Clarence Muse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, composer, and lawyer. He was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Muse was the first Negro to "star" in a film. He acted for more than sixty years appearing in more than 150 movies.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Alexander and Mary Muse, he studied at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and received an international law degree in 1911. He was acting in New York by the 1920s, during the Harlem Renaissance with two Harlem theatres, Lincoln Players and Lafayette Players.
Muse moved to Chicago for a while, and then moved to Hollywood and performed in Hearts in Dixie (1929), the first all-black movie. For the next fifty years, he worked regularly in minor and major roles. While with the Lafayette Players, Muse worked under the management of producer Robert Levy on productions that helped black actors to gain prominence and respect. In regards to the Lafayette Theatre's staging of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Muse said the play was relevant to black actors and audiences "because, in a way, it was every black man's story. Black men too have been split creatures inhabiting one body.". Muse appeared as an opera singer, minstrel show performer, vaudeville and Broadway actor; he also wrote songs, plays, and sketches. In 1943, he became the first African American Broadway director with Run Little Chillun.
Muse was also the co-writer of several notable songs. In 1931, with Leon René and Otis René, Muse wrote "When It's Sleepy Time Down South", also known as "Sleepy Time Down South". The song was sung by Nina Mae McKinney in the movie Safe in Hell (1931), and later became a signature song of Louis Armstrong.
He was the major star in Broken Earth (1936), which related the story of a black sharecropper whose son miraculously recovers from fever through the father's fervent prayer. Shot on a farm in the South with nonprofessional actors (except for Muse), the film's early scenes focused in a highly realistic manner on the incredible hardship of black farmers, with plowing scenes. In 1938, Muse co-starred with boxer Joe Louis in Spirit of Youth, the fictional story of a champion boxer which featured an all black cast. Muse and Langston Hughes wrote the script for Way Down South (1939).
Muse performed in Broken Strings (1940), as a concert violinist who opposes the desire of his son to play "swing". From 1955-56, Muse was a regular on the weekly TV version of Casablanca, playing Sam the pianist (a part he was under consideration for in the original Warner Brothers film), and in 1959, he played Peter, the Honey Man, in Porgy and Bess.
He appeared on Disney's TV miniseries The Swamp Fox. Other film credits include Buck and the Preacher (1972), The World's Greatest Athlete (1973) and as Gazenga's Assistant, "Snapper" in Car Wash (1976). His last acting role was in The Black Stallion (1979).
Fotos
Filme (151)
The Black Stallion
1979 · Snoe
Passing Through
1977 · Papa Harris
Car Wash
1976 · Snapper
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
1975 · Self (archive footage)
A Dream for Christmas
1973 · Donald Freeland
The World's Greatest Athlete
1973 · Gazenga's Assistant
Buck and the Preacher
1972 · Cudjo
Porgy and Bess
1959 · Peter
Jungle Safari
1956 · Kyba
She Couldn't Say No
1954 · Diaper Delivery Man
The Sun Shines Bright
1953 · Uncle Zack
Jamaica Run
1953 · Mose
Caribbean
1952 · Quashy
The Las Vegas Story
1952 · Train Porter (uncredited)
My Forbidden Past
1951 · Pompey
Apache Drums
1951 · Jehu
Katie Did It
1950 · Mose
County Fair
1950 · Romulus (uncredited)
Riding High
1950 · Whitey
The Great Dan Patch
1949 · Voodoo
An Act of Murder
1948 · Mr. Pope
Silver River
1948 · Servant (uncredited)
Unconquered
1947 · Jason
Joe Palooka in the Knockout
1947 · Smoky
Welcome Stranger
1947 · Clarence, Train Waiter (uncredited)
The Peanut Man
1947 · Dr. George Washington Carver
A Likely Story
1947 · Porter (uncredited)
My Favorite Brunette
1947 · Second Man on Death Row (uncredited)
Two Smart People
1946 · Train Porter
Jungle Terror
1946 · Lightin'
Scarlet Street
1945 · Ben - Bank Janitor (uncredited)
She Wouldn't Say Yes
1945 · Porter (uncredited)
God Is My Co-Pilot
1945 · Frank (uncredited)
Without Love
1945 · Train Porter (uncredited)
Jungle Queen
1945 · Kyba
The Thin Man Goes Home
1944 · Porter on Train (uncredited)
San Diego I Love You
