Gertrude Hadley Jeannette (November 28, 1914Profile
thehistorymakers.com; accessed February 22, 2017. – April 4, 2018) was an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and film and stage actress."Theater legend Gertrude Hadley Jeannette, 103, passes"
Linda Armstrong, ''New York Amsterdam Press'', April 12, 2018 She is also known for being the first woman to work as a licensed taxi driver in New York City, which she began doing in 1942. Despite being blacklisted during the

Red Scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...

in the 1950s, she wrote five plays and founded the H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players in

Harlem, New York 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 (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, remaining active in mentoring

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

actors in New York City.Profile
danaroc.com; accessed December 23, 2014.
actorsequity.org; accessed December 23, 2014. In the 1960s and 1970s she appeared in Broadway productions such as ''The Long Dream'', ''

Nobody Loves an Albatross ''Nobody Loves an Albatross'' is a 1963 comedy play written by Ronald Alexander, which was performed at the Lyceum Theatre of Broadway, New York between 19 December 1963 and June 20, 1964. It was produced by Elliot Martin and Philip Rose, di ...

'', ''

The Amen Corner ''The Amen Corner'' is a three-act play by James Baldwin. It was Baldwin's first work for the stage following the success of his novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain''. The drama was first published in 1954, and inspired a short-lived 1983 Broadwa ...

'', ''

The Skin of Our Teeth ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' is a play by Thornton Wilder that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942, at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, 194 ...

'' and ''

Vieux Carré The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Squ ...

''. She also appeared in films such as ''

Cotton Comes to Harlem ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is a 1970 American neo-noir action comedy thriller film co-written and directed by Ossie Davis and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, and Redd Foxx. The film, later cited as an early example of the ...

'' in 1969, '' Shaft'' in 1971, and ''

Black Girl Black women are women of sub-Saharan African and Afro-diasporic descent, as well as women of Australian Aboriginal and Melanesian descent. The term 'Black' is a racial classification of people, the definition of which has shifted over time and a ...

'' in 1972. She acted into her 80s and retired from directing theater at the age of 98.

Early life and education

Gertrude Jeannette was born on November 28, 1914, in Urbana, Arkansas. Salley Getrude Crawford Hadley, her mother, was a homemaker. Willis Lawrence Hadley, her father, taught on a

Native American reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a federally recognized Tribe (Native American), Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not ...

near

Spiro, Oklahoma Spiro is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Fort Smith metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,164 at the 2010 census, a 2.8 ...

. Gertrude Jeannette had five brothers and one sister, and grew up on a farm. The family moved to

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, and she enrolled at the segregated Dunbar High School.

Career

Motorist and cab driver

In 1935 she became the first woman to get a license to drive a motorcycle in New York City, and she joined her husband's

motorcycle club A motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles. A motorcycle group can range as clubbed groups of different bikes or bikers who own same model of vehicle like the Harley Owners Group. Ther ...

in the early 1940s. In 1942, she took and passed the cab driver's test and became the first female cab driver in New York City. In 1949, she was present at the Peekskill Riots, when the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

attempted to lynch

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...

. Her husband worked as a bodyguard for Robeson, and during the riot, she and her husband rushed to the motorcycles to help get Robeson out.

Theater career

Using money she earned as a taxi driver, she enrolled in a speech class to help manage her stammer. The one class she could find was at the

American Negro Theater The American Negro Theatre (ANT) was co-founded on June 5, 1940 by playwright Abram Hill and actor Frederick O'Neal. Determined to build a "people's theatre", they were inspired by the Federal Theatre Project's Negro Unit in Harlem and by W. E. ...

in Harlem. Acting was part of the curriculum, and because of that, she studied along with notable actors such as

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (19 ...

and

Ossie Davis Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...

. "Singled out for her stage presence," in 1945, she played her first lead role in the play ''Our Town''. She continued to drive a cab until 1949, when she landed a role in ''

Lost in the Stars ''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1949; it was the composer's last work ...

