Ernest Whitman (February 21, 1893 – August 5, 1954) was an American stage and screen actor. He was also billed in some Broadway plays as Ernest R. Whitman.

Early years

Whitman was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, and was educated at

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

. He was ordained as a minister in 1907. His participation in

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...

s led to his becoming an entertainer in vaudeville.

Career

Amanda randolph ernest whitman beulah 1953 1954edited

Whitman debuted as an entertainer in Purcell, Oklahoma. He performed on stage in '' The Last Mile'' and other productions. He sang in a touring production of '' Lucky Sambo'' (1927). He appeared in a number of films, including ''King for a Day'' (1934), '' The Prisoner of Shark Island'' (1936), '' The Green Pastures'' (1936), ''

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

'' (1939), ''

Gone With the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'' (portraying a carpetbagger)(1939), '' Third Finger, Left Hand'' (1940), ''

Among the Living ''Among the Living'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal music, heavy metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax. It was released on March 16, 1987, by Megaforce Records in the US and by Island Records in the rest of the world. T ...

'' (1941), ''

Road to Zanzibar ''Road to Zanzibar'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, and marked the second of seven pictures in the popular "'' Road to ...''" series made by the trio. ...

'' (1941), '' Cabin in the Sky'' (1943), '' Stormy Weather'' (1943), ''

The Lost Weekend ''The Lost Weekend'' is a 1945 American drama film noir directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. It was based on Charles R. Jackson's 1944 novel about an alcoholic writer. The film was nominated for seven Academy Aw ...

'' (1945), '' My Brother Talks to Horses'' (1947), ''Banjo'' (1947) and '' The Sun Shines Bright'' (1953), his last movie. On radio, Whitman was the wartime host of the Armed Forces Radio Service's '' Jubilee'', which was designed for African-American troops and featured mostly African-American entertainers. He portrayed the character Awful on '' The Gibson Family''. He played Bill Jackson on '' Beulah'' on radio and on TV.

Death

Whitman died at his home of a liver ailment on August 5, 1954, in Hollywood, aged 61.

Broadway roles

Billed as Ernest Whitman

* '' The Last Mile'' (1930) as Vincent Jackson * ''Chamberlain Brown's Scrap Book'' (1932) as Ashley the penitent —Source: Internet Broadway Database

Billed as Ernest R. Whitman

* ''Harlem'' (1929) as Kid Vamp and in ensemble * ''Savage Rhythm'' (1931) as Sweetback * ''Bloodstream'' (1932) as Duke Taylor * ''The Monster'' (1933) as Caliban * ''John Brown'' (1934) as Frederick Douglass —Source: Internet Broadway Database

Filmography

* ''King for a Day'' (1934, Short) as Mr. Brown (film debut) * '' The Prisoner of Shark Island'' (1936) as 'Buck' Milford * '' The Green Pastures'' (1936) as

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

* '' White Hunter'' (1936) as Abdi * '' They Gave Him a Gun'' (1937) as Roustabout (uncredited) * '' Nothing Sacred'' (1937) as Policeman (uncredited) * '' Daughter of Shanghai'' (1937) as Sam Blike (uncredited) * '' Pacific Liner'' (1939) as Professor – Black Stoker (uncredited) * ''

'' (1939) as Pinkie * '' Tell No Tales'' (1939) as Slab Griffin (uncredited) * '' 6,000 Enemies'' (1939) as Black Prisoner Willie Johnson (uncredited) * ''

'' (1939) as Carpetbagger's Friend (uncredited) * '' Congo Maisie'' (1940) as Varnai * ''

Castle on the Hudson ''Castle on the Hudson'' (UK title: ''Years Without Days'') is a 1940 American prison film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring John Garfield, Ann Sheridan and Pat O'Brien. The film was based on the book ''Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing ...

'' (1940) as Alexander '8 Ball' Hamilton (uncredited) * '' Buck Benny Rides Again'' (1940) as Colored Gentleman (uncredited) * ''

Safari A safari (; originally ) is an overland journey to observe wildlife, wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called big five game, "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, African leopard, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, elep ...

'' (1940) as Witch Doctor (uncredited) * ''

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

'' (1940) as Dogface * ''

Mystery Sea Raider ''Mystery Sea Raider'' is a 1940 American drama war film directed by Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was a Canadian-born American film director and editor. He was known for his 1940s films noir, noir films ...

'' (1940) as First Fisherman (uncredited) * '' The Return of Frank James'' (1940) as Pinky * '' Third Finger, Left Hand'' (1940) as Sam * ''

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...

'' (1940) as Black Man in Barn (uncredited) * '' Back Street'' (1941) as Porter #1 (uncredited) * ''

'' (1941) as Whiteface * '' The Get-Away'' (1941) as 'Moose' * '' The Pittsburgh Kid'' (1941) as Feets Johnson * '' Married Bachelor'' (1941) as Black Men's Room Attendant (uncredited) * '' Birth of the Blues'' (1941) as Fancy-Pants, Doorman (uncredited) * ''

Blues in the Night "Blues in the Night" is a popular blues song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun wi ...

'' (1941) as Black Prisoner #1 (uncredited) * ''

'' (1941) as Pompey * '' Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case'' (1941) as Sam (uncredited) * '' The Bugle Sounds'' (1942) as Cartaret * '' Drums of the Congo'' (1942) as King Malaba * ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

'' (1942) as Nubian Slave (uncredited) * '' The Human Comedy'' (1943) as Black Man on Train (uncredited) * '' Cabin in the Sky'' (1943) as Jim Henry * '' Stormy Weather'' (1943) as Jim Europe (uncredited) * '' The Impostor'' (1944) as Ekoua * '' The Adventures of Mark Twain'' (1944) as Stoker (uncredited) * '' Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears'' (1944, Short) as Narrator (Voice, Uncredited) * '' Dillinger'' (1945) as Jack – Black Prisoner (uncredited) * ''

'' (1945) as Black Man Talking to Himself (uncredited) * '' She Wouldn't Say Yes'' (1945) as Train Bartender (uncredited) * '' My Brother Talks to Horses'' (1947) as Mr. Mordecai * ''

Banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

'' (1947) as Uncle Jasper * ''

Blonde Savage ''Blonde Savage'' is a 1947 American adventure film directed by Steve Sekely and written by Gordon Bache. The film stars Leif Erickson (actor), Leif Erickson, Gale Sherwood, Veda Ann Borg, Douglass Dumbrille, Frank Jenks, and Matt Willis. It was ...

'' (1947) as Tonga * ''Half-Pint Pygmy'' (1948, Short) as Pygmy (Voice, Uncredited) * '' Beulah'' (1952, TV) as Bill Jackson * '' The Sun Shines Bright'' (1953) as Pleasant 'Uncle Plez' Woodford (final film)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitman, Ernest 1893 births 1954 deaths American male film actors American male radio actors American male stage actors American male television actors People from Fort Smith, Arkansas Male actors from Arkansas 20th-century American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors