Acting
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).
Filmography
The Black Stallion
Film · 1979
Passing Through
Film · 1977
Car Wash
Film · 1976
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
Film · 1975
The World's Greatest Athlete
Film · 1973
A Dream for Christmas
Film · 1973
Buck and the Preacher
Film · 1972
Porgy and Bess
Film · 1959
Jungle Safari
Film · 1956
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Series · 1955
Casablanca
Series · 1955
She Couldn't Say No
Film · 1954
Jamaica Run
Film · 1953
The Sun Shines Bright
Film · 1953
Caribbean
Film · 1952
The Las Vegas Story
Film · 1952
Four Star Playhouse
Series · 1952
Apache Drums
Film · 1951
My Forbidden Past
Film · 1951
Riding High
Film · 1950
Katie Did It
Film · 1950
County Fair
Film · 1950
Lux Video Theatre
Series · 1950
The Great Dan Patch
Film · 1949
An Act of Murder
Film · 1948
Silver River
Film · 1948
Welcome Stranger
Film · 1947
A Likely Story
Film · 1947
My Favorite Brunette
Film · 1947
The Peanut Man
Film · 1947
Unconquered
Film · 1947
Joe Palooka in the Knockout
Film · 1947
Two Smart People
Film · 1946
Jungle Terror
Film · 1946
She Wouldn't Say Yes
Film · 1945
God Is My Co-Pilot
Film · 1945
Jungle Queen
Film · 1945
Scarlet Street
Film · 1945
Without Love
Film · 1945
Double Indemnity
Film · 1944
Stars on Parade
Film · 1944
In the Meantime, Darling
Film · 1944
San Diego I Love You
Film · 1944
The Soul of a Monster
Film · 1944
The Racket Man
Film · 1944
Jam Session
Film · 1944
The Thin Man Goes Home
Film · 1944
Follow the Boys
Film · 1944
Shadow of a Doubt
Film · 1943
The Sky's the Limit
Film · 1943
Watch on the Rhine
Film · 1943
Flesh and Fantasy
Film · 1943
Heaven Can Wait
Film · 1943
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
Film · 1943
Honeymoon Lodge
Film · 1943
Over the Wall
Film · 1943
Johnny Come Lately
Film · 1943
The Talk of the Town
Film · 1942
The Black Swan
Film · 1942
Tough as They Come
Film · 1942
Twin Beds
Film · 1942
Strictly in the Groove
Film · 1942
Tales of Manhattan
Film · 1942
Love Crazy
Film · 1941
Invisible Ghost
Film · 1941
The Flame of New Orleans
Film · 1941
Among the Living
Film · 1941
Kisses for Breakfast
Film · 1941
Adam Had Four Sons
Film · 1941
Belle Starr
Film · 1941
Gentleman from Dixie
Film · 1941
Murder Over New York
Film · 1940
Broken Strings
Film · 1940
Alice in Movieland
Film · 1940
Sporting Blood
Film · 1940
That Gang of Mine
Film · 1940
Chad Hanna
Film · 1940
Maryland
Film · 1940
Zanzibar
Film · 1940
Way Down South
Film · 1939
Secrets of a Nurse
Film · 1938
Spirit of Youth
Film · 1938
The Toy Wife
Film · 1938
Prison Train
Film · 1938
High Hat
Film · 1937
Jungle Menace
Film · 1937
Deep South
Film · 1937
Laughing Irish Eyes
Film · 1936
Daniel Boone
Film · 1936
Mysterious Crossing
Film · 1936
Spendthrift
Film · 1936
The Green Pastures
Film · 1936
Muss 'em Up
Film · 1936
The Broken Earth
Film · 1936
Show Boat
Film · 1936
O'Shaughnessy's Boy
Film · 1935
So Red the Rose
Film · 1935
Red Hot Tires
Film · 1935
After the Dance
Film · 1935
Alias Mary Dow
Film · 1935
Harmony Lane
Film · 1935
East of Java
Film · 1935
Beautiful Dreamer
Film · 1935
Black Moon
Film · 1934
Broadway Bill
Film · 1934
Massacre
Film · 1934
A Very Honorable Guy
Film · 1934
The Personality Kid
Film · 1934
Kid Millions
Film · 1934
The Wrecker
Film · 1933
Flying Down to Rio
Film · 1933
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12
Film · 1933
Laughter in Hell
Film · 1933
From Hell to Heaven
Film · 1933
The Mind Reader
Film · 1933
Fury of the Jungle
Film · 1933
Frisco Jenny
Film · 1933
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
Film · 1933
Man Against Woman
Film · 1932
Winner Take All
Film · 1932
Lena Rivers
Film · 1932
Is My Face Red?
Film · 1932
The Woman from Monte Carlo
Film · 1932
Night World
Film · 1932
Washington Merry-Go-Round
Film · 1932
Prestige
Film · 1932
Hell's Highway
Film · 1932
If I Had a Million
Film · 1932
Attorney for the Defense
Film · 1932
Big City Blues
Film · 1932
The Wet Parade
Film · 1932
The Cabin in the Cotton
Film · 1932
The Death Kiss
Film · 1932
White Zombie
Film · 1932
X Marks the Spot
Film · 1931
Secret Service
Film · 1931
The Last Parade
Film · 1931
Huckleberry Finn
Film · 1931
Safe in Hell
Film · 1931
The Secret Witness
Film · 1931
Dirigible
Film · 1931
The Fighting Sheriff
Film · 1931
Guilty?
Film · 1930
Outside the Law
Film · 1930
Derelict
Film · 1930
The Thoroughbred
Film · 1930
Rain or Shine
Film · 1930
Swing High
Film · 1930
Honey
Film · 1930
A Royal Romance
Film · 1930
Election Day
Film · 1929
Hearts in Dixie
Film · 1929
Hallelujah
Film · 1929
New York Nights
Film · 1929
The Custard Nine
Film · 1921