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).
Filmography · 151
Four Star Playhouse
1952 · Phil
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Double Indemnity
1944 · Man (uncredited)
Shadow of a Doubt
1943 · Pullman Porter
Unconquered
1947 · Jason
The Black Stallion
1979 · Snoe
The Black Swan
1942 · Margaret's Servant (un...
Car Wash
1976 · Snapper
Hallelujah
1929 · Church Member (uncredi...
The Sun Shines Bright
1953 · Uncle Zack
Belle Starr
1941 · Bootblack in Saloon (u...
Buck and the Preacher
1972 · Cudjo
Prestige
1932 · Nham
Scarlet Street
1945 · Ben - Bank Janitor (un...
My Favorite Brunette
1947 · Second Man on Death Ro...
Heaven Can Wait
1943 · Jasper (uncredited)
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
1943 · George
Casablanca
1955
Silver River
1948 · Servant (uncredited)
The Talk of the Town
1942 · Supreme Court Doorkeep...
Twin Beds
1942 · George
White Zombie
1932 · Coach Driver
Flesh and Fantasy
1943 · Jeff (uncredited)
Welcome Stranger
1947 · Clarence, Train Waiter...
Follow the Boys
1944 · Singer (uncredited)
Love Crazy
1941 · Robert - Hat Check Man...
If I Had a Million
1932 · Death Row Singing Pris...
The Green Pastures
1936 · Angel (uncredited)
Apache Drums
1951 · Jehu
The Thin Man Goes Home
1944 · Porter on Train (uncre...
Flying Down to Rio
1933 · Caddy in Haiti (uncred...
The Toy Wife
1938 · Brutus
Show Boat
1936 · Sam
The World's Greatest Athlete
1973 · Gazenga's Assistant
God Is My Co-Pilot
1945 · Frank (uncredited)
The Death Kiss
1932 · Shoeshine Man
Dirigible
1931 · Clarence
Invisible Ghost
1941 · Evans the Butler
Tales of Manhattan
1942 · Grandpa
She Couldn't Say No
1954 · Diaper Delivery Man
Porgy and Bess
1959 · Peter
The Wet Parade
1932 · Taylor Tibbs
Broadway Bill
1934 · Whitey
Safe in Hell
1931 · Newcastle
My Forbidden Past
1951 · Pompey
Watch on the Rhine
1943 · Horace
The Personality Kid
1934 · Shamrock
The Las Vegas Story
1952 · Train Porter (uncredit...
The Woman from Monte Carlo
1932 · Tombeau
Without Love
1945 · Train Porter (uncredit...
Adam Had Four Sons
1941 · Sam (uncredited)
Chad Hanna
1940 · Henry Prince
A Likely Story
1947 · Porter (uncredited)
Way Down South
1939 · Uncle Caton
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
1975 · Self (archive footage)
Huckleberry Finn
1931 · Jim
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
1933 · Masseur
Murder Over New York
1940 · Party Server
Alice in Movieland
1940 · Train Porter
Sporting Blood
1940 · Jeff
The Sky's the Limit
1943 · Colonial Club Doorman...
Riding High
1950 · Whitey
Rain or Shine
1930 · Nero
Laughing Irish Eyes
1936 · Deacon
The Flame of New Orleans
1941 · Samuel, Carriage Drive...
Maryland
1940 · Reverend Bitters
So Red the Rose
1935 · Cato
The Racket Man
1944 · George the Butler
Kid Millions
1934 · Native (uncredited)
Black Moon
1934 · 'Lunch' McClaren
Night World
1932 · Tim Washington, the Do...
Jungle Queen
1945 · Kyba
Honey
1930 · Black Revivalist
The Soul of a Monster
1944 · Entertainer (uncredite...
Kisses for Breakfast
1941 · Old Jeff
In the Meantime, Darling
1944 · Henry
Daniel Boone
1936 · Pompey
The Wrecker
1933 · Chauffeur
Stars on Parade
1944 · Carter (uncredited)
That Gang of Mine
1940 · Ben
The Cabin in the Cotton
1932 · A Blind Negro
Hell's Highway
1932 · Rascal
Muss 'em Up
1936 · William
Katie Did It
1950 · Mose
Jungle Menace
1937 · Lightning
Joe Palooka in the Knockout
1947 · Smoky
An Act of Murder
1948 · Mr. Pope
Johnny Come Lately
1943 · Butler
Spendthrift
1936 · Restaurant Table Capta...
High Hat
1937 · Congo MacRosenbloom
Two Smart People
1946 · Train Porter
Winner Take All
1932 · Rosebud, the Trainer
Secrets of a Nurse
1938 · 'Tiger', Lee's Handler
East of Java
1935 · First Mate Johnson
A Very Honorable Guy
1934 · Black Man
Zanzibar
1940 · Bino
Tough as They Come
1942 · Eddie
She Wouldn't Say Yes
1945 · Porter (uncredited)
Frisco Jenny
1933 · Voice of Singer (uncre...
Jamaica Run
1953 · Mose
Massacre
1934 · Sam
Alias Mary Dow
1935 · 'Rufe'
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12
1933 · Self
Washington Merry-Go-Round
1932 · Clarence
O'Shaughnessy's Boy
1935 · Jeff
Honeymoon Lodge
1943 · Porter
Big City Blues
1932 · Nightclub Singer (uncr...
County Fair
1950 · Romulus (uncredited)
Lena Rivers
1932 · Curfew
Harmony Lane
1935 · Old Joe
San Diego I Love You
1944 · Porter (uncredited)
The Great Dan Patch
1949 · Voodoo
Red Hot Tires
1935 · Bud's Truck Partner
Attorney for the Defense
1932 · Jefferson Q. Leffingwe...
From Hell to Heaven
1933 · Sam
Among the Living
1941
Fury of the Jungle
1933 · Sunrise
Caribbean
1952 · Quashy
After the Dance
1935 · Cook
Strictly in the Groove
1942 · Durham's Valet (uncred...
New York Nights
1929 · Cabaret Singer (uncred...
A Royal Romance
1930 · Rusty
The Mind Reader
1933 · Sam
Broken Strings
1940 · Arthur Williams
Prison Train
1938 · Train Steward / Sam
Jungle Terror
1946 · Lightin'
A Dream for Christmas
1973 · Donald Freeland
Is My Face Red?
1932 · Horatio
Mysterious Crossing
1936 · Lincoln
Laughter in Hell
1933 · Abraham Jackson
Gentleman from Dixie
1941 · Jupe
Jam Session
1944 · Henry
Swing High
1930 · Singer
Deep South
1937
Over the Wall
1943 · Sam
The Secret Witness
1931 · Jeff - Building Janito...
Jungle Safari
1956 · Kyba
The Fighting Sheriff
1931 · Curfew
The Thoroughbred
1930 · Stablehand
Derelict
1930 · Driver (uncredited)
Outside the Law
1930 · Party Guest (uncredite...
Man Against Woman
1932 · Smoke Johnson
Hearts in Dixie
1929 · Nappus
Passing Through
1977 · Papa Harris
The Peanut Man
1947 · Dr. George Washington...
X Marks the Spot
1931 · Eustace Brown
Secret Service
1931 · Jonas Polk
Spirit of Youth
1938 · Frankie Walburn
Guilty?
1930 · Jefferson
Election Day
1929 · Farina's father
The Last Parade
1931 · Alabam' / Singing Voic...