Clarence Muse
Born
October 13, 1889
Died
October 13, 1979 (90 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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).
Known For
The Black Stallion
Snoe
1979
Passing Through
Papa Harris
1977
Car Wash
Snapper
1976
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
Self (archive footage)
1975
A Dream for Christmas
Donald Freeland
1973
The World's Greatest Athlete
Gazenga's Assistant
1973
Buck and the Preacher
Cudjo
1972
Porgy and Bess
Peter
1959
Jungle Safari
Kyba
1956
The 20th Century Fox Hour
(1 episode)
1955
Casablanca
(10 episodes)
1955
She Couldn't Say No
Diaper Delivery Man
1954
The Sun Shines Bright
Uncle Zack
1953
Jamaica Run
Mose
1953
Four Star Playhouse
Phil · (1 episode)
1952
Caribbean
Quashy
1952
The Las Vegas Story
Train Porter (uncredited)
1952
My Forbidden Past
Pompey
1951
Apache Drums
Jehu
1951
Katie Did It
Mose
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Albert · (1 episode)
1950
Riding High
Whitey
1950
The Great Dan Patch
Voodoo
1949
An Act of Murder
Mr. Pope
1948
Unconquered
Jason
1947
Joe Palooka in the Knockout
Smoky
1947
Welcome Stranger
Clarence, Train Waiter (uncredited)
1947
The Peanut Man
Dr. George Washington Carver
1947
A Likely Story
Porter (uncredited)
1947
My Favorite Brunette
Second Man on Death Row (uncredited)
1947
Two Smart People
Train Porter
1946
Jungle Terror
Lightin'
1946
Scarlet Street
Ben - Bank Janitor (uncredited)
1945
She Wouldn't Say Yes
Porter (uncredited)
1945
God Is My Co-Pilot
Frank (uncredited)
1945
Without Love
Train Porter
1945
Jungle Queen
Kyba
1945
San Diego I Love You
Porter (uncredited)
1944
In the Meantime, Darling
Henry
1944
The Soul of a Monster
Entertainer (uncredited)
1944
Double Indemnity
Man (uncredited)
1944
Stars on Parade
Carter (uncredited)
1944
Jam Session
Henry
1944
The Racket Man
George the Butler
1944
Over the Wall
Sam
1943
Flesh and Fantasy
Jeff (uncredited)
1943
Johnny Come Lately
Butler
1943
Watch on the Rhine
Horace
1943
Heaven Can Wait
Jasper (uncredited)
1943
Honeymoon Lodge
Porter
1943
The Sky's the Limit
Colonial Club Doorman (uncredited)
1943
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
George
1943
Shadow of a Doubt
Pullman Porter
1943
The Black Swan
Margaret's Servant (uncredited)
1942
Strictly in the Groove
Durham's Valet (uncredited)
1942
The Talk of the Town
Supreme Court Doorkeeper (uncredited)
1942
Tales of Manhattan
Grandpa (Robeson sequence)
1942
Tough as They Come
Eddie
1942
Twin Beds
George
1942
Among the Living
1941
Belle Starr
Bootblack in Saloon (uncredited)
1941
Gentleman from Dixie
Jupe
1941
The Flame of New Orleans
Samuel, Carriage Driver
1941
Kisses for Breakfast
Old Jeff
1941
Love Crazy
Robert - Hat Check Man at Party
1941
Invisible Ghost
Evans the Butler
1941
Adam Had Four Sons
Sam (uncredited)
1941
Chad Hanna
Henry Prince
1940
Murder Over New York
Party Server
1940
That Gang of Mine
Ben
1940
Maryland
Reverend Bitters
1940
Sporting Blood
Jeff
1940
Zanzibar
Bino
1940
Alice in Movieland
Train Porter
1940
Broken Strings
Arthur Williams
1940
Way Down South
Uncle Caton
1939
Secrets of a Nurse
'Tiger', Lee's Handler
1938
Prison Train
Train Steward / Sam
1938
The Toy Wife
Brutus
1938
Spirit of Youth
Frankie Walburn
1938
Jungle Menace
Lightning
1937
High Hat
Congo MacRosenbloom
1937
Deep South
1937
Mysterious Crossing
Lincoln
1936
Daniel Boone
Pompey
1936
The Green Pastures
Angel (uncredited)
1936
Spendthrift
Restaurant Table Captain
1936
Show Boat
Sam
1936
The Broken Earth
The Farmer
1936
Laughing Irish Eyes
Deacon
1936
Muss 'em Up
William
1936
So Red the Rose
Cato
1935
East of Java
First Mate Johnson
1935
Harmony Lane
Old Joe
1935
O'Shaughnessy's Boy
Jeff
1935
After the Dance
Cook
1935
Alias Mary Dow
'Rufe'
1935
Red Hot Tires
Bud's Truck Partner
1935
Broadway Bill
Whitey
1934
Kid Millions
Native (uncredited)
1934
Black Moon
'Lunch' McClaren
1934
The Personality Kid
Shamrock
1934
A Very Honorable Guy
Black Man
1934
Massacre
Sam
1934
Flying Down to Rio
Caddy in Haiti (uncredited)
1933
Fury of the Jungle
Sunrise
1933
The Wrecker
Chauffeur
1933
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12
Self
1933
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
Masseur
1933
The Mind Reader
Sam
1933
From Hell to Heaven
Sam
1933
Frisco Jenny
Voice of Singer (uncredited)
1933
Laughter in Hell
Abraham Jackson
1933
The Death Kiss
Shoeshine Man
1932
If I Had a Million
Death Row Singing Prisoner (uncredited)
1932
Man Against Woman
Smoke Johnson
1932
Washington Merry-Go-Round
Clarence
1932
The Cabin in the Cotton
A Blind Negro
1932
Hell's Highway
Rascal
1932
Big City Blues
Nightclub Singer (uncredited)
1932
White Zombie
Coach driver
1932
Winner Take All
Rosebud, the Trainer
1932
Is My Face Red?
Horatio
1932
Attorney for the Defense
Jefferson Q. Leffingwell
1932
Night World
Tim Washington, the Doorman
1932
Lena Rivers
Curfew
1932
The Wet Parade
Taylor Tibbs
1932
Prestige
Nham
1932
The Woman from Monte Carlo
Tombeau
1932
X Marks the Spot
Eustace Brown
1931
Safe in Hell
Newcastle
1931
The Secret Witness
Jeff - Building Janitor
1931
Secret Service
Jonas Polk
1931
Huckleberry Finn
Jim
1931
The Fighting Sheriff
Curfew
1931
Dirigible
Clarence
1931
The Last Parade
Alabam' / Singing Voice of Condemned Man (uncredited)
1931
Derelict
Driver (uncredited)
1930
Outside the Law
Party Guest (uncredited)
1930
Rain or Shine
Nero
1930
The Thoroughbred
Stablehand
1930
Swing High
Singer
1930
Honey
Black Revivalist
1930
A Royal Romance
Rusty
1930
Guilty?
Jefferson
1930
New York Nights
Cabaret Singer (uncredited)
1929
Hallelujah
Church Member (uncredited)
1929
Election Day
Farina's father
1929
Hearts in Dixie
Nappus
1929
The Custard Nine
1921