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