CATEGORY: African American Movie Memorabilia
GORDON PARKS – WRITER / DIRECTOR
| African American Movie Memorabilia, African Americana, Black History, Hollywood History, Movie Memorabilia, Vintage Original Studio Photographs
Gordon Parks was a Black American who successfully wore many hats as photographer, composer, author, poet, writer and film director. He became prominent in the U.S. in 1940s through 1970s for documentary photojournalism —particularly with issues of civil rights, poverty and the status of Black Americans—and in glamour photography for Glamour Magazine and Ebony. His fashion photography was also published in Vogue from the mid 1940s to the late 197…
FIRST BLACK ACTOR TO BECOME A MILLIONAIRE
| African American Movie Memorabilia, African Americana, Black History, Hollywood History, Scene Stills, Vintage Original Publicity Photographs
Stepin Fetchit, an American vaudevillian and comedian is considered to be the first black actor to have a successful film career that made him a millionaire.
Clarence Muse – America’s First Black Movie Star
| African American Movie Memorabilia, African Americana, Black History, Blog, Film & Movie Star Photographs, Movie Memorabilia, Movie Posters
Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an African American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929’s Hearts in Dixie. He acted for 50 years and appeared in more than 150 films. He was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973.
Lena Horne: African American Icon
| African American Movie Memorabilia, African Americana, Black History, Famous Female Vocalists, Famous Hollywood Portrait Photographers, Film & Movie Star Photographs
In honor of Black History Month we celebrate the ”What Becomes A Legend Most” icon, Lena Horne. When Lena Horne was asked to become the image for Blackglama’s 1969 ad campaign poster (see above), she follows in the heels of such female icons as Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford; she was the first African American celebrity to do so. For more information see: https://www.walterfilm.com/shop/posters/lena-horne-blackglama-poster/
“Passing” Reflected in Three Films
The Netflex film Passing deals with the African American topic that has come to be known as “Passing” when a person classified as a member of a racial group is accepted or perceived (“passes”) as a member of another. Historically, the term has been used primarily in the United States to describe a person of color or of multiracial ancestry who assimilated into the white majority to escape the legal and social conventions of racial segreg…