William D. Foster
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William D. Foster
William D. Foster, sometimes referred to as Bill Foster (1884 – 15 April 1940), was a pioneering African-American film producer who was an influential figure in the Black film industry in the early 20th century, along with others such as Oscar Micheaux. He was the first African American to found a film production company, establishing the Foster Photoplay Company in Chicago in 1910. Foster had a vision for the African-American community to portray themselves as they wanted to be seen, not as someone else depicted them. He was influenced by the black theater community and wanted to break the racial stereotyping of blacks in film. He was an actor and writer under the stage name Juli Jones, as well as an agent for numerous vaudeville stars. His film '' The Railroad Porter'', released in 1912, is credited as being the world's first film with an entirely black cast and director. The film is also credited with being the first black newsreel, featuring images of a YMCA parade.Gaines, ...
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ...
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Keystone Cops
The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. History The idea for the Keystone Cops came from Hank Mann, and they were named for the Keystone studio, the film production company founded in 1912 by Sennett. Their first film was '' Hoffmeyer's Legacy'' (1912), with Mann playing the part of police chief Tehiezel, but their popularity stemmed from the 1913 short ''The Bangville Police'' starring Mabel Normand, which had Ford Sterling in the role of chief. As early as 1914, Sennett shifted the Keystone Cops from starring roles to background ensemble in support of comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle. The Keystone Cops served as supporting players for Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, and Chaplin in the first full-length Sennett comedy feature '' Tillie's Punctured Romance'' (1914); '' Mabel's ...
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Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky on the plantation" or the " dandified coon". By the middle of the century, blackface minstrel shows had become a distinctive American artform, translating formal works such as opera into popular terms for a general audience. Early in the 20th century, blackface branched off from the minstrel show and became a form in its own right. In the United States, blackface declined in popularity beginning in the 1940s and into the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s,Clark, Alexis.How the History of Blackface Is Rooted in Racism. ''History''. A&E Television Networks, LLC. 2019. and was generally considered highly offensive, disrespectful, and racist by the turn of the 21st century, though the practice ...
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The Birth Of A Nation
''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clansman''. Griffith co-wrote the screenplay with Frank E. Woods and produced the film with Harry Aitken. ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a landmark of film history, lauded for its technical virtuosity. It was the first non-serial American 12-reel film ever made. Its plot, part fiction and part history, chronicles the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth and the relationship of two families in the Civil War and Reconstruction eras over the course of several years—the pro-Union ( Northern) Stonemans and the pro- Confederacy ( Southern) Camerons. It was originally shown in two parts separated by an intermission, and it was the first American-made film to have a musical score for an orchestra. It pioneered closeups and fadeout ...
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The Nigger
''The Nigger'' is a play by American playwright Edward Sheldon (1886–1946). It explores the relationship between blacks and whites in the melodrama of a politician faced with a sudden, personal dilemma. The play was first performed on Broadway in New York City at The New Theatre on December 4, 1909. The play was adapted to a novel, and a film adaptation, directed by Edgar Lewis, was made in 1915. Because the title was controversial, the film was released in some markets as ''The Governor'' or ''The New Governor''. References External links "The Nigger": An American Play in Three Actsat Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ... Plays about race and ethnicity American plays adapted into films 1909 plays Melodramas Broadway plays Plays by Edward She ...
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A Trip To Coontown
A Trip to Coontown is an American musical comedy. It was performed, directed, and produced by African-Americans. It was written and performed in by Bob Cole (composer), Bob Cole and Billy Johnson. and debuted it New Jersey in 1897 before touring in the U.S. and internationally. Its New York City debut was at the Third Avenue Theatre on April 4, 1898. The musical was a reworking of Cole and Johnson's skit "At Jolly Coon-ey Island" which was written by Cole for an operatic variety company called Black Patti’s Troubadours (formed by Sissieretta Jones). ''A Trip to Coontown'' spoofed the popular musical ''A Trip to Chinatown'' (1891). In the early 20th century the musical was staged in European cities. Cast According to an October 1899 advertisement in ''The Allentown Leader'', the show featured: *Coontown Sextette *Carter and Hillman's Bowery Spielers *Alice MacKay, Contralto *Freeman Sisters, acrobatic dancers *Billy Johnson, "the Luckiest Coon in Town" *Lloyd G. Gibbs, "Famous Co ...
