Georgia Burke (February 27, 1878 — November 28, 1985) was an American actress who had performed on television, radio, and
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
between the 1930s and the 1960s. In 1934 Burke made her debut in Broadway in ''They Shall Not Die'', and in 1944 she won a
Donaldson Award
The Donaldson Awards were a set of theatre awards established in 1944 by the drama critic Robert Francis in honor of W. H. Donaldson (1864–1925), the founder of ''The Billboard'' (now ''Billboard'') magazine.
Categories included "best new pla ...
as the third choice for Best Supporting Actress in
Edward Chodorov
Edward Chodorov (April 17, 1904 – October 9, 1988), was a Broadway playwright, and the writer or producer of over 50 motion pictures.
Filmography
* '' Kind Lady'' (1951, writer)
* '' Road House'' (1948, writer/producer)
* ''The Hucksters'' ( ...
's play, ''Decision''. Burke had performed in the 1952 U.S. State Department-sponsored international production of ''
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...
'' and had taken a role as a nurse in the radio program ''
When a Girl Marries
''When a Girl Marries'' is an American daytime radio drama that was broadcast on three major radio networks from 1939 to 1957. Created by Elaine Sterne Carrington (who also was responsible for ''Pepper Young's Family'' and ''Rosemary''), it was th ...
'', which had been broadcast for 18 years. She had also performed in the 1944 Broadway production of '' Anna Lucasta'' and its second film counterpart in 1958.
Burke has been credited as one of the early appearances of the "stereotyped humorous black maid" in entertainment since her appearance in the radio
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Betty and Bob
''Betty and Bob'' is a radio soap opera. The soap opera followed the lives of Betty and Bob Drake. Betty was a secretary who falls madly in love with her boss, bachelor Bob Drake. The two wed and each day, the subject matter dealt with everything ...
''.
She died in 1985 at the age of 107, at the De Witt Nursing Home in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.
Early life and career
Burke was born on February 27, 1878, in La Grange or
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia, to a minister and a nurse. She attended
Claflin University
Claflin University is a private historically black university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Founded in 1869 after the American Civil War by northern missionaries for the education of freedmen and their children, it offers bachelor's and master's ...
and
New Orleans University
New Orleans University was a historically black college that operated between 1873 and 1934 in New Orleans
New Orleans ( , , and worked as a public school teacher in
Wilson, North Carolina
Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. Located approximately east of the capital city of Raleigh, it is served by the interchange of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 264. Wilson had an estimated p ...
. Due to a slapping incident by superintendent Charles L. Coon towards another teacher, Burke, along with other colored teachers at the school, protested the incident by resigning from her teaching position and continued teaching at another school. Burke later moved to New York City, where she attended
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1929.
During a visit to
Lew Leslie
Lew Leslie (born Lewis Lessinsky; April 15, 1888 – March 10, 1963) was an American writer and producer of Broadway shows. Leslie got his start in show business in vaudeville in his early twenties. Although white, he was the first major imp ...
's first rehearsal of ''
Blackbirds of 1928
''Blackbirds of 1928'' was a hit Broadway musical revue that starred Adelaide Hall, Bill Bojangles Robinson, Tim Moore and Aida Ward, with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It contained the hit songs "Diga Diga Do", the duo's ...
'', a friend of Burke's urged her to sing ''
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...
'' in front of the rehearsal cast, where Leslie had walked in and—among hearing her voice—persuaded her to join the pre-existing choir for ''Blackbirds of 1928''. She was given a year's leave from teaching but never returned to her former teaching career.
Hallmark Hall of Fame
''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...
: The Little Foxes'' (1956)
* ''
ABC Theater
''ABC Theater'' is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC and featured quality dramatic presentations over a period of 12 years. Although some sources indicate the series began in 1974, ABC lists the first production in 1972, ...
Blackbirds of 1928
''Blackbirds of 1928'' was a hit Broadway musical revue that starred Adelaide Hall, Bill Bojangles Robinson, Tim Moore and Aida Ward, with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It contained the hit songs "Diga Diga Do", the duo's ...
''
* ''Decision'' - 1944
* ''
The Grass Harp
''The Grass Harp'' is a novel by Truman Capote published on October 1, 1951Clarke, Gerald. ''Capote: A Biography'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988), page 224. It tells the story of an orphaned boy and two elderly ladies who observe life from a ...
''
* ''
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...
''
* ''Five Star Final''
* ''Savage Rhythm''
* '' Anna Lucasta''
* ''In Abraham's Bosom''
* ''Old Man Satan''
* ''They Shall Not Die''
* ''
Mamba's Daughters
''Mamba's Daughters'' () is a 1929 novel written by DuBose Heyward and published by the University of South Carolina Press. It was later adapted by Heward and his wife Dorothy Heyward for the stage; the play premiered on Broadway in 1939.
Nove ...
''
* '' Cabin in the Sky''
* ''No Time for Comedy''
* ''Interlock''
* ''The Sun Field''
* '' Mandingo''
* ''Tambourines to Glory''
* ''The Wisteria Trees''
Radio
* ''John Henry: Black River Giant''
* ''
When a Girl Marries
''When a Girl Marries'' is an American daytime radio drama that was broadcast on three major radio networks from 1939 to 1957. Created by Elaine Sterne Carrington (who also was responsible for ''Pepper Young's Family'' and ''Rosemary''), it was th ...