mob fury that leads the other characters to kill the German. He is the only character who steps forward to disarm the wounded German sailor rescued at the end of the film. Lee's successful radio career continued with ''New World A-Comin'', which made its debut in March 1944. He narrated the first two seasons of the groundbreaking WMCA radio series that presented Negro history and culture to mainstream American audiences. He became the first African American to play Caliban, in
Margaret Webster Margaret Webster (March 15, 1905 – November 13, 1972) was an American-British theater actress, theatrical producer, producer and theatre direction, director. Critic George Jean Nathan described her as "the best director of the plays of Sha ...
's 1945 Broadway production of ''
The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...
''. Lee had admired
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
since his turn in ''Macbeth''; indeed, at the time of his death he was preparing to play
Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...
on film. In 1946, Lee played a principal role in ''On Whitman Avenue'', a drama by Maxine Wood about racial prejudice directed by
Margo Jones Margo Jones (December 12, 1911 – July 24, 1955), nicknamed the "Texas Tornado", was an American stage director and producer, best known for launching the American regional theater movement and for introducing the theater-in-the-round concep ...
. Lee produced the play, making him the first African-American producer on Broadway. The play spoke directly to the need for interracial housing following World War II and won the praise of former First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...
, who wrote weekly columns encouraging readers to see it. In the autumn of 1946, Lee made American theatre history when he portrayed the villain Daniel de Bosola in
John Webster John Webster (c. 1578 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and ''The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and car ...
's ''
The Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theat ...
''. Presented in Boston and on Broadway, the production marked the first time a black actor had played a white role on the stage. Lee wore a special white paste that had been used medically, to cover burns and marks, but had never before been used in the theatre. He had a supporting role in
Robert Rossen Robert Rossen (March 16, 1908 – February 18, 1966) was an American screenwriter, film director, and producer whose film career spanned almost three decades. His 1949 film '' All the King's Men'' won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor and B ...
's '' Body and Soul'' (1947), another boxing picture. In 1948, Lee played his last stage role, that of a devoted slave in ''Set My People Free'', Dorothy Heyward's drama based on the aborted 1822 slave revolt led by
Denmark Vesey Denmark Vesey (also Telemaque) (July 2, 1822) was a Free Negro, free Black man and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina, who was accused and convicted of planning a major Slave rebellion, slave revolt in 1822. Although the alleged pl ...
. In 1949, he took a supporting role in '' Lost Boundaries'', a drama based on William Lindsay White's book of the same title, a nonfiction account of Dr. Albert C. Johnston and his family, who passed for white while living in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
in the 1930s and 1940s. Lee's last film appearance was the starring role of minister Stephen Kumalo in '' Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1951).


Civil rights activism

As an actor, Lee came into contact with many of the leading progressive figures in the country.
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...
, for instance, wrote two brief plays for Lee; these were submitted to the Theater Project, but their criticism of racism in America was deemed too controversial, and neither was staged. Lee spoke to schools, sponsored various humanitarian events, and began speaking directly against the existing segregation in America's armed forces, while simultaneously acknowledging the need to win World War II. To this latter end, he appeared at numerous
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
events; he won an award from the United States Recruiting Office and another from the Treasury Department for his help in selling war bonds. These sentiments would carry on throughout his life, culminating in his early firsthand account of
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
in South Africa. Lee was an early influence on physician and human rights activist H. Jack Geiger. They met in 1940 when Geiger, a 14-year-old middle-class Jewish runaway, was backstage at a Broadway production of ''Native Son''. Lee agreed to take Geiger in when he showed up at his door in Harlem asking for a place to stay. With the consent of his parents, Geiger stayed with Lee for over a year. Lee took on the role of surrogate father and introduced Geiger to
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...
,
Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the ...
, Richard Wright, and Adam Clayton Powell. Geiger eventually became a journalist, then a doctor who co-founded the first community health center in the United States,
Columbia Point Columbia Point is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The thirteener is located east by south ( bearing 102°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colora ...
Health Center in
Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood comprising more than in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, E ...
. He became a founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and
Physicians for Human Rights Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a US-based not-for-profit human rights NGO that uses medicine and science to document and advocate against mass atrocities and severe human rights violations around the world. PHR headquarters are in New Y ...
, and established community health centers in
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. Geiger says he would never have moved so deeply in these worlds so quickly if not for his experiences with Canada Lee. By the late 1940s, the rising tide of anti-communism had made many of Lee's earlier contacts politically dangerous. In 1949, the trade journal '' Variety'' stated that under no circumstance was Lee to be used in
American Tobacco The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter, Goodwin & Company, and Kinney Brothers. The company was one of the or ...
's televised production of a radio play he had recently starred in because he was "too controversial". The same year, the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
offered to clear Lee's name if he would publicly call Paul Robeson a communist. Lee refused and responded by saying, "All you're trying to do is split my race." According to newspaper columnist
Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...
, Lee stated that he intended to come out and "publicly blast Paul Robeson." However, the fact that the friendship between the two actors remained until Lee's death suggests that Robeson put no faith in Winchell's claim. At the height of the
Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklisting, blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957 ...
, Lee managed to find work in 1950 as the star of a British film '' Cry, The Beloved Country'', for which both he and
Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...
were smuggled into
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
as
indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of Work (human activity), labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as paymen ...
s in order to play their roles as African ministers. During filming, Lee had his first
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
, and he never fully recovered his health. The film's message of universal brotherhood stands as Lee's final work towards this aim. Being on the Hollywood blacklist prevented him from gaining further work. Scheduled to appear in Italy to begin production on a filmed version of ''Othello'', he was repeatedly notified that his passport "remained under review". Lee was reportedly to star as Bigger Thomas in the Argentine version of '' Native Son'' but was replaced in the role by Richard Wright, author of the novel, when Lee had to withdraw.


