Clarence Muse
1889-10-13 ( 135 years old ) in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

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).

Movies

The Black Stallion 1979-10-13
Passing Through 1977-08-06
Car Wash 1976-10-22
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen 1975-04-19
A Dream for Christmas 1973-12-24
The World's Greatest Athlete 1973-02-14
Buck and the Preacher 1972-03-17
Porgy and Bess 1959-06-24
Jungle Safari 1956-01-01
She Couldn't Say No 1954-02-15
The Sun Shines Bright 1953-05-02
Jamaica Run 1953-04-21
Caribbean 1952-09-01
The Las Vegas Story 1952-01-30
My Forbidden Past 1951-04-25
Apache Drums 1951-04-01
Katie Did It 1950-11-26
Riding High 1950-04-12
The Great Dan Patch 1949-07-22
An Act of Murder 1948-12-05
Unconquered 1947-10-10
Joe Palooka in the Knockout 1947-09-20
Welcome Stranger 1947-06-13
The Peanut Man 1947-06-01
A Likely Story 1947-04-18
My Favorite Brunette 1947-03-19
Two Smart People 1946-06-04
Jungle Terror 1946-06-01
Scarlet Street 1945-12-25
She Wouldn't Say Yes 1945-11-29
God Is My Co-Pilot 1945-04-07
Without Love 1945-03-22
Jungle Queen 1945-01-22
San Diego I Love You 1944-09-29
In the Meantime, Darling 1944-09-22
The Soul of a Monster 1944-08-17
Double Indemnity 1944-07-06
Stars on Parade 1944-05-25
Jam Session 1944-04-13
The Racket Man 1944-01-18
Over the Wall 1943-12-25
Flesh and Fantasy 1943-10-29
Johnny Come Lately 1943-09-03
Watch on the Rhine 1943-08-27
Heaven Can Wait 1943-08-05
Honeymoon Lodge 1943-07-23
The Sky's the Limit 1943-07-13
Sherlock Holmes in Washington 1943-03-24
Shadow of a Doubt 1943-01-15
The Black Swan 1942-12-04
Strictly in the Groove 1942-11-20
The Talk of the Town 1942-08-20
Tales of Manhattan 1942-08-05
Tough as They Come 1942-06-05
Twin Beds 1942-04-30
Among the Living 1941-12-12
Belle Starr 1941-09-12
Gentleman from Dixie 1941-09-02
The Flame of New Orleans 1941-07-07
Kisses for Breakfast 1941-07-05
Love Crazy 1941-05-23
Invisible Ghost 1941-04-25
Adam Had Four Sons 1941-03-27
Chad Hanna 1940-12-25
Murder Over New York 1940-12-13
That Gang of Mine 1940-09-23
Maryland 1940-07-19
Sporting Blood 1940-07-11
Zanzibar 1940-03-08
Alice in Movieland 1940-03-03
Broken Strings 1940-01-01
Way Down South 1939-07-21
Secrets of a Nurse 1938-12-02
Prison Train 1938-10-17
The Toy Wife 1938-06-10
Spirit of Youth 1938-04-01
Jungle Menace 1937-09-01
High Hat 1937-01-01
Deep South 1937-01-01
Mysterious Crossing 1936-12-27
Daniel Boone 1936-10-16
The Green Pastures 1936-08-01
Spendthrift 1936-07-22
Show Boat 1936-05-17
The Broken Earth 1936-04-16
Laughing Irish Eyes 1936-03-04
Muss 'em Up 1936-02-13
So Red the Rose 1935-12-20
East of Java 1935-12-01
Harmony Lane 1935-10-22
O'Shaughnessy's Boy 1935-09-27
After the Dance 1935-06-25
Alias Mary Dow 1935-05-01
Red Hot Tires 1935-02-02
Broadway Bill 1934-11-30
Kid Millions 1934-11-10
Black Moon 1934-06-15
The Personality Kid 1934-06-06
A Very Honorable Guy 1934-04-18
Massacre 1934-01-20
Flying Down to Rio 1933-12-22
Fury of the Jungle 1933-10-23
The Wrecker 1933-07-10
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12 1933-06-29
The Life of Jimmy Dolan 1933-06-03
The Mind Reader 1933-04-01
From Hell to Heaven 1933-02-24
Frisco Jenny 1933-01-14
Laughter in Hell 1933-01-12
The Death Kiss 1932-12-05
If I Had a Million 1932-11-18
Man Against Woman 1932-11-15
Washington Merry-Go-Round 1932-10-15
The Cabin in the Cotton 1932-09-26
Hell's Highway 1932-09-23
Big City Blues 1932-09-18
White Zombie 1932-07-28
Winner Take All 1932-07-16
Is My Face Red? 1932-06-17
Attorney for the Defense 1932-05-21
Night World 1932-05-04
Lena Rivers 1932-03-27
The Wet Parade 1932-03-26
The Woman from Monte Carlo 1932-01-09
Prestige 1931-12-30
X Marks the Spot 1931-12-13
Safe in Hell 1931-12-12
The Secret Witness 1931-12-12
Secret Service 1931-11-14
Huckleberry Finn 1931-08-07
The Fighting Sheriff 1931-05-15
Dirigible 1931-02-01
The Last Parade 1931-01-31
Derelict 1930-11-22
Outside the Law 1930-09-18
Rain or Shine 1930-08-15
The Thoroughbred 1930-08-09
Swing High 1930-05-18
Honey 1930-03-29
A Royal Romance 1930-03-17
Guilty? 1930-03-03
New York Nights 1929-12-28
Hallelujah 1929-08-20
Election Day 1929-01-12
Hearts in Dixie 1929-01-02
The Custard Nine 1921-11-06

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