Frederick O'Neal (August 27, 1905 – August 25, 1992) was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, theater producer and

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

. He founded the American Negro Theater, the British Negro Theatre, and was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

president of the

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in Theatre, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions w ...

. He was also known for his work behind the scenes as a revolutionary

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ist.

Early life and acting career

Born Frederick Douglas O'Neal in Brooksville, Mississippi, he was named after abolitionist

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

. His father was a teacher and merchant. He had seven brothers and sisters. In 1919, when his father died, the family moved to St. Louis where he started acting professionally in 1927. O'Neal moved to New York in 1936 and worked as a laboratory assistant while studying acting at night. He made his New York debut with the

Civic Repertory Theatre The Fourteenth Street Theatre was a theatre located at 107 West 14th Street just west of Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.Berg, J.C. (9 January 2011)The Fourteenth Street Theater, ''nycvintageimages.com'' History It was designed by A ...

. Unsatisfied with the state of black theater, he helped establish the American Negro Theater in 1940 and appeared in a number of its productions. In 1944, he made his

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 Stre ...

debut as the greedy brother-in-law in '' Anna Lucasta''. For his performance, O'Neal won the

Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 ...

as most promising newcomer of the theater season, the New York Drama Critics' Award for best supporting performance of 1944 and the Donaldson Award for the 1944-45 season. He recreated the role in Chicago and London, and in the film adaptation. He also earned acclaim for his stage portrayal of Lem Scott in ''

Take a Giant Step ''Take a Giant Step'' is a 1959 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Philip Leacock. The plot concerns a black teenager living in a predominantly white environment and having trouble coping as he reaches an age at which the realities of ...

'' in 1953, and reprised the role on film. In films, O'Neal appeared in ''Pinky'', ''No Way Out'' and '' Something of Value''. In 1953, O'Neal filmed a pilot for

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television show. The show presented African-Americans as struggling musicians, not the usual

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

comedy or the stereotypical mammy roles of the time. The cast included actresses Ruth Attaway and Jane White, and Frances Davis who was the first black ballerina to perform for the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

. The network couldn't get a sponsor, so the show was dropped. In 1955, O'Neal played the role of a detective in the mystery drama ''Danger''. That year he portrayed a witch doctor in the Broadway musical ''House of Flowers''. On television, O'Neal was frequently on Kraft Suspense and

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, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

productions. He also portrayed Officer Wallace on ''

Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City Po ...

'' from 1961 to 1963. In 1964 he played Matty Howard in a boxing-centered episode of the ABC drama '' Breaking Point'' titled "Never Trouble Trouble Till Trouble Troubles You" that boasted a primarily black cast, including

Terry Carter John Everett DeCoste (December 16, 1928 – April 23, 2024), known professionally as Terry Carter, was a pioneering black American actor and filmmaker, known for his roles as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst on the television series '' McCloud''Diana Sands, Rex Ingram, and Mark Dymally. He narrated, along with

Hilda Simms Hilda Simms ( Moses; April 15, 1918 – February 6, 1994) was an American stage actress, best known for her starring role on Broadway in '' Anna Lucasta''. Early years Hilda Simms was born Hilda Moses in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of 9 siblings ...

, the educational record "Great Negro Americans" which was written and produced by Alan Sands (no relation to Diana).

Organization and union work

In 1927, O'Neal organized the Aldridge Players in St. Louis, a black theater group named for

Ira Aldridge Ira Frederick Aldridge (July 24, 1807 – August 7, 1867) was an American-born British actor, playwright, and theatre manager, known for his portrayal of William Shakespeare, Shakespearean characters. James Hewlett (actor), James Hewlett and Ald ...

. He helped organize Harlem's

American Negro Theatre 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. B ...

in 1940, which started the careers of

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (born Ruby Ann Wallace; October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress. She was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award, ...

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...

, Earle Hyman, and Alice Childress among others. In 1948, he co-founded the British Negro Theatre. In 1958, O'Neal was named to

's council. He had lost the bid to become president, but six years later in 1964 he became president of the Actors' Equity Association. He was the first African-American president of Equity (1964–73). His work landed him on the

master list of Nixon political opponents The master list of Nixon's political opponents was a secret list compiled by US President Richard Nixon's Presidential Counselor Charles Colson. It was an expansion of the original Nixon's Enemies List of 20 key people considered opponents of ...

. After leaving office, he was named the organization's president emeritus. O'Neal was elected president of the

Associated Actors and Artistes of America The Associated Actors and Artistes of America (4As), established in 1919, is the federation of trade unions for performing artists in the United States. Gary M. Fink, ed. ''Labor unions'' (Greenwood, 1977) pp. 3-4. The union was established b ...

in 1970 and retired from the position in 1988. O'Neal was vice president of the

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

and a member of its executive council.

Honors

O'Neal was inducted into the Black Film Makers Hall of Fame in 1975. The organization paid a special tribute to him in 1990. The

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

named him 1979 Man of the Year. He was also honored by the

National Urban League The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...

and the Black Heritage Association. O'Neal received several

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s, including an Honorary Doctor of Human Letters from St. John's University in 1981.

Death

O'Neal died at the age of 86 in his home in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

after a lengthy illness on August 25, 1992. He was survived by his wife Charlotte Talbot Hainey.

References

*Staff report (June 28, 1973). Lists of White House 'Enemies' and Memorandums Relating to Those Named. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneal, Frederick 1905 births 1992 deaths People from Noxubee County, Mississippi Trade unionists from Mississippi Clarence Derwent Award winners 20th-century American male actors African-American trade unionists Presidents of the Actors' Equity Association American male musical theatre actors New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winners Donaldson Award winners 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century African-American male singers Vice presidents of the AFL-CIO