Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film ''
Casablanca''. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme song "
As Time Goes By".
Wilson was a drummer and singer
who led his own band in the 1920s, touring nightclubs in London and Paris. In the 1930s he took up acting, playing supporting roles onstage on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and in a series of modest films. His role in ''Casablanca'' was by far his most prominent, but his other films included ''
My Favorite Blonde
''My Favorite Blonde'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Bob Hope and Madeleine Carroll. Based on a story by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, the film is about a vaudeville performer who gets mixed up with Bri ...
'' (1942) with
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
, ''
Stormy Weather'' (1943) with
Lena Horne and the
Nicholas Brothers
The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of biological brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best known for their ...
, and the Western ''
Passage West
Passage West (locally known as "Passage"; ) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour, some 10 km south-east of Cork city. The town has many services, amenities and social outlets. Passage West wa ...
'' (1951).
Early life and career
Arthur Wilson was born in
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...
,
the youngest of five children. At age seven, the year of his father's death, he began to earn a living by performing in churches in Tyler. When he was eight years old he was earning $18 a week, singing and playing in tent shows. By 1908 he was in Chicago in the repertory company of the
Pekin Theatre, the first legitimate black theatre in the United States. By then he had earned the nickname "Dooley", for his
whiteface impersonation of an
Irishman
The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...
singing a song called "Mr. Dooley".
Part of the emerging African American theatre scene, Wilson worked with the
Anita Bush
Anita Bush (September 1, 1883 – February 16, 1974) was an African American stage actress and playwright. She founded the Anita Bush All-Colored Dramatic Stock Company in 1915, a pioneering black repertory theatre company that helped gain her t ...
company in New York City in 1914 and with
Charles Gilpin's stock company at the
Lafayette Theatre in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
in 1915.
He performed in
James Reese Europe
James Reese Europe (February 22, 1881 – May 9, 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African Americans music scene of New York City in the 1910s. Eubie Blake called hi ...
's band, and after World War I he toured Europe with his own band, The Red Devils, throughout the 1920s.
Working in the U.S. again during the
Great Depression, Wilson starred in ''Conjur' Man Dies'' (1936) and other plays for the
Federal Theatre Project's
Negro Theatre Unit, then under the direction of
John Houseman. His breakthrough role came in 1940, with his portrayal of Little Joe in the Broadway musical ''
Cabin in the Sky''. This won him a contract with
Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. He found himself playing Pullman porters while his stage role in the
MGM film adaptation of ''Cabin in the Sky'' was played by
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson
Edmund Lincoln Anderson (September 18, 1905 – February 28, 1977) was an American comedian and actor. To a generation of early radio and television comedy he was known as "Rochester".
Anderson entered show business as a teenager on the vaudevi ...
.
''Casablanca''
In May 1942, Warner Bros. was casting its production of ''
Casablanca'' and borrowed Wilson from Paramount Pictures for seven weeks at $500 a week. Per the studio custom of the day, Wilson received his contract salary, $350 per week, and Paramount kept the balance.
Wilson was cast in the role of Sam, a singer and pianist employed by nightclub owner Rick (
Humphrey Bogart). Wilson performs the
Herman Hupfeld
Herman Hupfeld (February 1, 1894June 8, 1951) was an American songwriter whose most notable composition was " As Time Goes By". He wrote both the lyrics and music.
Life and career
Hupfeld was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of Fredericka ...
song "
As Time Goes By", a continuing musical and emotional motif throughout the film. According to
Aljean Harmetz
Aljean Meltsir Harmetz (born December 30, 1929) is an American journalist and film historian. She was the Hollywood correspondent for '' The New York Times'' from 1978 to 1990.
Her film books include '' The Making of The Wizard of Oz'' (1977), ...
, ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' singled out Wilson for the effectiveness of the song, and ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' said he created "something joyous". The phrase "Play it again, Sam", commonly believed to be a quote from the film, is never heard in ''Casablanca''. The line was, "Play it, once, Sam." In the film, Wilson as Sam performs several other songs for the cafe audience: "
It Had To Be You", "
Shine", "
Knock on Wood", "
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
" and "
Parlez-moi d'amour".
Wilson was a singer and drummer, but not a pianist. The piano music for the film was played off-screen, either by
Elliot Carpenter or Jean Plummer, and dubbed.
Later life and career
Wilson was cast in the film version of ''
Stormy Weather'' (1943), as Gabe Tucker, the best friend of Bill Williamson (
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...
). It was the second all-black cast motion picture made by a major studio in the 1940s, after ''Cabin in the Sky''.
Back on Broadway, Wilson played Pompey, an escaped slave, in the musical ''
Bloomer Girl
''Bloomer Girl'' is a 1944 Broadway musical with music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, and a book by Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy, based on an unpublished play by writer Daniel Lewis James and his wife Lilith.Suskin, 89 The plot concerns ...
'' (1944–46). His performance of the song "The Eagle and Me" in this show was selected by Dwight Blocker Bowers for inclusion in a
Smithsonian recordings compilation, ''American Musical Theatre.'' Later, Wilson played the role of Bill Jackson on the
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
situation comedy ''
Beulah'' during its 1951–52 season.
Wilson was on the executive board of the
Negro Actors Guild of America
Negro Actors Guild of America (NAG) was formed in 1936 and began operation in 1937 to create better opportunities for black actors during a period in America where the country was at a crossroads regarding how its citizens of color would be depi ...
.
Death and legacy
Wilson died May 30, 1953 of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles. He had become ill two years earlier while performing in a New York stage production of ''
Harvey
Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit
* Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
''. He is buried at the
Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife, Estelle (née Williams).
In January 2017, Wilson's hometown of Tyler, Texas dedicated a memorial marker to him on its ''Half Mile of History''.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Dooley
African-American male actors
American male film actors
American male stage actors
African-American drummers
Paramount Pictures contract players
1886 births
1953 deaths
Male actors from Texas
Musicians from Texas
Burials at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery
People from Tyler, Texas
20th-century American male actors
Federal Theatre Project people
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
20th-century African-American male singers