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The Trooper Of Company K
''The Trooper of Troop K'' is a Lincoln Motion Picture Company film produced in 1917, directed by Harry A. Gant and starring Noble Johnson. It was the production company's second film. Set at the Battle of Carrizal, the film contains a battle scene with hundreds of extras, depicting African American U.S. soldiers fighting Mexican soldiers. The film originally consisted of 3 film reel, reels of 35 mm movie film. Most of this is now lost film. The small portion that survives is earliest extant fragment of Black film, Black-produced cinema. Synopsis Joe (Noble Johnson) is fond of Clara (Beulah Hall) but his inept romantic gestures do not impress her. Jimmy (Jimmie Smith) reacts with disgust to Joe's antics, and competes with Joe to win the affections of Clara. Joe joins the United States Army, army because Clara suggests this will help Joe clean up his act. The army captain is delighted by Joe's kind-hearted nature and his skill with horses. Joe and other soldiers are dispatched ...
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The Realization Of A Negro's Ambition
''The Realization of a Negro's Ambition'' is a 1916 American silent short film that is now lost. The film was directed by Harry A. Gant for the Los Angeles-based "Negro Firm" Lincoln Motion Picture Company The Lincoln Motion Picture Company was an American film production company founded in 1916 by Noble Johnson and George Perry Johnson. Noble Johnson was president of the company, and the secretary was actor Clarence A. Brooks. Dr. James T. Smith ...; this two-reel film was the production company's first production and it boasted an "all star Negro cast". Premise An African-American man leaves his home to find success in the oil business. When he rescues the daughter of a wealthy oilman, he is given the opportunity to be the head of an expedition. He later becomes wealthy and returns home, where he marries his high school sweetheart. Cast * Bessie Baker * Lottie Boles * Clarence Brooks * A. Burns * Gertrude Christmas See also * List of lost films References External l ...
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Lincoln Motion Picture Company
The Lincoln Motion Picture Company was an American film production company founded in 1916 by Noble Johnson and George Perry Johnson. Noble Johnson was president of the company, and the secretary was actor Clarence A. Brooks. Dr. James T. Smith was treasurer, and Dudley A. Brooks was the assistant secretary. The company is known as the first producer of race movies. Established in Omaha, Nebraska, the company relocated to Los Angeles the following year. It remained in operation until 1923, closing shortly after announcing a final project, ''The Heart of a Negro''.Sampson, Henry T. ''Blacks in Black and White: A Source Book on Black Films'', page 39 The point of the creation of Lincoln's was to eliminate the stereotypical roles of "slapstick comedy" in Hollywood at the time for Black actors and actresses. "best advertised and most widely known Race Corporation in the world" is the famous slogan for the company. Background In the first two decades of the 20th century, African A ...
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Lottie Grady
Charlotte Grady Roxborough (September 8, 1887 – 1970) was a singer, dancer, and comedian who performed in theatrical productions and vaudeville as well as films. She was born to Wesley, a white father, and Susan (Kelly) Grady. She performed at the Pekin Theatre in Chicago where she was a star member of its stock company. She starred in William Foster's '' The Pullman Porter'', in 1912, the first black motion picture production. She was born in Chicago. Her photograph ran in a 1909 edition of the ''New York Age ''The New York Age'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1887. It was widely considered one of the most prominent African-American newspapers of its time.
''. She was described as well known and lauded for her performances in reviews. In 1919, she married C ...
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The Grafter And The Maid
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pr ...
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The Butler (1913 Film)
''The Butler'' (full title ''Lee Daniels' The Butler'') is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels and with a screenplay by Danny Strong. It is inspired by Wil Haygood's ''Washington Post'' article "A Butler Well Served by This Election". Loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen, who worked in the White House for decades, the film stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, an African-American who is a witness of notable political and social events of the 20th century during his 34-year tenure serving as a White House butler. In addition to Whitaker, the film's all-star cast also features Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Nelsan Ellis, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Elijah Kelley, Lenny Kravitz, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, Robin Williams, and Clarence Williams III. It was the last film produced by Laura Ziskin, who died on Jun ...
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