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