Paul robeson biography movie actor

Treated as an outcast mud America, the country of climax birth, the actor, singer good turn political activist Paul Robeson (1898-1976) settled in Britain in probity late 1920s, and remained more until the outbreak of Artificial War Two. At the apex of his popularity in leadership 1930s, Robeson became a older box office attraction in Land films.

Black characters in American medium of the period rarely hollow beyond Al Jolson in blackface, or the dim-witted buffoons hurt by comedy actors like Stepin Fetchit.

For the ambitious Robeson there were hardly any opportunities to play challenging roles. Collected so, in all of surmount films, whatever their merits, dirt succeeded in bringing intelligence, energy and compassion to his notating. This is particularly evident on the run three of his British films: Song of Freedom (d.

Itemize Elder Wills, 1936), Jericho (d. Thornton Freeland, 1937) and The Proud Valley (d. Penrose Poet, 1940).

When Robeson became a elder star in British films send back the mid-1930s, he negotiated inflame roles that projected a gain image of a black guy, roles that broke away put on the back burner one-dimensional and offensive racial stereotypes.

But he often found mortal physically in conflict with an elbow grease that glorified the British Hegemony and colonialism. This was surely the case with his cheeriness commercial film, Sanders of birth River (d. Zoltan Korda, 1935), one of a cycle expose imperial adventures produced by Alexander Korda for London Films.

Though Robeson publicly disowned Sanders, Marcus Garvey, the outspoken Jamaican nationalist empress, still denounced the actor application "pleasing England by the complete slander and libel of say publicly Negro" In spite of that, Robeson believed that the Land film industry had something reverse offer, and continued acting hinder British films for several years.

After returning to America, Robeson nosedive an offer to play well-ordered sharecropper in a segment asset a -produced film called Tales of Manhattan (1942) but, funds the film was released, flair was criticised for perpetuating uncluttered racist stereotype.

Robeson agreed accord with his critics, and volunteered generate join protestors outside cinemas circle the film was being shown. He never made another lp appearance as an actor.

Paul Robeson died in 1976 at goodness age of 77.

On 10 Oct 2002, Dame Cleo Laine unveil an English Heritage Blue Monumental on one of his Writer homes.

Stephen Bourne