Clarence Muse
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).
Known for
Four Star Playhouse
Phil
An Act of Murder
Mr. Pope
Washington Merry-Go-Round
Clarence
Black Moon
'Lunch' McClaren
The Secret Witness
Jeff - Building Janitor
Jungle Safari
Kyba
The 20th Century Fox Hour
The Last Parade
Alabam' / Singing Voice of Condemned Man (uncredited)
Laughter in Hell
Abraham Jackson
O'Shaughnessy's Boy
Jeff
The Green Pastures
Angel (uncredited)
Secret Service
Jonas Polk
Unconquered
Jason
Heaven Can Wait
Jasper (uncredited)
A Dream for Christmas
Donald Freeland
Daniel Boone
Pompey
The Sun Shines Bright
Uncle Zack
Flesh and Fantasy
Jeff (uncredited)
Election Day
Farina's father
Strictly in the Groove
Durham's Valet (uncredited)
Riding High
Whitey
Lena Rivers
Curfew
Lux Video Theatre
Albert
Kisses for Breakfast
Old Jeff
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
Masseur
Jungle Queen
Kyba
X Marks the Spot
Eustace Brown
Silver River
Servant (uncredited)
Double Indemnity
Man (uncredited)
Kid Millions
Native (uncredited)
Over the Wall
Sam
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
George
Hell's Highway
Rascal
Porgy and Bess
Peter
Gentleman from Dixie
Jupe
Two Smart People
Train Porter
Alice in Movieland
Train Porter
The Death Kiss
Shoeshine Man
Jungle Menace
Lightning
The Black Stallion
Snoe
San Diego I Love You
Porter (uncredited)
Honey
Black Revivalist
Sporting Blood
Jeff
Without Love
Train Porter
Night World
Tim Washington, the Doorman
Fury of the Jungle
Sunrise
Maryland
Reverend Bitters
Guilty?
Jefferson
Casablanca
Invisible Ghost
Evans the Butler
Prestige
Nham
The Toy Wife
Brutus
Frisco Jenny
Voice of Singer (uncredited)
God Is My Co-Pilot
Frank (uncredited)
The Talk of the Town
Supreme Court Doorkeeper (uncredited)
Chad Hanna
Henry Prince
Shadow of a Doubt
Pullman Porter
The Wet Parade
Taylor Tibbs
Derelict
Driver (uncredited)
Twin Beds
George
A Very Honorable Guy
Black Man
Belle Starr
Bootblack in Saloon (uncredited)
Way Down South
Uncle Caton
Car Wash
Snapper
Spendthrift
Restaurant Table Captain
Prison Train
Train Steward / Sam
The Soul of a Monster
Entertainer (uncredited)
Scarlet Street
Ben - Bank Janitor (uncredited)
Honeymoon Lodge
Porter
The Black Swan
Margaret's Servant (uncredited)
Follow the Boys
Singer (uncredited)
Buck and the Preacher
Cudjo
The Custard Nine
New York Nights
Cabaret Singer (uncredited)
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
Self (archive footage)
Tales of Manhattan
Grandpa
Winner Take All
Rosebud, the Trainer
Dirigible
Clarence
So Red the Rose
Cato
Caribbean
Quashy
Beautiful Dreamer
White Zombie
Coach Driver
Jam Session
Henry
Johnny Come Lately
Butler
The Thin Man Goes Home
Porter on Train (uncredited)
Watch on the Rhine
Horace
Welcome Stranger
Clarence, Train Waiter (uncredited)
In the Meantime, Darling
Henry
Laughing Irish Eyes
Deacon
If I Had a Million
Death Row Singing Prisoner (uncredited)
Massacre
Sam
The Peanut Man
Dr. George Washington Carver
Flying Down to Rio
Caddy in Haiti (uncredited)
Show Boat
Sam
The Woman from Monte Carlo
Tombeau
Broadway Bill
Whitey
Deep South
The Sky's the Limit
Colonial Club Doorman (uncredited)
Apache Drums
Jehu
Adam Had Four Sons
Sam (uncredited)
My Favorite Brunette
Second Man on Death Row (uncredited)
Among the Living
That Gang of Mine
Ben
East of Java
First Mate Johnson
The Flame of New Orleans
Samuel, Carriage Driver
The Broken Earth
The Farmer
Love Crazy
Robert - Hat Check Man at Party
Passing Through
Papa Harris
She Couldn't Say No
Diaper Delivery Man
She Wouldn't Say Yes
Porter (uncredited)
Safe in Hell
Newcastle
Hallelujah
Church Member (uncredited)
The World's Greatest Athlete
Gazenga's Assistant
Huckleberry Finn
Jim
Broken Strings
Arthur Williams
Red Hot Tires
Bud's Truck Partner
A Likely Story
Porter (uncredited)
The Cabin in the Cotton
A Blind Negro
Big City Blues
Nightclub Singer (uncredited)
My Forbidden Past
Pompey
Zanzibar
Bino
Murder Over New York
Party Server
The Las Vegas Story
Train Porter (uncredited)
The Wrecker
Chauffeur
Jamaica Run
Mose
Tough as They Come
Eddie
High Hat
Congo MacRosenbloom
A Royal Romance
Rusty
Rain or Shine
Nero
Mysterious Crossing
Lincoln
Secrets of a Nurse
'Tiger', Lee's Handler
Outside the Law
Party Guest (uncredited)
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12
Self
The Personality Kid
Shamrock
Swing High
Singer
Is My Face Red?
Horatio
The Racket Man
George the Butler
Attorney for the Defense
Jefferson Q. Leffingwell
The Great Dan Patch
Voodoo
After the Dance
Cook
Alias Mary Dow
'Rufe'
The Mind Reader
Sam
Man Against Woman
Smoke Johnson
Katie Did It
Mose
Muss 'em Up
William
Stars on Parade
Carter (uncredited)
Jungle Terror
Lightin'
The Thoroughbred
Stablehand
Harmony Lane
Old Joe
Spirit of Youth
Frankie Walburn
Hearts in Dixie
Nappus
The Fighting Sheriff
Curfew
From Hell to Heaven
Sam
Joe Palooka in the Knockout
Smoky