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Arabella’s Notes
William had vowed that every one of his children would be formally educated to the best of their abilities. When his oldest son, Bill(William, Jr. ) was ready for college the senior Robeson attempted to enroll him at Princeton University. After receiving no response, Robeson appealed directly to Woodrow Wilson, at that time president of the school. Wilson refused to exempt the enrollment from the “no colored” rule. But the white community saw this as a breach of social conduct on the part of the pastor and eventually saw to it that Robeson was removed from his position.
Eugene O’Neill’s play was to open in early 1924 but complications delayed it until mid-May. There were a series of reasons but one concerned the threats made against O’Neill and Paul Robeson by the Klu Klux Klan who predicted violence and riots if the story of interracial marriage was allowed to be portrayed on stage. But when the play opened on May 15th, not one protester was in evidence.
Paul was among many called to testify at the Congressional House Un-American Activities Committee. They found his travels to the Soviet Union suspect even though there was no evidence that Paul was a Communist or engaged in any unethical behavior. This answer to questions did not endear him to the Committee: “What should happen, would be that this U.S. Government should go down to Mississippi and protect my people. That is what should happen. I stand here struggling for the rights of my people to be full citizens in this country. They are not…in Mississippi. They are not…in Montgomery. That is why I am here today….In Russia I felt for the first time like a full human being – no color prejudice like in Mississippi, no color prejudice like in Washington.” When one of the committee asked “Why did you not stay in Russia?” Paul replied “Because my father was a slave and my people died to build this country, and I am going to stay right here and have a part of it…”
This was an oft-missed question in the game “Trivial Pursuit”. The answer? Paul Robeson who sang for the workers who were building the opera house…it was during a lunch break. Paul was visiting Australia at the end of 1960. He was deeply concerned about some Aborigine tribes in the West Australian desert.
Some scenes from Paul Robeson’s Films…..
Some very short notes about some very talented people
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Born: January 2nd, 1884 on a farm in the Ohio Valley Died: March 25th, 1951 buried in Great Bend, Kansas
Micheaux wrote, produced and directed 44 feature-length films
between 1919 and 1948, the African-American to produce either a feature
film or a sound film. Oscar delighted in making pictures that parodied
Hollywood often using role reversals. In his 5th film “Within
Our Gates”(1920) he attacked D.W. Griffith’s racist epic
“Birth of a Nation” by filming a rape scene with the same
lighting, blocking and setting but used a white villain with a black
woman. Micheaux was given a star on the Walk of Fame in 1987.
Born: November 5th, 1901 Weimer, Texas Died: January 2nd, 2004 Chicago, Illinois
She began her career on the Broadway stage in “Fast and Furious” soon after she graduated from the University of Kansas but she broke the color barrier in film with her roles in “Flying Down to Rio” and “Gold Diggers of 1933” (1933). Especially when she sang “Remember My Forgotten Man” posed glamorously in a window! It was that song that prompted Eleanor Roosevelt to ask her to sing at the White House (the first black woman ever to do so) for FDR’s birthday party. In order to get her for the 1942 revival of “Porgy and Bess” (as Bess), George Gershwin had to remove the word “nigger” from the libretto. Etta died of pancreatic cancer at 102.
Born: May 25th, 1878 Richmond, Virginia Died: November 25th, 1949 New York City, New York
He was christened Luther but fought his younger brother, Bill, for the name change. He won but the original Bill didn’t like Luther either and became Percy. The new Bill starred in vaudeville and black revues getting the nickname “Bojangles” for his smiling, carefree personality. He created “stair dancing”, wooden taps for dancing shoes, and the word “copasetic”. Bojangles was considered the world’s best tap dancer in his time. He appeared in 4 movies with Hollywood moppet star Shirley temple and danced down Broadway from Columbia Circle to 44th Street in celebration of his 61st birthday. Bill died of heart disease at age 71.
Born: January 8th, 1911 Tampa, Florida Died: December 22nd, 1995 Augusta, Georgia
Her real name was Thelma but she got her nickname from dancing in the Butterfly Ballet of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. She studied nursing but took a friend’s suggestion that she try auditioning for acting jobs and began on Broadway in “Brown Sugar” in 1937. While Butterfly made only 12 films, she will always be remembered for her role as Prissy in “Gone With The Wind”. However, she had roles in several hit films...Lily in “Cabin in the Sky” (1943), Lottie in “Mildred Pierce” (1945) and Vashti in “Duel in the Sun” (1946). Butterfly died tragically of burns when her nightgown caught fire as she was lighting a kerosene heater. She was 84.
Born: May 30th, 1902 Key West, Florida Died: November 19th, 1985 Woodland Hills, California
His real name was Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry. He took his stage name from a racehorse that helped him win $30 in Oklahoma. He was a popular star in black films before he developed his lazy, shiftless, perpetually perplexed role that earned him contempt in the black community. But his sense of timing and comic styling were always right on the money. He made over 51 movies and became the first black actor to be a millionaire but he squandered his fortune. Late in his life, he could be seen in the entourage of Muhammed Ali, the fighter. Stepin Fetchit died of pneumonia and congestive heart failure at age 83.
Beah began her career on Broadway in 1950 after two years in stock productions learning her craft. She played mother to many actors including Sidney Poitier in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967) a role that got her a Best Supporting Actor nod, and James Earl Jones in “The Great White Hope” (1970). She continued to be successful on television with roles that included Cynthia Palmer in “Roots: The Next Generation” (1988-89). She won an Emmy for her guest role on “The Practice” just days before she died of emphysema at age 74. An HBO documentary “Beah: A Black Woman Speaks” is currently being shown on that station.
Born: December 8th, 1925 Harlem, New York Died: May 16th, 1990 Beverly Hills, California
Multi-talented Sammy was on the boards with his vaudeville parents before he was 3 and with his uncle’s Will Mastin Trio before he was 4. He made his first film, a short , in 1933 at the age of 8. In 1954 an automobile accident cost him one eye and almost ended his career. He made 31 films but is probably best remembered for the ones he made with the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop) like “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960). But his comeback in “Tap” with Gregory Hines (1989) after winning a battle over alcohol and cocaine addiction was a huge success. He was dead 8 months later of throat cancer. A famous quote: When asked what his golf handicap was, Sammy replied “I am a one-eyed black Jew, that’s my handicap!” Only Sammy could say that and get away with it.
Born: March 8th, 1902 Cincinnati, Ohio Died: October 26th, 1962 Hollywood, California
Her sweet face and sunny persona made it possible for her to add a human side to the stereotypical roles she played. Louise began her acting career in black minstrel shows but landed a real-time job….as a maid to actress Leatrice Joy. But she had to learn a southern accent for film roles since she didn’t have one and eat extra meals to keep the weight needed to play the parts given her. Louise deserved a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for her role as Aunt Delilah in “Imitation of Life” (1934) but that category wasn’t available that year. She made over 159 films, the busiest black actress in Hollywood! In the 1952-1953 television season, she replaced Ethel Waters (who had replaced Hattie McDaniel) as “Beulah”. Louise died of a heart attack in 1962. She was only 60 years old. |
William
Drew Robeson and Woodrow Wilson.
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