June 29, 1919 Lloyd George Richards, theater actor, director and educator, was born in Toronto, Canada, but raised in Detroit, Michigan. Richards earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wayne State University in 1944 and then became one of the first black military pilots while serving in the United States Air Force during World War [...]
Tag Archives | director
May 14th in African American History – Clara Stanton Jones
May 14, 1913 Clara Stanton Jones, the first African American director of a major city public library, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Jones earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Spelman College in 1934 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Library Science in 1938 from the University of Michigan. Between 1938 and 1944, [...]
April 11th in African American History – Roscoe Lee Browne
April 11, 2007 Roscoe Lee Browne, actor and director, died. Browne was born May 2, 1925 in Woodbury, New Jersey. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Lincoln University in 1946 and in 1949 won the Amateur Athletic Union 1,000-yard national indoor track championship. Browne began his acting career with the Shakespeare Festival Theater and in [...]
February 16th in African American History – Levardis Robert Martyn “LeVar” Burton
February 16, 1957 Levardis Robert Martyn “LeVar” Burton, actor, director and author, was born in Landstuhl, West Germany. Burton graduated from the University of Southern California School of Theater. While still in school, he came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 television miniseries “Roots.” In 1986, Burton originated the role of La Forge [...]
February 4th in African American History – Raiford Chatman “Ossie” Davis
February 4, 2005 Raiford Chatman “Ossie” Davis, actor, director, playwright and social activist, died. Davis was born December 18, 1917 in Cogdell, Georgia. He began his acting career in 1939 with the Rose McClendon Players in Harlem. Davis made his film debut in “No Way Out” (1950) and over the next 55 years appeared in [...]
September 18th in African American History – Jada Koren Pinkett-Smith
September 18, 1971 Jada Koren Pinkett-Smith, film and television actress, producer, director and business woman, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Pinkett-Smith began her career in 1990 but her real success came in 1991 when she starred in the television series “A Different World.” She has appeared in more than 20 films including “Menace II Society” [...]