Canada Lee
Biography
Canada Lee (born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata; March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952) was an American professional boxer and then an actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became an actor in the Federal Theatre Project, including the 1936 production of Macbeth adapted and directed by Orson Welles. A champion of civil rights in the 1930s and 1940s, Lee was blacklisted and died shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He advanced the African American tradition in theatre pioneered by such actors as Paul Robeson.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Canada Lee , licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
1998
as Stephen Kumalo (archive footage)
Cry, the Beloved Country
1951
as Stephen Kumalo
Lost Boundaries
1949
as Lt. 'Dixie' Thompson
Body and Soul
1947
as Ben Chaplin
Lifeboat
1944
as Joe Spencer
Henry Browne, Farmer
1942
as Narrator (voice)
Keep Punching
1939
as Speedy Joe Williams (Henry's Trainer)