Orlando Martins (8 December 1899 – 25 September 1985) was a pioneering Yoruba Nigerian film and stage actor. In the late 1940s, he was one of Britain's most prominent and leading

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

actors, and in a poll conducted in 1947, he was listed among Britain's top 15 favourite actors.

Life

He was born as Emmanuel Alhandu Martins at Okesuna Street,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Nigeria, to a civil servant father with roots in Brazil and a Nigerian mother. Martins was related to the Benjamin Epega family. In 1913 he was enrolled in

Eko Boys High School Eko Boys' High School is a school in Lagos that was founded on 13 January 1913, by Rev. William Benjamin Euba, a Methodist Reverend, who desired to establish a secondary school that would provide educational opportunities for the less privilege ci ...

but dropped out."Orlando Martins, Hollywood’s first Yoruba Actor"
Yoruba 365, 12 November 2014. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as a stoker on the RMS ''Mauretania'' to avenge German cruelty to his family. Following the end of the war, he moved to London; on arrival in 1919 he had no source of income and had to look for ways to earn money. Around the same time, the Lyceum Theatre was looking for "supers" at the rate of three shillings per day. Martins joined the theatre and from there took on various theatre jobs to survive. In 1923, Sanger's Circus wanted to have someone to display

pythons The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten genera and 42 species are currently recognized. Distribution ...

, Martins took the part starting his performing career in the circus. He also worked as a wrestler (known as "Black Butcher Johnson"). Stephen Bourne
''Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television''
London: Continuum, 2001; chapter 7, "Robert Adams and Orlando Martins: Men of Two Worlds", pp. 76–80.

Career

In 1920, Martins was an extra acting with the

Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pa ...

ballet company, and was on the tour with the British company of ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'' as a professional singer. He was an extra in silent films, having made his debut in ''

If Youth But Knew ''If Youth But Knew'' is a 1926 British silent romance film directed by George A. Cooper and starring Godfrey Tearle, Lillian Hall-Davis and Wyndham Standing. It is a love story spanning two generations. It was made at Southall Studios. Cast ...

'' (1926). In the 1930s he went into acting on the London stage, playing Boukman in '' Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History'', a 1936 drama by

C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, '' The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are i ...

that starred the legendary

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 ...

, with whom Martins had featured in the 1935 film ''

Sanders of the River ''Sanders of the River'' is a 1935 British film directed by the Hungarian-British director, Zoltán Korda, based on the stories of Edgar Wallace. It is set in Colonial Nigeria. The lead Nigerian characters were played by African Americans Paul R ...

''. After the war, Martins had film roles in ''

The Man from Morocco ''The Man from Morocco'' is a 1945 British action adventure film directed by Mutz Greenbaum as Max Greene and starring Anton Walbrook, Margaretta Scott andMary Morris. The film was shot at Welwyn Studios of Associated British. Plot A group o ...

'' (1945) and in '' Men of Two Worlds'' (1946), alongside Robert Adams, becoming a sought-after character actor who was described by Peter Noble in 1948 as "a tall, powerful figure of a man with a deep bass voice, friendly, hospitable and with a grand sense of humour." Noble went on to say of Martins: "He is keenly interested in the foundation of a Negro Theatre in London. As he points out: 'If this ever comes into being it will mean not only that Negro talent in every theatre can be shown to the world, but a continuity of employment for this talent which is now going sadly to waste. He appears in the 1949 film ''

The Hasty Heart ''The Hasty Heart'' is a 1949 war drama film, an Anglo-American co-production starring Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, and Richard Todd and directed by Vincent Sherman. The film is based on the 1945 play of the same name by John Patrick. ''Th ...

'' (starring

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and

Patricia Neal Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...

) playing the African warrior Blossom, which role Martins also undertook in the stage production. In the 1950s he made other appearances on the London stage, including in adaptations of ''

Cry, the Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Benn ...

'' (

Trafalgar Square Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt (singer), Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death i ...

, 1954), and ''

The Member of the Wedding ''The Member of the Wedding'' is a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers. It took McCullers five years to complete, although she interrupted the work for a few months to write the novella '' The Ballad of the Sad Café''.McDowell, Marga ...

'' (

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

, 1957), before returning to Lagos in 1959. He subsequently took roles in such films as ''

Killers of Kilimanjaro ''Killers of Kilimanjaro'' is a 1959 British CinemaScope adventure film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Robert Taylor, Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey and Donald Pleasence for Warwick Films. The film was originally known as ''Adamson of A ...

'' (1960), ''

Call Me Bwana ''Call Me Bwana'' is a 1963 British Technicolor farce film starring Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg and directed by Gordon Douglas. Largely set in Africa, it was the only film made by Eon Productions not about the fictional MI6 agent James Bond un ...

'' (1963), ''

Mister Moses ''Mister Moses'' is a 1965 American adventure film about a con man blackmailed into persuading an entire African village into relocating for their own safety. It was directed by Ronald Neame and stars Robert Mitchum and Carroll Baker. The film wa ...

'' (1965), and ''

Kongi's Harvest ''Kongi's Harvest'' is a 1965 play written by Wole Soyinka. It premiered in Dakar, Senegal, at the first Negro Arts Festival in April 1966.Berry, Poyd M. (1980). Kongi's Harvest (a review). Gibbs, James (ed.). In ''Critical Perspectives on Wole ...

'' (1970,

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

's adaptation of his play of the same name).

Death and legacy

Martins died in 1985 at the age of 85 in Lagos, where he was buried at Ikoyi Cemetery. He is the subject of the 1983 book by Takiu Folami, entitled ''Orlando Martins, the Legend: an intimate biography of the first world acclaimed African film actor''. Bristol-based playwright Ros Martin has been researching and developing material in connection with Martins, her great-uncle.

Filmography

References

External links