December 17, 1993 Moses Gunn, stage, film, and television actor, died. Gunn was born October 2, 1929 in St. Louis, Missouri and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Tennessee State University in 1959. He then studied at the University of Kansas from 1959 to 1961 in their graduate program for speech and drama. Gunn [...]
Tag Archives | film
September 23rd in African American History – George Costello Wolfe
September 23, 1954 George Costello Wolfe, playwright and director of theater and films, was born in Frankfort, Kentucky. Wolfe earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Pomona College and then taught for several years in Los Angeles and New York where he earned a Masters of Fine Arts from New York University in 1983. [...]
July 9th in African American History – Eloise Gwendolyn Isabel Sanford
July 9, 2004 Eloise Gwendolyn Isabel Sanford, television and film actress, died. Sanford was born August 29, 1917 in New York City. She made her film debut in the 1967 movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Other films in which she appeared include “Lady Sings the Blues” (1972), “Love At First Bite” (1979), and “Sprung” [...]
May 16th in African American History – Sammy Davis, Jr.
May 16, 1990 Sammy Davis, Jr., singer, dancer, film, and stage actor, died. Davis was born December 8, 1925 in New York City. He began performing almost as soon as he could walk as part of the vaudeville Mastin Troupe. After serving in the army, in 1955 Davis recorded his first album, “Starring Sammy Davis, [...]
February 28th in African American History – Edmund Lincoln “Rochester” Anderson
February 28, 1977 Edmund Lincoln “Rochester” Anderson, radio, television and film actor, died. Anderson was born September 18, 1905 in Oakland, California. He began his show business career at the age of 14 in a song and dance act called Three Black Aces. Anderson was best known for playing Rochester van Jones, the valet for [...]
November 17th in African American History – Esther Rolle
November 17, 1998 Esther Rolle, stage, film and television actress, died. Rolle was born November 8, 1920 in Pompano Beach, Florida. Her earliest roles were on the stage, including “The Blacks” (1962), “Day of Absence” (1965), “Man Better Man” (1969), and her most prominent role in the 1973 play “Don’t Play Us Cheap.”
November 8th in African American History – Alfre Ette Woodard
November 8, 1952 Alfre Ette Woodard, film and television actress, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woodard’s film appearances include “Cross Creek” (1983), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, “Star Trek: First Contact” (1996), and “Down in the Delta” (1998). She has also appeared in a number of television [...]