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{{short description|American actor (1889–1979)}}
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[[File:Porgy-Leigh-Whipper.jpg|thumb|right|Leigh Whipper as The Crab Man in ''[[Porgy (play)|Porgy]]'' (1927)]]
{{Use American English|date=May 2019}}
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'''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]], and one of the founders of the [[Negro Actors Guild of America]].<ref>{{cite web|last=The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts|title=Leigh Rollin Whipper papers|url=http://archives.nypl.org/scm/20792|accessdate=5 October 2013}}</ref> He is best known for creating the role of Crooks in the original Broadway production of ''[[Of Mice and Men (play)|Of Mice and Men]]'', which he reprised in the [[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|1939 film version]].
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Leigh Whipper
| image = Porgy-Leigh-Whipper.jpg
| imagesize =
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| caption = Whipper as the Crab Man in ''[[Porgy (play)|Porgy]]'' (1927)
| birth_name = Leigh Rollin Whipper
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1876|10|29|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Charleston, South Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1975|07|26|1876|10|29|mf=y}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| alma_mater = [[Howard University]]
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1899–1958
| spouse = {{marriage|Lillian E. Myles|1904|1946|end=d.}}
| children = [[Leighla Whipper]]
| parents = [[William James Whipper]]<br>[[Frances Rollin Whipper]]
| relatives = [[Ionia Rollin Whipper]] (sister)<br>[[William Whipper]] (great-uncle)
}}


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'''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]], and one of the founders of the [[Negro Actors Guild of America]].<ref>{{cite web|last=The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts|title=Leigh Rollin Whipper papers|url=http://archives.nypl.org/scm/20792|accessdate=5 October 2013}}</ref> He created the role of Crooks in the original Broadway production of ''[[Of Mice and Men (play)|Of Mice and Men]]'', which he reprised in the [[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|1939 film version]].
Educated at [[Howard University]] Law School, he left in 1895 and never practiced as a lawyer. Without any dramatic training, he made his first Broadway appearance in Georgia Minstrels. His first film role was in the 1920 silent film ''[[The Symbol of the Unconquered]]''.


==Biography==
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During the second World War, Whipper was a member of the steering committee of Negro Division the Hollywood Victory Committee.<ref>{{cite book |last= Watts |first= Jill |title= Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood |year= 2006 |page= 209 |publisher= Amistad}}</ref>''

Whipper was the son of African-American educator, author and activist [[Frances Rollin Whipper]] and a nephew of abolitionist [[William Whipper]], attorney William J. Whipper. Educated at [[Howard University]] Law School, he left in 1895 and never practiced as a lawyer.{{Citation needed |date=August 2024}}

Without any dramatic training, Whipper made his acting debut in a Philadelphia [[Repertory theatre|stock theater]] production of ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' in 1899.<ref name="gbpg">{{cite news |last1=Barclay |first1=Dolores |title=Acting pioneer 'not retired' at 97 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35186555/leigh_whipper/ |accessdate=23 August 2019 |work=Green Bay Press-Gazette |agency=Associated Press |date=May 25, 1974 |location=Wisconsin, Green Bay |page=110|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> He made his first Broadway appearance in Georgia Minstrels.{{Citation needed |date=August 2024}} His first film role was in the 1920 silent film ''[[The Symbol of the Unconquered]]''.

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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/|title=Brooklyn Museum|website=www.brooklynmuseum.org|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>[https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/207854] 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."<ref>{{cite web |title=Dans un Café à Paris (Leigh Whipper) |url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/207854 |website=Brooklyn Museum |access-date=August 31, 2024}}</ref>

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During the [[World War II|Second World War]], Whipper was a member of the steering committee of Negro Division the [[Hollywood Victory Committee]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Watts |first= Jill |title= Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood |year= 2006 |page= 209 |publisher= Amistad}}</ref>

Leigh's daughter, [[Leighla Whipper|Leighla Frances Whipper]], was a Calypso songwriter and music publisher.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lewis|first=Carole|date=February 11, 2010|title=Leighla Frances Whipper|url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/leighla-frances-whipper-1913-2008/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Black Past}}</ref>


== Partial filmography ==
== Partial filmography ==
{{div col|colwidth=26em}}
* ''[[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|Of Mice and Men]]'' (1939)
* ''[[Bahama Passage]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Within Our Gates]]'' (1920)
* ''[[Robin Hood of the Pecos]]'' (1941)
* ''[[The Symbol of the Unconquered]]'' (1920) - Tugi - an Indian Fakir
* ''[[Virginia (1941 film)|Virginia]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|Of Mice and Men]]'' (1939) - Crooks
* ''[[Road to Zanzibar]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Robin Hood of the Pecos]]'' (1941) - Kezeye
* ''[[King of the Zombies]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Virginia (1941 film)|Virginia]]'' (1941) - Ezechial
* ''[[The Vanishing Virginian]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Road to Zanzibar]]'' (1941) - Scarface
* ''[[White Cargo]]'' (1942)
* ''[[King of the Zombies]]'' (1941) - Momba
* ''[[The Oxbow Incident]]'' (1943) (uncredited)
* ''[[Bahama Passage]]'' (1941) - Morales
* ''[[Lady for a Night]]'' (1942) - Joe Cupid, the Charm Seller (uncredited)
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* ''[[The Impostor (1944 film)|The Impostor]]'' (1944)
* ''[[Undercurrent (1946 film)|Undercurrent]]'' (1946)
* ''[[The Vanishing Virginian]]'' (1942) - Uncle Josh
* ''[[Lost Boundaries]]'' (1949)
* ''[[Heart of the Golden West]]'' (1942) - Rango
* ''[[White Cargo]]'' (1942) - Jim Fish
* ''[[The Ox-Bow Incident]]'' (1943) - Sparks (uncredited)
* ''[[Mission to Moscow]]'' (1943) - Haile Selassie (uncredited)
* ''[[Happy Land (film)|Happy Land]]'' (1943) - Old Ben (uncredited)
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* ''[[The Impostor (1944 American film)|The Impostor]]'' (1944) - Toba
* ''[[The Yellow Rose of Texas (film)|The Yellow Rose of Texas]]'' (1944) - Dock Singer (uncredited)
* ''[[Dark Waters (1944 film)|Dark Waters]]'' (1944) - Minor Role (uncredited)
* ''[[Jungle Queen (serial)|Jungle Queen]]'' (1945, Serial) - Native (uncredited)
* ''[[The Hidden Eye]]'' (1945) - Alistair
* ''[[The Negro Sailor]]'' (1945)
* ''[[Young Widow]]'' (1946) - Nate (uncredited)
* ''[[Undercurrent (1946 film)|Undercurrent]]'' (1946) - George
* ''[[Untamed Fury]]'' (1947) - Uncle Gabe
* ''[[Lost Boundaries]]'' (1949) - Janitor
* ''[[The Shrike (film)|The Shrike]]'' (1955) - Carlisle
* ''[[The Young Don't Cry]]'' (1957) - Doosy
* ''[[Peter Gunn]]'' season 1, episode 2: "Streetcar Jones" (1958) - Lodi
{{div col end}}


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0924181}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IBDB name}}

{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Whipper, Leigh}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whipper, Leigh}}
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[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
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[[Category:African-American male actors]]
[[Category:African-American actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Howard University School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Howard University School of Law alumni]]
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[[Category:20th-century African-American male actors]]




Latest revision as of 00:05, 31 August 2024

Leigh Whipper
Whipper as the Crab Man in Porgy (1927)
Born
Leigh Rollin Whipper

(1876-10-29)October 29, 1876
Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedJuly 26, 1975(1975-07-26) (aged 98)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materHoward University
OccupationActor
Years active1899–1958
Spouse
Lillian E. Myles
​
​
(m. 1904; died 1946)​
ChildrenLeighla Whipper
Parent(s)William James Whipper
Frances Rollin Whipper
RelativesIonia Rollin Whipper (sister)
William Whipper (great-uncle)

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, and one of the founders of the Negro Actors Guild of America.[1] He created the role of Crooks in the original Broadway production of Of Mice and Men, which he reprised in the 1939 film version.

Biography

[edit]

Whipper was the son of African-American educator, author and activist Frances Rollin Whipper and a nephew of abolitionist William Whipper, attorney William J. Whipper. Educated at Howard University Law School, he left in 1895 and never practiced as a lawyer.[citation needed]

Without any dramatic training, Whipper made his acting debut in a Philadelphia stock theater production of Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1899.[2] He made his first Broadway appearance in Georgia Minstrels.[citation needed] His first film role was in the 1920 silent film The Symbol of the Unconquered.

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.[3][1] 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."[4]

During the Second World War, Whipper was a member of the steering committee of Negro Division the Hollywood Victory Committee.[5]

Leigh's daughter, Leighla Frances Whipper, was a Calypso songwriter and music publisher.[6]

Partial filmography

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts. "Leigh Rollin Whipper papers". Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  2. ^ Barclay, Dolores (May 25, 1974). "Acting pioneer 'not retired' at 97". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Wisconsin, Green Bay. Associated Press. p. 110. Retrieved August 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Brooklyn Museum". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  4. ^ "Dans un Café à Paris (Leigh Whipper)". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  5. ^ Watts, Jill (2006). Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood. Amistad. p. 209.
  6. ^ Lewis, Carole (February 11, 2010). "Leighla Frances Whipper". Black Past.
[edit]


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