People, Locations, Episodes

Elmer Snowden, Musician, and Bandleader born

*Elmer Snowden was born on this date in 1900.  He was a Black jazz musician and bandleader.   Elmer Chester Snowden was born in Baltimore, MD., to Gertrude Snowden and had a brother, James. His mother worked as a laundress, but by the time of the 1917 World War I draft registration of 1917, a month before his 17th birthday, he was […]

Jester Hairston, Composer and Actor born

Jester Hairston was born on this date in 1901. He was an African American choral composer and actor.

The grandson of slaves from the Hairston plantation at Belew’s Creek, North Carolina, Jester Hairston often had to suffer the indignities of Hollywood racism. A cum laude graduate from Tufts Universit with a major in music, he also studied music at the famed Julliard School. He spent 13 years as assistant conductor of the Hall Johnson Negro Choir, where he often arranged and conducted choirs for Broadway.

Mantan Moreland, Comic Actor born

*On this date in 1901 Mantan Moreland was born. He was an African American actor.

From Monroe, Louisiana, Moreland ran away to join the circus at age 12, had success for many years in vaudeville. Eventually his career came to Hollywood, where he appeared in hundreds of movies. Moreland’s artistry and face are familiar to most fans of classic Hollywood. “Charlie Chan” TV fans know him as Birmingham Brown, chauffeur to the great detective in a number of pictures for the Monogram studio but those films are but a small portion of his creative output.

Louise Beavers, Actress born

*This date recalls the birth of Louise Beavers in 1902. Known for her character roles, she was an African American film and television actress.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Beavers first drew attention as part of an act known as the “Lady Minstrels.” Despite her theatrical abilities and inclinations, she went to Hollywood, not as a performer, but as the maid of actress Leatrice Joy. She soon, however, appeared on the silver screen, making her feature debut in Gold Diggers (1923). She continued to act in such other silent films as Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1927).

Step’n Fetchit, Vaudeville, and Film Actor born

On this date in 1902, Step’n Fetchit was born. He was an African American actor known for his stereotypical film portrayal of Black minstrel characters.

Vivian Harris, Comedian born

*Vivian Harris was born on this date in 1902. She was an African American Comedian, Chorus Girl and Longtime “Voice of the Apollo.”

Dick Campbell, Stage Actor, and Theater Advocate born

*Dick Campbell was born on this date in 1903. He was a Black actor, theater advocate, and community activist.   Born Cornelius Coleridge Campbell in Beaumont, Texas. Orphaned at the age of six, he was raised by his maternal grandmother, Pauline Snow. He was a janitor at his local high school before attending Paul Quinn […]

Walter Roland, Pianist born

*Walter Roland was born on this date in 1903. He was a Black blues, boogie-woogie, and jazz pianist, guitarist, and singer.      Roland was born in Ralph, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. He started playing on the Birmingham blues circuit in the 1920s. A competent and versatile pianist, his range covered slow blues to upbeat, jaunty boogie-woogie numbers. He was also a skilled […]

Fredi Washington, Actress born

*On this date in 1903, Fredi Washington was born. She was an African American actress, writer, dancer, and singer.

From Savannah, Georgia, Fredericka Carolyn Washington’s education began at St. Elizabeth Convent in Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania. She then attended the Egri School of Dramatic Writing and the Christopher School of Languages, where her attractions included casting, writing, dancing, singing, and civil rights. Washington’s career began dancing in nightclubs. From 1922 to 1926, she toured with Sissle and Blake’s Shuffle Along.

James Baskett, Actor born.

*On this date we point out the birth of James Baskett in 1904. He was an African American actor.

Pigmeat Markham, Comedian born

On this date we mark the birth of Pigmeat Markham in 1904. He was an African American comedian.

From Durham, North Carolina, Dewey Pigmeat Markham began his long career in 1917, dancing in traveling shows. He traveled the southern ‘race’ circuit with blues singer Bessie Smith and later appeared on burlesque bills with Milton Berle, Red Buttons, and Eddie Cantor. By the 50s, Markham was one of Black America’s most popular entertainers through his shows at the Regal in Chicago, the Howard in Washington, and in particular, New York’s famed Apollo.

John P. Davis, Journalist born

*John P. Davis was born on this date in 1905. He was a Black journalist, lawyer, and activist administrator. John Preston Davis was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Dr. William Henry Davis and Julia Davis. In the 1920s, his father was Secretary to the Presidential Commission investigating the economic conditions in the Virgin […]

Frederick O’Neal, Stage, and Media Arts Advocate born

Frederick Douglass O’Neal was born on this date in 1905. He was an African American stage, film, and TV actor/director who also organized and led theater and arts groups.

Eddie Anderson, Actor, and Comedian born

*On this date, Eddie (Rochester) Anderson was born in 1905. He was an African American actor best known for his comic portrayal of the character “Rochester” on the Jack Benny radio show.

Ernestine Wade, Actress born

*Ernestine Wade was born on this date in 1906. She was an African American actress.