1944 · Porter (uncredited)
In the Meantime, Darling
1944 · Henry
The Soul of a Monster
1944 · Entertainer (uncredited)
Double Indemnity
1944 · Man (uncredited)
Stars on Parade
1944 · Carter (uncredited)
Follow the Boys
1944 · Singer (uncredited)
Jam Session
1944 · Henry
The Racket Man
1944 · George the Butler
Over the Wall
1943 · Sam
Flesh and Fantasy
1943 · Jeff (uncredited)
Johnny Come Lately
1943 · Butler
Watch on the Rhine
1943 · Horace
Heaven Can Wait
1943 · Jasper (uncredited)
Honeymoon Lodge
1943 · Porter
The Sky's the Limit
1943 · Colonial Club Doorman (uncredited)
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
1943 · George
Shadow of a Doubt
1943 · Pullman Porter
The Black Swan
1942 · Margaret's Servant (uncredited)
Strictly in the Groove
1942 · Durham's Valet (uncredited)
The Talk of the Town
1942 · Supreme Court Doorkeeper (uncredited)
Tales of Manhattan
1942 · Grandpa
Tough as They Come
1942 · Eddie
Twin Beds
1942 · George
Among the Living
1941
Belle Starr
1941 · Bootblack in Saloon (uncredited)
Gentleman from Dixie
1941 · Jupe
The Flame of New Orleans
1941 · Samuel, Carriage Driver
Kisses for Breakfast
1941 · Old Jeff
Love Crazy
1941 · Robert - Hat Check Man at Party
Invisible Ghost
1941 · Evans the Butler
Adam Had Four Sons
1941 · Sam (uncredited)
Chad Hanna
1940 · Henry Prince
Murder Over New York
1940 · Party Server
That Gang of Mine
1940 · Ben
Maryland
1940 · Reverend Bitters
Sporting Blood
1940 · Jeff
Broken Strings
1940 · Arthur Williams, Additional Dialogue
Zanzibar
1940 · Bino
Alice in Movieland
1940 · Train Porter
Way Down South
1939 · Uncle Caton, Writer
Secrets of a Nurse
1938 · 'Tiger', Lee's Handler
Prison Train
1938 · Train Steward / Sam
The Toy Wife
1938 · Brutus
Spirit of Youth
1938 · Frankie Walburn, Original Music Composer
Jungle Menace
1937 · Lightning
High Hat
1937 · Congo MacRosenbloom
Deep South
1937
Mysterious Crossing
1936 · Lincoln
Daniel Boone
1936 · Pompey
The Green Pastures
1936 · Angel (uncredited)
Spendthrift
1936 · Restaurant Table Captain
Show Boat
1936 · Sam
The Broken Earth
1936 · The Farmer
Laughing Irish Eyes
1936 · Deacon
Muss 'em Up
1936 · William
So Red the Rose
1935 · Cato
Beautiful Dreamer
1935
East of Java
1935 · First Mate Johnson
Harmony Lane
1935 · Old Joe
O'Shaughnessy's Boy
1935 · Jeff
After the Dance
1935 · Cook
Alias Mary Dow
1935 · 'Rufe'
Red Hot Tires
1935 · Bud's Truck Partner
Broadway Bill
1934 · Whitey
Kid Millions
1934 · Native (uncredited)
Black Moon
1934 · 'Lunch' McClaren
The Personality Kid
1934 · Shamrock
A Very Honorable Guy
1934 · Black Man
Massacre
1934 · Sam
Flying Down to Rio
1933 · Caddy in Haiti (uncredited)
Fury of the Jungle
1933 · Sunrise
The Wrecker
1933 · Chauffeur
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12
1933 · Self
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
1933 · Masseur
The Mind Reader
1933 · Sam
From Hell to Heaven
1933 · Sam
Frisco Jenny
1933 · Voice of Singer (uncredited)
Laughter in Hell
1933 · Abraham Jackson
The Death Kiss
1932 · Shoeshine Man
If I Had a Million
1932 · Death Row Singing Prisoner (uncredited)
Man Against Woman
1932 · Smoke Johnson
Washington Merry-Go-Round
1932 · Clarence
The Cabin in the Cotton
1932 · A Blind Negro
Hell's Highway
1932 · Rascal, Original Music Composer
Big City Blues
1932 · Nightclub Singer (uncredited)
White Zombie
1932 · Coach Driver
Winner Take All
1932 · Rosebud, the Trainer
Is My Face Red?
1932 · Horatio
Attorney for the Defense
1932 · Jefferson Q. Leffingwell
Night World
1932 · Tim Washington, the Doorman
Lena Rivers
1932 · Curfew
The Wet Parade
1932 · Taylor Tibbs
Prestige
1932 · Nham
The Woman from Monte Carlo
1932 · Tombeau
X Marks the Spot
1931 · Eustace Brown
Safe in Hell
1931 · Newcastle
The Secret Witness
1931 · Jeff - Building Janitor
Secret Service
1931 · Jonas Polk
Huckleberry Finn
1931 · Jim
The Fighting Sheriff
1931 · Curfew
Dirigible
1931 · Clarence
The Last Parade
1931 · Alabam' / Singing Voice of Condemned Man (uncredited)
Derelict
1930 · Driver (uncredited)
Outside the Law
1930 · Party Guest (uncredited)
Rain or Shine
1930 · Nero
The Thoroughbred
1930 · Stablehand
Swing High
1930 · Singer
Honey
1930 · Black Revivalist
A Royal Romance
1930 · Rusty
Guilty?
1930 · Jefferson
New York Nights
1929 · Cabaret Singer (uncredited)
Hallelujah
1929 · Church Member (uncredited)
Election Day
1929 · Farina's father
Hearts in Dixie
1929 · Nappus
The Custard Nine
1921 · Producer