Family life

In December 1925, Lee married Juanita Eugenia Waller. On November 22, 1926, they had a son, Carl Vincent Canegata, who became actor Carl Lee. The couple separated while their son was young, and they were amicably divorced in 1942. In 1934, Lee began a love affair with publisher and peace activist
Caresse Crosby Caresse Crosby (born Mary Phelps Jacob; April 20, 1892 – January 24, 1970) was the recipient of a patent for the first successful modern brassiere, bra, an American patron of the arts, a publisher, and the woman ''Time (magazine), Time'' called ...
, despite the threat of miscegenation laws. They often had lunch in uptown New York in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
at the then-new restaurant "Franks", where they could maintain their secret relationship. When Lee was performing in Washington, D.C., during the 1940s, the only restaurant in the city where they could eat together was an African restaurant named the Bugazi. Crosby and Lee's intimate relationship continued into the mid-1940s. In March 1951, Lee married Frances Pollack. They remained together until he died just over a year later.


Death

Lee died of a reported
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
at the age of 45 on May 9, 1952, in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. It was later revealed by his widow, Frances Pollack, that he had been diagnosed with
uremia Uremia is the condition of having high levels of urea in the blood. Urea is one of the primary components of urine. It can be defined as an excess in the blood of amino acid and protein metabolism end products, such as urea and creatinine, which ...
and died of
kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an Inflammation, inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Infla ...
, slipping into a coma and dying 10 days after his diagnosis. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in
The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
.Smith, Mona Z. (2004).
Becoming Something : The Story of Canada Lee
'. New York: Faber and Faber. p. 354. . "Lee was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, alongside many many other cultural luminaries of New York."


Theatre credits


Film and television credits


Radio credits


References


Further reading

* Grant, Nicholas. "Crossing the Black Atlantic: The Global Antiapartheid Movement and the Racial Politics of the Cold War." ''Radical History Review'', 2014, no. 119, 2014. * Hill, Errol. ''Shakespeare in Sable: A History of Black Shakespearean Actors''. Amherst:
University of Massachusetts Press The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The press was founded in 1963, publishing scholarly books and non-fiction. The press imprint is overseen by an interdisciplinar ...
, 1984. * Leiter, Samuel. ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of the New York Stage, 1940–1950''. New York: Greenwood Press, 1992. * Smith, Mona Z., ''Becoming Something: The Story of Canada Lee'', London: Faber and Faber, 2004. * Rampersad, Arnold. ''The Life of Langston Hughes''. 2 volumes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. * Woll, Allen. ''Dictionary of the Black Theatre: Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Selected Harlem Theatre''. New York: Greenwood Press, 1983.


External links

* *
Canada Lee
at Theatricalia * *
Canada Lee
at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Biography
at the African American Registry *
Canada Lee, Native Son
' documentary website * *
''Becoming Something: The Story of Canada Lee''
(2004) (archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Canada 1907 births 1952 deaths 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors American anti-capitalists American male film actors American people of West Indian descent Articles containing video clips Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Deaths from kidney disease Federal Theatre Project people Hollywood blacklist Male actors from Manhattan