CM
Clarence Muse
Actor, Writer, Additional Credits
Born October 13, 1889Died October 13, 1979 (90 years)
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).
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 & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 1979 | The Black Stallion · as Snoe |
| 1977 | Passing Through · as Papa Harris |
| 1976 | Car Wash · as Snapper |
| 1973 | A Dream for Christmas · as Donald Freeland |
| 1973 | The World's Greatest Athlete · as Gazenga's Assistant |
| 1972 | Buck and the Preacher · as Cudjo |
| 1966 | Daktari (TV Series) · as Chief Warloo |
| 1959 | Porgy and Bess · as Peter |
| 1955 | The 20th Century-Fox Hour (TV Series) |
| 1955 | Casablanca (1955) (TV Series) |
| 1954 | Disneyland (TV Series) · as Joseph |
| 1953 | She Couldn't Say No · as Diaper Delivery Man |
| 1953 | Jamaica Run · as Mose |
| 1953 | The Sun Shines Bright · as Uncle Zack |
| 1952 | Four Star Playhouse (TV Series) · as Phil |
| 1952 | Caribbean · as Quashy |
| 1952 | The Las Vegas Story · as Train Porter (uncredited) |
| 1951 | My Forbidden Past · as Pompey |
| 1951 | Apache Drums · as Jehu |
| 1950 | Katie Did It · as Mose |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Albert |
| 1950 | County Fair · as Romulus |
| 1950 | Riding High · as Whitey |
| 1949 | The Great Dan Patch · as Voodoo |
| 1948 | An Act of Murder · as Mr. Pope |
| 1948 | Silver River · as Servant |
| 1947 | Unconquered · as Jason |
| 1947 | Welcome Stranger · as Clarence, Train Waiter (uncredited) |
| 1947 | A Likely Story · as Porter (uncredited) |
| 1947 | My Favorite Brunette · as Second Man On Death Row (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Night and Day · as Porter |
| 1946 | Two Smart People · as Train Porter |
| 1945 | Scarlet Street · as Ben - Bank Janitor (uncredited) |
| 1945 | She Wouldn't Say Yes · as Porter |
| 1945 | Boston Blackie's Rendezvous · as Hotel Porter |
| 1945 | God Is My Co-Pilot · as Frank (uncredited) |
| 1945 | Without Love · as Train Porter |
| 1945 | Jungle Queen · as Kyba |
| 1944 | The Thin Man Goes Home · as Porter On Train |
| 1944 | San Diego I Love You · as Porter (uncredited) |
| 1944 | In the Meantime, Darling · as Henry |
| 1944 | The Soul of a Monster · as Entertainer (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Follow the Boys · as Singer |
| 1944 | Double Indemnity · as Man (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Jam Session · as Henry |
| 1944 | The Racket Man · as George The Butler |
| 1943 | Flesh and Fantasy · as Jeff (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Johnny Come Lately · as Butler |
| 1943 | Watch on the Rhine · as Horace |
| 1943 | Heaven Can Wait · as Jasper |
| 1943 | The Sky's the Limit · as Colonial Club Doorman (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Sherlock Holmes in Washington · as George |
| 1943 | Shadow of a Doubt · as Pullman Porter |
| 1942 | The Black Swan · as Margaret's Servant (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Sin Town · as Train Porter |
| 1942 | The Talk of the Town · as Supreme Court Doorkeeper (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Tales of Manhattan · as Grandpa (robeson Sequence) |
| 1942 | Tough As They Come · as Eddie |
| 1942 | Twin Beds · as George |
| 1941 | |
| 1941 | Belle Starr · as Bootblack In Saloon (uncredited) |
| 1941 | Kisses for Breakfast · as Old Jeff |
