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Clarence Muse
Acting
Biography
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 …
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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).
Biography expanded
BODY OF WORK
Clarence Muse's Filmography
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The Black Stallion
as Snoe
Passing Through
as Papa Harris
Car Wash
as Snapper
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
as Self (archive footage)
A Dream for Christmas
as Donald Freeland
The World's Greatest Athlete
as Gazenga's Assistant
Buck and the Preacher
as Cudjo
Porgy and Bess
as Peter
Jungle Safari
as Kyba
She Couldn't Say No
as Diaper Delivery Man
The Sun Shines Bright
as Uncle Zack
Jamaica Run
as Mose
Caribbean
as Quashy
The Las Vegas Story
as Train Porter (uncredited)
My Forbidden Past
as Pompey
Apache Drums
as Jehu
Katie Did It
as Mose
County Fair
as Romulus (uncredited)
Riding High
as Whitey
The Great Dan Patch
as Voodoo
An Act of Murder
as Mr. Pope
Silver River
as Servant (uncredited)
Unconquered
as Jason
Joe Palooka in the Knockout
as Smoky
Welcome Stranger
as Clarence, Train Waiter (uncredited)
The Peanut Man
as Dr. George Washington Carver
A Likely Story
as Porter (uncredited)
My Favorite Brunette
as Second Man on Death Row (uncredited)
Two Smart People
as Train Porter
Jungle Terror
as Lightin'
Scarlet Street
as Ben - Bank Janitor (uncredited)
She Wouldn't Say Yes
as Porter (uncredited)
God Is My Co-Pilot
as Frank (uncredited)
Without Love
as Train Porter (uncredited)
Jungle Queen
as Kyba
The Thin Man Goes Home
as Porter on Train (uncredited)
San Diego I Love You
as Porter (uncredited)
In the Meantime, Darling
as Henry
The Soul of a Monster
as Entertainer (uncredited)
Double Indemnity
as Man (uncredited)
Stars on Parade
as Carter (uncredited)
Follow the Boys
as Singer (uncredited)
Jam Session
as Henry
The Racket Man
as George the Butler
Over the Wall
as Sam
Flesh and Fantasy
as Jeff (uncredited)
Johnny Come Lately
as Butler
Watch on the Rhine
as Horace
Heaven Can Wait
as Jasper (uncredited)
Honeymoon Lodge
as Porter
The Sky's the Limit
as Colonial Club Doorman (uncredited)
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
as George
Shadow of a Doubt
as Pullman Porter
The Black Swan
as Margaret's Servant (uncredited)
Strictly in the Groove
as Durham's Valet (uncredited)
The Talk of the Town
as Supreme Court Doorkeeper (uncredited)
Tales of Manhattan
as Grandpa
Tough as They Come
as Eddie
Twin Beds
as George
Among the Living
Belle Starr
as Bootblack in Saloon (uncredited)
Gentleman from Dixie
as Jupe
The Flame of New Orleans
as Samuel, Carriage Driver
Kisses for Breakfast
as Old Jeff
Love Crazy
as Robert - Hat Check Man at Party
Invisible Ghost
as Evans the Butler
Adam Had Four Sons
as Sam (uncredited)
Chad Hanna
as Henry Prince
Murder Over New York
as Party Server
That Gang of Mine
as Ben
Maryland
as Reverend Bitters
Sporting Blood
as Jeff
Broken Strings
as Arthur Williams
Zanzibar
as Bino
Alice in Movieland
as Train Porter
Way Down South
as Uncle Caton
Secrets of a Nurse
as 'Tiger', Lee's Handler
Prison Train
as Train Steward / Sam
The Toy Wife
as Brutus
Spirit of Youth
as Frankie Walburn
Jungle Menace
as Lightning
High Hat
as Congo MacRosenbloom
Deep South
Mysterious Crossing
as Lincoln
Daniel Boone
as Pompey
The Green Pastures
as Angel (uncredited)
Spendthrift
as Restaurant Table Captain
Show Boat
as Sam
No Poster
The Broken Earth
as The Farmer
Laughing Irish Eyes
as Deacon
Muss 'em Up
as William
So Red the Rose
as Cato
No Poster
Beautiful Dreamer
East of Java
as First Mate Johnson
Harmony Lane
as Old Joe
O'Shaughnessy's Boy
as Jeff
After the Dance
as Cook
Alias Mary Dow
as 'Rufe'
Red Hot Tires
as Bud's Truck Partner
Broadway Bill
as Whitey
Kid Millions
as Native (uncredited)
Black Moon
as 'Lunch' McClaren
The Personality Kid
as Shamrock
A Very Honorable Guy
as Black Man
Massacre
as Sam
Flying Down to Rio
as Caddy in Haiti (uncredited)
Fury of the Jungle
as Sunrise
The Wrecker
as Chauffeur
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12
as Self
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
as Masseur
The Mind Reader
as Sam
From Hell to Heaven
as Sam
Frisco Jenny
as Voice of Singer (uncredited)
Laughter in Hell
as Abraham Jackson
The Death Kiss
as Shoeshine Man
If I Had a Million
as Death Row Singing Prisoner (uncredited)
Man Against Woman
as Smoke Johnson
Washington Merry-Go-Round
as Clarence
The Cabin in the Cotton
as A Blind Negro
Hell's Highway
as Rascal
Big City Blues
as Nightclub Singer (uncredited)
White Zombie
as Coach Driver
Winner Take All
as Rosebud, the Trainer
Is My Face Red?
as Horatio
Attorney for the Defense
as Jefferson Q. Leffingwell
Night World
as Tim Washington, the Doorman
Lena Rivers
as Curfew
The Wet Parade
as Taylor Tibbs
Prestige
as Nham
The Woman from Monte Carlo
as Tombeau
X Marks the Spot
as Eustace Brown
Safe in Hell
as Newcastle
The Secret Witness
as Jeff - Building Janitor
Secret Service
as Jonas Polk
Huckleberry Finn
as Jim
The Fighting Sheriff
as Curfew
Dirigible
as Clarence
The Last Parade
as Alabam' / Singing Voice of Condemned Man (uncredited)
Derelict
as Driver (uncredited)
Outside the Law
as Party Guest (uncredited)
Rain or Shine
as Nero
The Thoroughbred
as Stablehand
Swing High
as Singer
Honey
as Black Revivalist
A Royal Romance
as Rusty
Guilty?
as Jefferson
New York Nights
as Cabaret Singer (uncredited)
Hallelujah
as Church Member (uncredited)
Election Day
as Farina's father
Hearts in Dixie
as Nappus
No Poster