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