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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
October 13, 1889
Died
October 13, 1979
Place of Birth
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Also Known As
- Clarence Muese
Clarence Muse
0.5 Popularity
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).
Known For
7.0
Snoe
The Black Stallion
1979
5.0
Papa Harris
Passing Through
1977
5.9
Snapper
Car Wash
1976
0.0
Self (archive footage)
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
1975
6.0
Donald Freeland
A Dream for Christmas
1973
5.3
Gazenga's Assistant
The World's Greatest Athlete
1973
6.3
Cudjo
Buck and the Preacher
1972
6.1
Peter
Porgy and Bess
1959
4.0
Kyba
Jungle Safari
1956
5.4
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Credits
The Black Stallion
as Snoe
1979
7.0
Passing Through
as Papa Harris
1977
5.0
Car Wash
as Snapper
1976
5.9
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
as Self (archive footage)
1975
0.0
A Dream for Christmas
as Donald Freeland
1973
6.0
The World's Greatest Athlete
as Gazenga's Assistant
1973
5.3
Buck and the Preacher
as Cudjo
1972
6.3
Porgy and Bess
as Peter
1959
6.1
Jungle Safari
as Kyba
1956
4.0
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
5.4
Casablanca
1955
10.0
She Couldn't Say No
as Diaper Delivery Man
1954
5.6
The Sun Shines Bright
as Uncle Zack
1953
6.4
Jamaica Run
as Mose
1953
5.0
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Phil
1952
6.7
Caribbean
as Quashy
1952
5.8
The Las Vegas Story
as Train Porter (uncredited)
1952
5.9
My Forbidden Past
as Pompey
1951
5.5
Apache Drums
as Jehu
1951
6.3
Katie Did It
as Mose
1950
6.0
🎬
Lux Video Theatre
as Albert
1950
6.3
Riding High
as Whitey
1950
5.8
The Great Dan Patch
as Voodoo
1949
5.0
An Act of Murder
as Mr. Pope
1948
6.7
Silver River
as Servant (uncredited)
1948
5.9
Unconquered
as Jason
1947
6.3
Joe Palooka in the Knockout
as Smoky
1947
6.0
Welcome Stranger
as Clarence, Train Waiter (uncredited)
1947
6.6
The Peanut Man
as Dr. George Washington Carver
1947
0.0
A Likely Story
as Porter (uncredited)
1947
4.2
My Favorite Brunette
as Second Man on Death Row (uncredited)
1947
6.6
Two Smart People
as Train Porter
1946
6.4
Jungle Terror
as Lightin'
1946
0.0
Scarlet Street
as Ben - Bank Janitor (uncredited)
1945
7.6
She Wouldn't Say Yes
as Porter (uncredited)
1945
5.9
God Is My Co-Pilot
as Frank (uncredited)
1945
6.9
Without Love
as Train Porter
1945
6.8
Jungle Queen
as Kyba
1945
5.0
The Thin Man Goes Home
as Porter on Train (uncredited)
1944
7.1
San Diego I Love You
as Porter (uncredited)
1944
6.2
In the Meantime, Darling
as Henry
1944
5.7
The Soul of a Monster
as Entertainer (uncredited)
1944
5.1
Double Indemnity
as Man (uncredited)
1944
8.1
Stars on Parade
as Carter (uncredited)
1944
0.0
Follow the Boys
as Singer (uncredited)
1944
5.3
Jam Session
as Henry
1944
6.0
The Racket Man
as George the Butler
1944
7.0
Over the Wall
as Sam
1943
7.0
Flesh and Fantasy
as Jeff (uncredited)
1943
6.8
Johnny Come Lately
as Butler
1943
6.7
Watch on the Rhine
as Horace
1943
6.8
Heaven Can Wait
as Jasper (uncredited)
1943
6.9
Honeymoon Lodge
as Porter
1943
0.0
The Sky's the Limit
as Colonial Club Doorman (uncredited)
1943
6.2
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
as George
1943
6.7
Shadow of a Doubt
as Pullman Porter
1943
7.5
The Black Swan
as Margaret's Servant (uncredited)
1942
6.5
Strictly in the Groove
as Durham's Valet (uncredited)
1942
0.0
The Talk of the Town
as Supreme Court Doorkeeper (uncredited)
1942
7.3
Tales of Manhattan
as Grandpa
1942
6.2
Tough as They Come
as Eddie
1942
0.0
Twin Beds
as George
1942
2.8
Among the Living
1941
6.0
Belle Starr
as Bootblack in Saloon (uncredited)
1941
5.6
Gentleman from Dixie
as Jupe
