EH
Edna Mae Harris
Actor
Born September 29, 1910Died September 15, 1997 (86 years)
Edna Mae Harris was one of the best-known Black actresses of the 1930s and 1940s. She starred in many all-black cast independently produced movies of the day. An attractive woman who had a soulful voice, personality and sex appeal, she could sing, dance and act. The personification of a Harlem performer, Edna found fame by playing in both stage and screen versions of The Green Pastures (1936) as Zeba. Audiences loved her, and she received glorious reviews, so it was no surprise when Hollywood asked her to repeat her role on screen to wide acclaim. Edna Mae was very much in demand starring in some of the top Black movies such as Spirit of Youth (1938), Paradise in Harlem (1939), Sunday Sinners (1940), The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940), and Tall, Tan, and Terrific (1946), showing her excellent acting skills in drama and comedy. Edna Mae Harris got to tell her story in her later years in the documentary, Midnight Ramble (1994), about independently produced Black films.
Filmography
| 1943 | Stage Door Canteen · as Sun Tan Girl (uncredited) |
| 1941 | Murder on Lenox Avenue · as Singer |
| 1939 | Lying Lips · as Elsie Bellwood |
| 1939 | Paradise in Harlem · as Doll Davis |
| 1938 | Spirit of Youth · as Mary Bowdin |
| 1936 | The Garden of Allah · as Oasis Girl |
| 1936 | The Green Pastures · as Zeba |
| 1936 | Bullets or Ballots · as Rose - Lee's Maid (uncredited) |
| 1936 | Fury · as Black Woman (uncredited) |
| 1936 | Private Number · as Lulu (uncredited) |