1912: 'The Railroad Porter' “The Railroad Porter” was produced by the Photoplay Company in 1912. It is considered the first film with an all-Black cast.
In the early days of cinema, black creators also took on multiple roles in order to build their own alternative to Hollywood. And few did so more than Oscar Micheaux, the man who made 1919's The Homesteader, the first feature-length motion picture with an all-black cast.
Hallelujah, a pre-Code feature, is considered to be the first all-Black musical. Remarkably, the innovative director King Vidor was able to make a rather “personal” project within the studio system, despite initially strong discouragement of MGM's conservative heads.
Stepin Fetchit, Hollywood's First Black Film Star Although he never won an Oscar, Lincoln Perry was America's first black movie star. But for that distinction, Perry paid a heavy price — he is best known as the character of Stepin Fetchit, a befuddled, mumbling, shiftless fool.
Who is the oldest black actor alive? - Quora. James Earl Jones. He is 91 years old this year and is still working. Darth Vader himself provided the voice for the character in the latest incarnation of the Star Wars universe Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV Mini Series 2022) .
That man was Sidney Poitier. Poitier, who died at 94 on Jan. 7, 2022, broke the mold of what a Black actor could be in Hollywood. Before the 1950s, Black movie characters generally reflected racist stereotypes such as lazy servants and beefy mammies.
There were many non-Hollywood movies prior to Hallelujah (1929) that had all-black casts, including, beginning in 1919, all of the movies of Oscar Micheaux , and beginning in 1926, the four films of the Colored Players Film Corporation - Wikipedia . The first known film was “Hallelujah” from 1929.
made history for Black performers by winning for “Gone With the Wind” (supporting in 1939), while Sidney Poitier was the first male actor to prevail for “Lilies of the Field” (lead in 1963).
St. Louis native Josephine Baker became the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture. She played the lead role of Papitou in the French silent film, “Siren of the Tropics,” who, like Baker, found her true calling as a performer.
The word hallelujah first appeared in the book of Psalms in the Old Testament, a combination of two Hebrew words, "hallel" meaning praise and "jah" meaning God. But it's in Christianity that hallelujah or the Latinized "alleluia" became best known as a word of great emotional energy.
"Hallelujah" is a song written by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions (1984). Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a new version recorded by John Cale in 1991.
The date marked the CBS debut of Amos 'n' Andy, a situational comedy (sitcom). The outrageously funny but controversial program was the first ever television sitcom with an “all-Black” cast, making it the forerunner to Black television sitcoms aired over the past seven decades.
The first movie ever made in natural process color was The World, the Flesh and the Devil, produced in 1914. The feature-length is now considered a lost film. It was also the first feature-length film to use the Kinemacolor process.
Maya Angelou was the first black woman director in Hollywood. As if this would not be considered a life full of accomplishments, Maya Angelou was the first black woman director in Hollywood, Angelou wrote, produced, directed, and starred in productions for stage, film, and television.
On March 24, 2002, Halle Berry becomes the first Black woman to win the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a struggling widow who falls in love with her husband's death row executioner in Monster's Ball.
Hattie McDaniel made history for Black performers by winning for “Gone With the Wind” (supporting in 1939), while Sidney Poitier was the first such male actor to prevail for “Lilies of the Field” (lead in 1963).
In 1903, Uncle Tom's Cabin, starred the first black actor to ever appear on screen. During that era African American roles were very limited to playing the Tom, coon, buck, mammie, or mulatto. After that came the great producer Bill Foster.
In 1939 Ethel Waters became the first black woman to have her own television show. In 1963 Cecily Tyson became the first to star in a television show. It was CBS' East Side/West Side. She played a secretary and was in 22 of the 26 episodes.
African Americans have appeared on television as long as the medium has been around. In fact, the first Black person on TV may have been Broadway star Ethel Waters, who hosted a one-off variety show on NBC on June 14, 1939, when television was still being developed.
(BRPROUD) — At 13, Ethel Waters couldn't have known that life would take her on a whirlwind journey through the entertainment industry as a singer and actress.
Age-buster: Ernie Hudson reveals the secrets behind his impressive 78-year-old physique. Actor Ernie Hudson, who seems to be drinking from the fountain of youth, opened up about his personal care routine.
