Canada Lee
March 3, 1907 (117 years old) in Manhattan, New York, US
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.
Known For
Credits
- 1998 ·Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklistas Stephen Kumalo (archive footage)
- 1951 ·Cry, the Beloved Countryas Stephen Kumalo
- 1949 ·Lost Boundariesas Lt. 'Dixie' Thompson
- 1947 ·Body and Soulas Ben Chaplin
- 1944 ·Lifeboatas Joe Spencer
- 1942 ·Henry Browne, Farmeras Narrator (voice)
- 1939 ·Keep Punchingas Speedy Joe Williams (Henry's Trainer)