Little Caesar (February 18, 1928 – June 12, 1994) was an American singer and actor. He began his recording career in the 1950s, recording for labels such as

Modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

and

Recorded In Hollywood Recorded In Hollywood was an independent American record label specializing in rhythm and blues, active from the late 1940s to the end of the 1950s, which issued several sides by artists significant to the genre. John Dolphin (music producer), Joh ...

. He had a hit on the R&B chart with "Goodbye Baby" in 1952. As an actor, Harry Caesar was best known for his roles in ''The Longest Yard'' (1974) and ''

A Few Good Men ''A Few Good Men'' is a 1992 American legal drama film based on Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play, produced by Castle Rock Entertainment, financed and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was written by Sorkin, directed by Rob Reiner, and produced ...

'' (1992).

Biography

Little Caesar was born Harry Caesar to Alex Caesar and Hattie Chambers in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

on February 18, 1928. He had several older siblings. When Caesar was one, his mother died from

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

. In 1930, his father moved to

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, looking for work and left Caesar and his siblings with relatives. By 1940, Caesar and his brother Richard had joined their father in Youngstown. Caesar attended

Rayen High School The Rayen School (also known as Rayen High School and colloquially as simply Rayen) was a public high school in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. At the time it was closed in 2007, it was the oldest of the three high schools in the city. The high ...

in Youngstown. During his teenage years he was rebellious and joined the Wolf Gang, going by the nickname "Kid Wolf". He ended up in jail and was drafted into the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1948. In the Army, he represented

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

as a

heavyweight boxer Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

. When Caesar was discharged in 1950, he intended to pursue a boxing career, but after a disappointing match which ended in a draw, he switched careers to R&B music. Caesar moved to the San Francisco area and worked with The Peter Rabbit Trio. He later relocated to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

and recorded for the

Bihari Brothers The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origin. They founded Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. They were significant figures in th ...

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Hadda Brooks, Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turn ...

and

John Dolphin John Robert Vernon Dolphin (1 October 19052 May 1973) was a British engineer and inventor, who joined the Secret Intelligence Service and then became the Commanding Officer of the top-secret Second World War Special Operations Executive (SOE) ...

. In July 1952, Caesar performed at the 3rd Annual Blues Jubilee held at the

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, an ...

and presented by

KLAC KLAC (570 AM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by a joint venture between iHeartMedia, Inc. and the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club, KLAC serves as the Los Angeles ...

Gene Norman Gene Norman (born January 30, 1922) was a nightclub owner, music promoter, record label owner, radio disc jockey, and television host. He purchased the The Crescendo in 1954 in West Hollywood where he booked jazz artists including Ella Fitzgeral ...

. His single, "Goodbye Baby", released on Recorded In Hollywood was very successful, reaching No. 5 on ''Billboard'''s Best Selling R&B chart in November 1952. In 1953, he released singles on Big Town Records and Modern's subsidiary

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

. In 1960, Caesar and his band the Ark Angels recorded for Jack Bee Records which soon became Downey Records. Caesar turned to acting in 1960, and until 1993, he appeared in numerous films and television shows. He appeared on the shows ''Julia'', ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom from 1962 to ...

'', ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

'', ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

'', and ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

''. Caesar appeared in films such as ''The Longest Yard'' (1974), ''Murder in Mississippi'' (1990), and ''

'' (1992). In between acting jobs, Caesar continued to perform. He appeared with

Joe Liggins Joseph Christopher Liggins Jr. (born Theodro Elliott; July 9, 1916 – July 26, 1987) was an American R&B, jazz and blues pianist and vocalist who led Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers in the 1940s and 1950s. His band appeared often on the ''Bi ...

in the 1980s. In 1992, Casesar performed at the Desert Dixieland Jazz 7 at the Riviera Resort Hotel in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

. Caesar was married to Marion Kane Bernot, they had three daughters: Jacqueline, Valerie, and Kimberly. He died on June 12, 1994, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He is buried at

Inglewood Park Cemetery Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood, California, was founded in 1905. A number of notable people, including entertainment and sports personalities, have been interred or entombed there. History The proposed establishment of "the larges ...

Discography

Albums

* 1983: ''Lying Woman... Goodbye Baby'' (Route 66) *2008: ''Your On The Hour Man: The Complete Modern, Dolphin And Downey Recordings 1952-1960'' (Ace Records)

Singles

* 1952: "Don't Mention The Blues" / "Talkin' To Myself" (

233) * 1952: "(Going Down To) The River" / "Long Time Baby" (Recorded In Hollywood 234) * 1952: "Goodbye Baby" / "If I Could See My Baby" (Recorded In Hollywood 235) – peaked at No. 5 on

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

* 1952: "Lying Woman" / "Move Me" (Recorded In Hollywood 236) * 1953: "Here Is A Letter" / "You're Part of Me" -side by Red Callender Sextette">Red_Callender.html" ;"title="-side by Red Callender">-side by Red Callender Sextette(Recorded In Hollywood 237) * 1953: "Your Money Ain't Long Enough" / "Do Right Blues" (Recorded In Hollywood 238) * 1953: "You Can't Bring Me Down" / "Atomic Love" (Recorded In Hollywood 239) * 1953: "Big Eyes" / "Can't Stand It All Alone" (Big Town 106) * 1953: "Chains of Love Have Disappeared" / "Tried To Reason With You Baby" (

393) * 1960: "I Hope That It's Me" / "What Are They Laughing About" (Jack Bee 1005) * 1960: "The Ghost of Mary Meade" / "The Ghost of Mary Meade (Instrumental)" (Jack Bee 1008) * 1964: "Show Me The Time" / "What Are They Laughing About" (Ride M-140)

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Little Caesar
on Unca Marvy {{DEFAULTSORT:Caesar, Little 1928 births 1994 deaths United States Army soldiers Male actors from Pittsburgh Singers from Pittsburgh Male actors from Youngstown, Ohio Musicians from Youngstown, Ohio African-American male actors Recorded In Hollywood artists Modern Records artists RPM Records (United States) artists Downey Records artists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery