J. Augustus Smith
J. Augustus Smith, also known as Gus Smith (born January 14, 1891),[1] was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter.[2] In 1936 he was one of three theatre artists who succeeded John Houseman in leading the Negro Theatre Unit of the Federal Theatre Project in New York City.
Biography[edit]
Smith was born in Gainesville, Florida, in 1891.[1] He made his stage debut during childhood, playing in minstrel shows.[1] In 1911, Smith formed his own minstrel company, with which he toured the United States. He went on to have a career in acting and writing for theatre and film.[1]
Smith wrote and appeared in Drums O' Voodoo (1934).[3] The film was based on his play Louisiana,[4][5] which premiered in 1933 on Broadway, starring Smith.[6][7] The stage production featured an all-Black cast, members of the New Negro Repertory Theater Group, founded by Smith. The cast members reprised their roles for the film.[8]
Smith co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in Turpentine, a play about conditions in turpentine camps in the American South,[9] for the Federal Theatre Project. In 1936 he was one of a triumvirate of African-American theatre artists who succeeded John Houseman in leading the Negro Theatre Unit of the Federal Theatre Project.[10]
Smith also wrote Just Ten Days, a folk-comedy that played at parks in the Bronx.[11]
Smith and Oliver Foster had the lead roles in the theatrical production Walk Together Chillun.[12]
Theatre[edit]
- Louisiana (1933)
- Turpentine (1936)[13][14][15][16]
- Walk Together Chillun (1936)[17][18]
- Just Ten Days (1937)
- The Case of Philip Lawrence (1937), director
- On Whitman Avenue (1946)[19]
Filmography[edit]
Actor[edit]
- Chloe Love Is Calling You (1934)[3]
- Drums O' Voodoo (1934)[8]
- Murder on Lenox Avenue (1941) as Pa Wilkins
- Stolen Paradise (1941)[3]
- Sunday Sinners (1941)[3]
- Hi-De-Ho (1947 film) as Preacher
- Junction 88 as Chinka Lin[4]
- Boarding House Blues (1948) as Norman Norman
- Killer Diller as Stage Hand
Writer[edit]
- Drums O' Voodoo (1934)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "WPA Lafayette All-Negro Staff". The New York Age. 1936-08-22. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:168486/datastream/PDF/ [bare URL PDF]
- ^ a b c d "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com.
- ^ a b Staff, America Film Institute; Gevinson, Alan; Institute, American Film; Afi, American Film (May 25, 1997). Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520209640 – via Google Books.
- ^ Johns, Vere E. (1934-05-19). "In the name of art". The New York Age. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ "At the Majestic". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1933-02-19. p. 53. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ ""Louisiana," a play of the South, at Majestic Theatre". Times Union. 1933-02-21. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ a b "Broadway stars prominent in voodoo talkie". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1934-04-28. p. 18. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ "Actor-author will appear at Gibbs High". Tampa Bay Times. 1942-10-11. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ Houseman, John (1972). Run-Through: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 209. ISBN 0-671-21034-3.
- ^ "15,000 see Negro folk play on caravan". The New York Age. 1937-08-21. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ Peterson, Bernard L. (May 25, 1990). Early Black American Playwrights and Dramatic Writers: A Biographical Directory and Catalog of Plays, Films, and Broadcasting Scripts. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313266218 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Federal Theatre Project".
- ^ "Jacob Lawrence The Migration Series, Panel 30". moma.jl.
- ^ "Turpentine". Library of Congress.
- ^ "Shared Collection Catalog | NYPL". Shared Collection Catalog | NYPL.
- ^ "Walk Together Chillun". Library of Congress.
- ^ "Production stills from Walk Together, Chillun by Frank Wilson, February 2, 1936 | Alexander Street, a ProQuest Company". search.alexanderstreet.com.
- ^ "J. Augustus Smith". Playbill.