Clarence Muse
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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).
Acted in
The Black Stallion
1979
as Snoe
Passing Through
1977
as Papa Harris
Car Wash
1976
as Snapper
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
1975
as Self (archive footage)
A Dream for Christmas
1973
as Donald Freeland
The World's Greatest Athlete
1973
as Gazenga's Assistant
Buck and the Preacher
1972
as Cudjo
Porgy and Bess
1959
as Peter
Jungle Safari
1956
as Kyba
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Casablanca
1955
She Couldn't Say No
1954
as Diaper Delivery Man
The Sun Shines Bright
1953
as Uncle Zack
Jamaica Run
1953
as Mose
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Phil
Caribbean
1952
as Quashy
The Las Vegas Story
1952
as Train Porter (uncredited)
My Forbidden Past
1951
as Pompey
Apache Drums
1951
as Jehu
Katie Did It
1950
as Mose
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Albert
Riding High
1950
as Whitey
The Great Dan Patch
1949
as Voodoo
An Act of Murder
1948
as Mr. Pope
Unconquered
1947
as Jason
Joe Palooka in the Knockout
1947
as Smoky
Welcome Stranger
1947
as Clarence, Train Waiter (uncredited)
The Peanut Man
1947
as Dr. George Washington Carver
A Likely Story
1947
as Porter (uncredited)
My Favorite Brunette
1947
as Second Man on Death Row (uncredited)
Two Smart People
1946
as Train Porter
Jungle Terror
1946
as Lightin'
Scarlet Street
1945
as Ben - Bank Janitor (uncredited)
She Wouldn't Say Yes
1945
as Porter (uncredited)
God Is My Co-Pilot
1945
as Frank (uncredited)
Without Love
1945
as Train Porter
Jungle Queen
1945
as Kyba
San Diego I Love You
1944
as Porter (uncredited)
In the Meantime, Darling
1944
as Henry
The Soul of a Monster
1944
as Entertainer (uncredited)
Double Indemnity
1944
as Man (uncredited)
Stars on Parade
1944
as Carter (uncredited)
Jam Session
1944
as Henry
The Racket Man
1944
as George the Butler
Over the Wall
1943
as Sam
Flesh and Fantasy
1943
as Jeff (uncredited)
Johnny Come Lately
1943
as Butler
Watch on the Rhine
1943
as Horace
Heaven Can Wait
1943
as Jasper (uncredited)
Honeymoon Lodge
1943
as Porter
The Sky's the Limit
1943
as Colonial Club Doorman (uncredited)
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
1943
as George
Shadow of a Doubt
1943
as Pullman Porter
The Black Swan
1942
as Margaret's Servant (uncredited)
Strictly in the Groove
1942
as Durham's Valet (uncredited)
The Talk of the Town
1942
as Supreme Court Doorkeeper (uncredited)
Tales of Manhattan
1942
as Grandpa (Robeson sequence)
Tough as They Come
1942
as Eddie
Twin Beds
1942
as George
Among the Living
1941
Belle Starr
1941
as Bootblack in Saloon (uncredited)
Gentleman from Dixie
1941
as Jupe
The Flame of New Orleans
1941
as Samuel, Carriage Driver
Kisses for Breakfast
1941
as Old Jeff
Love Crazy
1941
as Robert - Hat Check Man at Party
Invisible Ghost
1941
as Evans the Butler
Adam Had Four Sons
1941
as Sam (uncredited)
Chad Hanna
1940
as Henry Prince
Murder Over New York
1940
as Party Server
That Gang of Mine
1940
as Ben
Maryland
1940
as Reverend Bitters
Sporting Blood
1940
as Jeff
Zanzibar
1940
as Bino
Alice in Movieland
1940
as Train Porter
Broken Strings
1940
as Arthur Williams
Way Down South
1939
as Uncle Caton
Secrets of a Nurse
1938
as 'Tiger', Lee's Handler
Prison Train
1938
as Train Steward / Sam
The Toy Wife
1938
as Brutus
Spirit of Youth
1938
as Frankie Walburn
Jungle Menace
1937
as Lightning
High Hat
1937
as Congo MacRosenbloom
Deep South
1937
Mysterious Crossing
1936
as Lincoln
Daniel Boone
1936
as Pompey
The Green Pastures
1936
as Angel (uncredited)
Spendthrift
1936
as Restaurant Table Captain
Show Boat
1936
as Sam
The Broken Earth
1936
as The Farmer
Laughing Irish Eyes
1936
as Deacon
Muss 'em Up
1936
as William
So Red the Rose
1935
as Cato
East of Java
1935
as First Mate Johnson
Harmony Lane
1935
as Old Joe
O'Shaughnessy's Boy
1935
as Jeff
After the Dance
1935
as Cook
Alias Mary Dow
1935
as 'Rufe'
Red Hot Tires
1935
as Bud's Truck Partner
Broadway Bill
1934
as Whitey
Kid Millions
1934
as Native (uncredited)
Black Moon
1934
as 'Lunch' McClaren
The Personality Kid
1934
as Shamrock
A Very Honorable Guy
1934
as Black Man
Massacre
1934
as Sam
Flying Down to Rio
1933
as Caddy in Haiti (uncredited)
Fury of the Jungle
1933
as Sunrise
The Wrecker
1933
as Chauffeur
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12
1933
as Self
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
1933
as Masseur
The Mind Reader
1933
as Sam
From Hell to Heaven
1933
as Sam
Frisco Jenny
1933
as Voice of Singer (uncredited)
Laughter in Hell
1933
as Abraham Jackson
The Death Kiss
1932
as Shoeshine Man
If I Had a Million
1932
as Death Row Singing Prisoner (uncredited)
Man Against Woman
1932
as Smoke Johnson
Washington Merry-Go-Round
1932
as Clarence
The Cabin in the Cotton
1932
as A Blind Negro
Hell's Highway
1932
as Rascal
Big City Blues
1932
as Nightclub Singer (uncredited)
White Zombie
1932
as Coach driver
Winner Take All
1932
as Rosebud, the Trainer
Is My Face Red?
1932
as Horatio
Attorney for the Defense
1932
as Jefferson Q. Leffingwell
Night World
1932
as Tim Washington, the Doorman
Lena Rivers
1932
as Curfew
The Wet Parade
1932
as Taylor Tibbs
The Woman from Monte Carlo
1932
as Tombeau
Prestige
1931
as Nham
X Marks the Spot
1931
as Eustace Brown
Safe in Hell
1931
as Newcastle
The Secret Witness
1931
as Jeff - Building Janitor
Secret Service
1931
as Jonas Polk
Huckleberry Finn
1931
as Jim
The Fighting Sheriff
1931
as Curfew
Dirigible
1931
as Clarence
The Last Parade
1931
as Alabam' / Singing Voice of Condemned Man (uncredited)
Derelict
1930
as Driver (uncredited)
Outside the Law
1930
as Party Guest (uncredited)
Rain or Shine
1930
as Nero
The Thoroughbred
1930
as Stablehand
Swing High
1930
as Singer
Honey
1930
as Black Revivalist
A Royal Romance
1930
as Rusty
Guilty?
1930
as Jefferson
New York Nights
1929
as Cabaret Singer (uncredited)
Hallelujah
1929
as Church Member (uncredited)
Election Day
1929
as Farina's father
Hearts in Dixie
1929
as Nappus
The Custard Nine
1921