Ben Carter (February 10, 1910/1907 – December 12, 1946) was an American actor and

casting agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or spor ...

. He appeared in numerous

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s including ''

The Harvey Girls ''The Harvey Girls'' is a 1946 Technicolor American musical film produced by Arthur Freed for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is based on the 1942 The Harvey Girls (novel), novel of the same name by Samuel Hopkins Adams, about Fred Harvey (entrepreneur ...

'', '' Dixie Jamboree'', and '' Born to Sing''.

Early life

Carter was born in

Fairfield, Iowa Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families below the poverty line. The city is typical o ...

. His father was a barber and his mother was a housemaid. He graduated from high school in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...

Career

Carter headed to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to work in movies. As a

booking agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sp ...

he focused on African American performers in New York City and Los Angeles. He was one of the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

performers to land a seven-year contract at

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. He opened his agency office in 1935. Carter appeared in ''

Gone With the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' (1939) as well as casting all the other African American actors and actresses in it, ''

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

'' (1940) and ''

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

'' (1940). Carter often performed in comic roles and in scenes which allowed him to display his singing ability such as in ''

'' (1946) and '' A Day at the Races'' (1937). Among his most prominent roles were in the

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alter ...

movies ''

The Scarlet Clue ''The Scarlet Clue'' is a 1945 American film directed by Phil Rosen.Scarlet Clue, The Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 12, Iss. 133, (Jan 1, 1945): 155. The film is also known as ''Charlie Chan in the Scarlet Clue'' (American informal title) ...

'' (1945) and '' Dark Alibi'' (1946). A notable role of his was in the World War II movie ''

Crash Dive A crash dive is a maneuver by a submarine in which the vessel submerges as quickly as possible to avoid attack. Crash diving from the surface to avoid attack has been largely rendered obsolete with the advent of nuclear-powered submarines, as they ...

'' (1943) where his character rises above racial stereotypes and is portrayed as an valuable member of a submarine's crew.

Personal life

Carter was a member of the

Hollywood Victory Committee The Hollywood Victory Committee was an organization founded on December 10, 1941, during World War II to provide a means for stage, screen, television and radio performers that were not in Armed forces, military service to contribute to the war eff ...

and was a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. He resided at 2133 S. Harvard Blvd. in Sugar Hill (now "West Adams"), Los Angeles, California, in 1942. Carter suffered from

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

. He died of the disease on December 12, 1946, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Filmography

Notes

External links

* 20th-century births 1946 deaths Year of birth uncertain American male film actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Iowa American talent agents Infectious disease deaths in New York (state) Respiratory disease deaths in New York (state) Deaths from diphtheria African-American male actors 20th-century American businesspeople People from West Adams, Los Angeles People from Fairfield, Iowa 20th-century African-American people {{US-actor-stub