1941
6.0
The Flame of New Orleans
as Samuel, Carriage Driver
1941
6.4
Kisses for Breakfast
as Old Jeff
1941
5.5
Love Crazy
as Robert - Hat Check Man at Party
1941
6.7
Invisible Ghost
as Evans the Butler
1941
5.3
Adam Had Four Sons
as Sam (uncredited)
1941
5.8
Chad Hanna
as Henry Prince
1940
6.0
Murder Over New York
as Party Server
1940
6.1
That Gang of Mine
as Ben
1940
5.5
Maryland
as Reverend Bitters
1940
6.2
Sporting Blood
as Jeff
1940
3.5
Zanzibar
as Bino
1940
0.0
Alice in Movieland
as Train Porter
1940
6.3
Broken Strings
as Arthur Williams
1940
4.5
Way Down South
as Uncle Caton
1939
5.8
Secrets of a Nurse
as 'Tiger', Lee's Handler
1938
4.0
Prison Train
as Train Steward / Sam
1938
6.0
The Toy Wife
as Brutus
1938
4.3
Spirit of Youth
as Frankie Walburn
1938
5.5
Jungle Menace
as Lightning
1937
5.0
Deep South
1937
6.0
High Hat
as Congo MacRosenbloom
1937
5.0
Mysterious Crossing
as Lincoln
1936
0.0
Daniel Boone
as Pompey
1936
4.6
The Green Pastures
as Angel (uncredited)
1936
6.3
Spendthrift
as Restaurant Table Captain
1936
5.0
Show Boat
as Sam
1936
6.8
🎬
The Broken Earth
as The Farmer
1936
1.0
Laughing Irish Eyes
as Deacon
1936
0.0
Muss 'em Up
as William
1936
5.5
So Red the Rose
as Cato
1935
6.5
🎬
Beautiful Dreamer
1935
0.0
East of Java
as First Mate Johnson
1935
6.0
Harmony Lane
as Old Joe
1935
3.4
O'Shaughnessy's Boy
as Jeff
1935
6.0
After the Dance
as Cook
1935
6.0
Alias Mary Dow
as 'Rufe'
1935
6.2
Red Hot Tires
as Bud's Truck Partner
1935
5.8
Broadway Bill
as Whitey
1934
6.0
Kid Millions
as Native (uncredited)
1934
6.5
Black Moon
as 'Lunch' McClaren
1934
5.3
The Personality Kid
as Shamrock
1934
3.7
A Very Honorable Guy
as Black Man
1934
2.0
Massacre
as Sam
1934
5.4
Flying Down to Rio
as Caddy in Haiti (uncredited)
1933
6.2
Fury of the Jungle
as Sunrise
1933
0.0
The Wrecker
as Chauffeur
1933
1.0
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12
as Self
1933
0.0
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
as Masseur
1933
6.0
The Mind Reader
as Sam
1933
6.0
From Hell to Heaven
as Sam
1933
7.2
Frisco Jenny
as Voice of Singer (uncredited)
1933
6.3
Laughter in Hell
as Abraham Jackson
1933
1.0
The Death Kiss
as Shoeshine Man
1932
5.1
If I Had a Million
as Death Row Singing Prisoner (uncredited)
1932
6.6
Man Against Woman
as Smoke Johnson
1932
3.3
Washington Merry-Go-Round
as Clarence
1932
6.7
The Cabin in the Cotton
as A Blind Negro
1932
6.3
Hell's Highway
as Rascal
1932
5.9
Big City Blues
as Nightclub Singer (uncredited)
1932
5.3
White Zombie
as Coach Driver
1932
6.0
Winner Take All
as Rosebud, the Trainer
1932
4.7
Is My Face Red?
as Horatio
1932
4.7
Attorney for the Defense
as Jefferson Q. Leffingwell
1932
6.0
Night World
as Tim Washington, the Doorman
1932
6.7
Lena Rivers
as Curfew
1932
5.5
The Wet Parade
as Taylor Tibbs
1932
5.8
Prestige
as Nham
1932
5.5
The Woman from Monte Carlo
as Tombeau
1932
5.0
X Marks the Spot
as Eustace Brown
1931
6.0
The Secret Witness
as Jeff - Building Janitor
1931
2.3
Safe in Hell
as Newcastle
1931
6.6
Secret Service
as Jonas Polk
1931
6.0
Huckleberry Finn
as Jim
1931
6.7
The Fighting Sheriff
as Curfew
1931
0.0
Dirigible
as Clarence
1931
5.0
The Last Parade
as Alabam' / Singing Voice of Condemned Man (uncredited)
1931
0.0
Derelict
as Driver (uncredited)
1930
10.0
Outside the Law
as Party Guest (uncredited)
1930
4.7
Rain or Shine
as Nero
1930
6.2
The Thoroughbred
as Stablehand
1930
4.7
Swing High
as Singer
1930
6.5
Honey
as Black Revivalist
1930
5.0
A Royal Romance
as Rusty
1930
0.0
Guilty?
as Jefferson
1930
0.0
New York Nights
as Cabaret Singer (uncredited)
1929
4.8
Hallelujah
as Church Member (uncredited)
1929
6.7
Election Day
as Farina's father
1929
7.0
Hearts in Dixie
as Nappus
1929
3.0
🎬
The Custard Nine
1921
0.0