People, Locations, Episodes

Moses Gunn, Stage, and Screen Actor born

On this date in 1929, Moses Gunn, an African American actor, was born.

He was the eldest of seven children from a St. Louis family that splintered when his mother died. He left home and rode the railroad at just 12 years old. He returned to St. Louis, and attended school while living at the home of Jewel Richie, his English and diction teacher.

Black Radio in America, a story

On this date in 1929, “The All-Negro Hour” premiered on American broadcast radio. This was the first radio program to feature Black performers exclusively.

Raymond St. Jacques, Actor born

*Raymond St. Jacques was born on this date in 1930.  He was a Black actor, director, and producer.   St. Jacques was born James Arthur Johnson in Hartford, Connecticut. He had a sister, Barbara Ann. Shortly after his birth, his parents divorced; he moved with his mother and sister to New Haven, Connecticut. Johnson’s mother, […]

Geoffrey Holder, Actor, and Choreographer born

*Geoffrey Holder was born on this date in 1930.  He was a Black Trinidadian American actor, voice actor, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, and painter. Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Geoffrey Lamont Holder was one of four children to parents of Bajan and Trinidadian descent.  He was educated at Tranquility School and Queen’s Royal College in Port of Spain. He made his performance debut at […]

Whitman Mayo, Actor, and Theater Teacher

Whitman Mayo, an African American actor was born this date in 1930.

Mayo was born in New York City, and moved to Los Angeles where he attended Los Angeles City College and the University of California at Los Angeles. Following college, he spent seven years as a counselor at an institution for delinquent boys. He left counseling and turned to acting while picking up odd jobs, such as picking grapes, working at a dairy, and as a railroad worker. He also spent a year in Mexico playing professional volleyball.

James Earl Jones, Actor born

*James Earl Jones was born on this date in 1931. He is an African American actor.

William ‘BuckWheat’ Thomas, Actor born

*BuckWheat Thomas was born on this date in 1931. He was an African American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short films.

Jürgen Schadeberg, Photographer born

*Jürgen Schadeberg was born on this date in 1931. He was a white German-born South African photographer and artist. Jürgen Schadeberg was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1931, where he grew up during the Nazi regime and World War II. In the aftermath of the war, his mother began a relationship with a British officer in the […]

Ivan Dixon, Actor, and Director born

*Ivan Dixon was born on this date in 1931.  He was a Black actor, director, activist, and producer.   Ivan Nathaniel Dixon III was born in Harlem, the son of a grocery store owner. When he was young, Dixon lived at 518 West 150th Street in Harlem, on the same block with Josh White, Ralph […]

Marla Gibbs, Actress, and Comedian born

*Marla Gibbs was born on this date in 1931.  She is a Black actress, comedian, singer, writer, and television producer whose career spans five decades.   The middle of three sisters, Margaret Theresa Bradley was born at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.   Her parents were Ophelia Birdie (née Kemp) and Douglas Bradley. She attended […]

Della Reese, Entertainer, and Minister born

*Della Reese was born this date in 1931. She is an African American actress, singer, television star and ordained minister.

Lincoln Kilpatrick, Actor born

*Lincoln Kilpatrick was born on this date in 1932. He was an African American actor. From St. Louis, Missouri, he was the brother of actor John Kilpatrick.

He graduated from Lincoln U. in Jefferson City, Mo., and eventually costarred with Sidney Poitier in the Broadway hit “A Raisin in the Sun.” He went on to roles in James Baldwin’s “Blues for Mr. Charlie,” “The Slave” and “The Blacks,” which featured Louis Gossett Jr. and Cicely Tyson. He switched gears in the 1970s, appearing in films such as “Cool Breeze,” “Soul Soldier” and “Uptown Saturday Night.”

Otis Young, Actor, and Teacher born

Otis Young was born on this date in 1932. He was an African American actor, minister, and educator.

R.I., Young was one of 14 children. He joined the Marine Corps at 17 and after serving in the Korean War, enrolled in acting classes at New York University on the GI Bill. He studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Drama in New York City in 1960 and appeared in numerous theater productions there and in Los Angeles. Young was the first Black actor to co-star in a television Western series, “The Outcasts” in the late 1960s.

Melvin Van Peebles, Author, Director, and Producer born

*Melvin Van Peebles was born on this date in 1932. He is an African American artist, author, film actor, director and producer.

Mabel King, Actress born

*Mabel King was born on December 25, 1932.  She was a Black film, stage, and television actress and singer.   She was born Mabel Elizabeth Washington in Charleston, South Carolina, the daughter of Rosalie Washington and Joseph Washington.  She was raised in Harlem, New York, where she became a gospel and nightclub singer.  She did not start acting until her mid-thirties, in […]