'',Profile of Jeannette
nydailynews.com; March 31, 2011, accessed December 23, 2014. her first

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 ...

production. She began writing plays in 1950, writing about strong women that "no one would be ashamed to play." She wrote five plays, and as a "demanding" director, she mentored young black actors in New York. Her first play was her favorite. Titled ''The Way Forward'' and premiered in 1950, it related to her childhood. Jeannette also performed in it. Jeannette relates being blacklisted during the

of the 1950s due to her association with her friend

, who was also blacklisted. Even though blacklisted, she set up a succession of theater companies in Harlem. In the 1960s and 1970s she appeared in a number of Broadway theater productions. Among them were ''The Long Dream'' (1960), ''

'' (1963), ''

'' (1965), ''

'' (1975) and ''

'' (1977). In 1970 she appeared in the film ''

'', and in 1972 she appeared in the film ''

''. Her film credits also include '' Shaft''. In 1979, she founded the H.A.D.L.E.Y. players (Harlem Artist's Development League Especially for You). She acted into her 80s, retiring from directing at the age of 98. Jeannette was one of several prominent African American theater directors featured in the 13 minute documentary ''Drama Mamas: Black Women Theatre Directors In the Spotlight and Remembered'', which was shown at the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in March 2006.

Personal life

Her husband, Joe Jeannette, first proposed to her on her prom night, and she refused, "walking off the floor." They eloped to New York in 1933. Her only son, Robert, was born in 1935, dying at age five. Her husband, a

prizefighter Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

and president of the motorcycle club the Harlem Dusters,"Gertrude Hadley Jeannette (1914–)"
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture died in 1956. She turned 100 in November 2014."Hadley Players Founder Turns 100"
Deardra Shuler, Eurweb, September 4, 2014 She died on April 4, 2018, at the age of 103Celebrating The Life Of Harlem’s Gertrude Hadley Jeannette
, ''Harlem World Magazine''"Gertrude Hadley Jeannette Obituary"
through

Legacy.com Legacy.com is a United States-based website founded in 1998, the world's largest commercial provider of online memorials. The Web site hosts obituaries and memorials for more than 70 percent of all U.S. deaths.Keagle, Lauri Harvey"Death in the D ...

at her home in Harlem. She was survived by many nephews and nieces.

Filmography

Playwright credits

*''A Bolt from the Blue'' (1948) *''This Way Forward'' (1948-1950) *''Light in the Cellar'' (1960) *''Open House'' (1974) *''Who's Mama's Baby, Who's Daddy's Child?'' (1985) *''Gladys' Dilemma'' (1990)

Theater credits

Awards

*1984

AUDELCO AUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in African American theatre in New York City. AUDELCO presents the Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards (also known as Viv awar ...

Outstanding Pioneer Award *1987

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

and ''Black American Newspaper's'' Personality of the Year Award *1991 Living Legend Award at the National Black Theatre Festival in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

*1992 Harlem Business Recognition Award from the Manhattan Section of the

National Council of Negro Women The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1935 with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African-American women, their families, and communities. Mary McLeod Bethune, the f ...

*1998

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

Legacy Award *1999 Inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame *2002

Paul Robeson Award An award bestowed by the Paul Robeson Citation Award Committee of the Actors' Equity Association. Recipients * 1974: Paul Robeson * 1975: Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee * 1976: Lillian Hellman * 1977: Pete Seeger * 1978: Sam Jaffe * 1979: Harry Belafon ...

from the

Actors’ Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in live theater, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage ...

"Gertrude Jeannette Receives Robeson"

, October 14, 2002 *2004 Giving Back Award from the Giving Back Corporation"A Pioneer in the Theater Celebrates her 100th Birthday"
Blackstar News, Deardra Shuler, December 2, 2014 *2010 AUDELCO Nomination in three categories for Best Play Revival for her play ''Gladys' Dilemma''

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeannette, Gertrude 1914 births 2018 deaths Actresses from Arkansas African-American activists African-American centenarians American centenarians American film actresses American stage actresses American taxi drivers People from Harlem People from Union County, Arkansas Women centenarians 20th-century American actresses 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women