| 1941 | Love Crazy · as Robert - Hat Check Man At Party |
| 1941 | Invisible Ghost · as Evans The Butler |
| 1941 | The Flame of New Orleans · as Samuel, Carriage Driver |
| 1941 | Adam Had Four Sons · as Sam (uncredited) |
| 1940 | Chad Hanna · as Henry Prince |
| 1940 | Murder Over New York · as Party Server |
| 1940 | That Gang of Mine · as Ben |
| 1940 | Maryland · as Reverend Bitters |
| 1940 | Sporting Blood · as Jeff |
| 1940 | Broken Strings · as Arthur Williams |
| 1939 | Way Down South · as Uncle Caton |
| 1938 | Prison Train · as Train Steward / Sam |
| 1938 | The Toy Wife · as Brutus |
| 1938 | Spirit of Youth · as Frankie Walburn |
| 1936 | Daniel Boone · as Pompey |
| 1936 | Follow Your Heart · as Choir Leader |
| 1936 | The Green Pastures · as Angel (uncredited) |
| 1936 | Spendthrift · as Restaurant Table Captain |
| 1936 | Show Boat · as Sam |
| 1936 | Muss 'em Up · as William |
| 1935 | So Red the Rose · as Cato |
| 1935 | East of Java · as First Mate Johnson |
| 1935 | Harmony Lane · as Old Joe |
| 1935 | The Public Menace · as Janitor |
| 1935 | O'Shaughnessy's Boy · as Jeff |
| 1935 | After the Dance · as Cook |
| 1935 | Alias Mary Dow · as 'rufe' |
| 1935 | Red Hot Tires · as Bud's Truck Partner |
| 1934 | Broadway Bill · as Whitey |
| 1934 | Kid Millions · as Native |
| 1934 | The Count of Monte Cristo · as Ali |
| 1934 | The Personality Kid · as Shamrock |
| 1934 | Black Moon · as 'lunch' Mcclaren |
| 1934 | Operator 13 · as Slave At Medicine Show |
| 1934 | A Very Honorable Guy · as Black Man |
| 1934 | Massacre · as Sam |
| 1933 | Flying Down to Rio · as Caddy In Haiti (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Melody Cruise · as Dock Worker |
| 1933 | The Life of Jimmy Dolan · as Masseur |
| 1933 | The Circus Queen Murder · as Roustabout - Edited From 'rain Or Shine' |
| 1933 | The Mind Reader · as Sam |
| 1933 | From Hell to Heaven · as Sam |
| 1933 | Laughter in Hell · as Abraham Jackson |
| 1932 | Frisco Jenny · as Voice Of Singer (uncredited) |
| 1932 | The Death Kiss · as Shoeshine Man |
| 1932 | If I Had a Million · as Death Row Singing Prisoner (uncredited) |
| 1932 | The Cabin in the Cotton · as A Blind Negro |
| 1932 | Washington Merry-Go-Round · as Clarence |
| 1932 | Hell's Highway · as Rascal |
| 1932 | Big City Blues · as Nightclub Singer (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Lena Rivers · as Curfew |
| 1932 | White Zombie · as Coach Driver |
| 1932 | Winner Take All · as Rosebud, The Trainer |
| 1932 | Is My Face Red? · as Horatio |
| 1932 | Attorney for the Defense · as Jefferson Q. Leffingwell |
| 1932 | Night World · as Tim Washington, The Doorman |
| 1932 | The Wet Parade · as Taylor Tibbs |
| 1932 | The Woman from Monte Carlo · as Tombeau |
| 1931 | Prestige · as Nham |
| 1931 | X Marks the Spot · as Eustace Brown |
| 1931 | Safe in Hell · as Newcastle |
| 1931 | The Secret Witness · as Jeff - Building Janitor |
| 1931 | Secret Service · as Jonas Polk |
| 1931 | Huckleberry Finn · as Jim |
| 1931 | Dirigible · as Clarence |
| 1930 | Derelict · as Driver (uncredited) |
| 1930 | Outside the Law · as Party Guest (uncredited) |
| 1930 | Rain or Shine · as Nero |
| 1930 | Swing High · as Singer |
| 1930 | Honey · as Black Revivalist |
| 1929 | New York Nights · as Cabaret Singer (uncredited) |
| 1929 | Hallelujah · as Church Member (uncredited) |