Leigh Rollin Whipper (October 29, 1876 – July 26, 1975) was an American actor on the stage and in motion pictures. He was the first African American to join the

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a boo ...

, and one of the founders 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 depic ...

. He created the role of Crooks in the original Broadway production of ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

'', which he reprised in the 1939 film version.

Biography

Whipper was the son of African-American educator, author and activist

Frances Rollin Whipper Frances Anne Rollin Whipper (November 19, 1845 – October 17, 1901) was a political activist, teacher, and author. Whipper and her four sisters were socially and politically active within the South Carolina state government during the Reconstruc ...

and a nephew of abolitionist

William Whipper William Whipper (February 22, 1804 – March 9, 1876) was a businessman and abolitionist in the United States. Whipper, an African American, advocated nonviolence and co-founded the American Moral Reform Society, an early African-American aboli ...

, attorney William J. Whipper. Educated at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

Law School, he left in 1895 and never practiced as a lawyer. Without any dramatic training, Whipper made his acting debut in a Philadelphia stock theater production of ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U ...

'' in 1899. He made his first Broadway appearance in Georgia Minstrels. His first film role was in the 1920 silent film ''

The Symbol of the Unconquered ''The Symbol of the Unconquered'' (also known as ''The Wilderness Trail'') is a 1920 silent "race film" drama produced, written and directed by Oscar Micheaux. It is Micheaux's fourth feature-length film and along with ''Within Our Gates'' is amo ...

''. A portrait of Whipper entitled "Dans un Café à Paris (Leigh Whipper)" by artist Loïs Mailou Jones, oil on canvas is currently on display at the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Cro ...

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Quoted from the museum webpage: "The artist’s portrayal of a pensive Whipper answered Alain Locke’s call for black artists to create ennobling representations of African Americans

During the World War II, Second World War, Whipper was a member of the steering committee of Negro Division 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 military service to contribute to the war effort through b ...

. Leigh's daughter, Leighla Frances Whipper, was a Calypso songwriter and music publisher.

Partial filmography

* ''

Within Our Gates ''Within Our Gates'' is a 1920 American silent film by the director Oscar Micheaux that portrays the contemporary racial situation in the United States during the early twentieth century, the years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, ...

'' (1920) * ''

'' (1920) - Tugi - an Indian Fakir * ''

'' (1939) - Crooks * ''

Robin Hood of the Pecos '' Robin Hood of the Pecos '' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Roy Rogers. Cast * Roy Rogers as Vance Corbin * George "Gabby" Hayes as Gabriel "Gabby" Hornaday * Marjorie Reynolds as Jeanie Grayson * Cy K ...

'' (1941) - Kezeye * ''

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

'' (1941) - Ezechial * '' Road to Zanzibar'' (1941) - Scarface * ''

King of the Zombies ''King of the Zombies'' is a 1941 American zombie comedy film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, and Mantan Moreland. The film was produced by Monogram Pictures, and was typical of its B films produced by the ...

'' (1941) - Momba * ''

Bahama Passage ''Bahama Passage'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith, starring Madeleine Carroll and Sterling Hayden. The film was primarily shot on Salt Cay, Turks Islands in Technicolor. Plot When his father dies in an accident, A ...

'' (1941) - Morales * ''

Lady for a Night ''Lady for a Night'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Joan Blondell and John Wayne. The World War II B-17 bomber the ''Memphis Belle'' is named after a steamboat in this film. It is also known as ''The Lady from New Orleans'', ''Memphis ...

'' (1942) - Joe Cupid, the Charm Seller (uncredited) * '' The Vanishing Virginian'' (1942) - Uncle Josh * ''

Heart of the Golden West '' Heart of the Golden West '' is a 1942 American Western film starring Roy Rogers. Plot Roy helps the ranchers of Cherokee City when Ross Lambert (McDonald) doubles the rates to ship their cattle to market. Roy contacts the owner of a steamboa ...

'' (1942) - Rango * ''

White Cargo ''White Cargo'' is a 1942 film drama starring Hedy Lamarr and Walter Pidgeon, and directed by Richard Thorpe. Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is based on the 1923 London and Broadway hit play by Leon Gordon, which was in turn adapted fro ...

'' (1942) - Jim Fish * ''

The Ox-Bow Incident ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews and Mary Beth Hughes, with Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell. Two cowboys arrive in a ...

'' (1943) - Sparks (uncredited) * ''

Mission to Moscow ''Mission to Moscow'' is a 1943 film directed by Michael Curtiz, based on the 1941 book by the former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, Joseph E. Davies. The movie chronicles the experiences of the second American ambassador to the Soviet ...

'' (1943) - Haile Selassie (uncredited) * '' Happy Land'' (1943) - Old Ben (uncredited) * '' The Impostor'' (1944) - Toba * '' The Yellow Rose of Texas'' (1944) - Dock Singer (uncredited) * '' Dark Waters'' (1944) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Jungle Queen'' (1945, Serial) - Native (uncredited) * '' The Hidden Eye'' (1945) - Alistair * ''

The Negro Sailor ''The Negro Sailor'' is a 1945 documentary short film made for the U.S. Navy and shown by All-American News, a company producing newsreels and later feature films for the race film market. It was directed by Henry Levin. The film was inspired by t ...

'' (1945) * ''

Young Widow ''Young Widow'' is a 1946 drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Jane Russell and Louis Hayward. It focuses on Joan Kenwood, a young journalist who cannot get over her husband's death in World War II. Kenwood is reminded in large wa ...

'' (1946) - Nate (uncredited) * '' Undercurrent'' (1946) - George * ''

Untamed Fury ''Untamed Fury'' (also known as ''The Outlander'') is a 1947 American film. Production The film was financed by the Danches brothers, industrialists who had made a fortune during World War II and wanted to enter into filmmaking. The film's budget ...

'' (1947) - Uncle Gabe * ''

Lost Boundaries ''Lost Boundaries'' is a 1949 American film starring Beatrice Pearson, Mel Ferrer (in his first leading role), and Susan Douglas Rubeš. Directed by Alfred L. Werker, it is based on William Lindsay White's story of the same title, a nonfictio ...

'' (1949) - Janitor * '' The Shrike'' (1955) - Carlisle * ''

The Young Don't Cry ''The Young Don't Cry'' is a 1957 American drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Sal Mineo, James Whitmore and J. Carrol Naish.Frascella & Weisel p.290 Plot An all-boys orphanage is not far from a prison camp near a swamp. Les ...

'' (1957) - Doosy * ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

'' “Streetcar Jones” (1958) - Lodi

References

External links

* * 1876 births 1975 deaths American male film actors African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors American male stage actors American male television actors Howard University School of Law alumni 20th-century African-American people {{US-theat-actor-1870s-stub