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J. Augustus Smith

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Gus Smith as Forty-Four in the Federal Theatre Project production of his play Turpentine (1936)

J. Augustus Smith, also known as Gus Smith (born January 14, 1891; died December 1964),[1][2] was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter.[3] 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

Poster for the Federal Theatre Project production of Turpentine at the Lafayette Theatre (1936)

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).[4] The film was based on his play Louisiana,[5][6] which premiered in 1933 on Broadway, starring Smith.[7][8] 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.[9]

Smith co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in Turpentine, a play about conditions in turpentine camps in the American South,[10] 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.[11]

Smith also wrote Just Ten Days, a folk-comedy that played at parks in the Bronx.[12]

Smith and Oliver Foster had the lead roles in the theatrical production Walk Together Chillun.[13]

Theatre

  • Louisiana (1933)
  • Turpentine (1936)[14][15][16][17]
  • Walk Together Chillun (1936)[18][19]
  • Just Ten Days (1937)
  • The Case of Philip Lawrence (1937), director
  • On Whitman Avenue (1946)[20]

Filmography

Actor

Writer

  • Drums O' Voodoo (1934)

References

  1. ^ a b c d "WPA Lafayette All-Negro Staff". The New York Age. 1936-08-22. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  2. ^ "Augustus Smith | Actor, Writer, Soundtrack". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  3. ^ "Ashley Street Blues: Racial Uplift and the Commodification of Vernacular Performance in Lavilla, Florida, 1896-1916". diginole.lib.fsu.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06.
  4. ^ a b c d "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Johns, Vere E. (1934-05-19). "In the name of art". The New York Age. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  7. ^ "At the Majestic". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1933-02-19. p. 53. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  8. ^ ""Louisiana," a play of the South, at Majestic Theatre". Times Union. 1933-02-21. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  9. ^ a b "Broadway stars prominent in voodoo talkie". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1934-04-28. p. 18. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  10. ^ "Actor-author will appear at Gibbs High". Tampa Bay Times. 1942-10-11. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  11. ^ Houseman, John (1972). Run-Through: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 209. ISBN 0-671-21034-3.
  12. ^ "15,000 see Negro folk play on caravan". The New York Age. 1937-08-21. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Federal Theatre Project".
  15. ^ "Jacob Lawrence The Migration Series, Panel 30". moma.jl.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "Turpentine". Library of Congress.
  17. ^ "Shared Collection Catalog | NYPL". Shared Collection Catalog | NYPL.
  18. ^ "Walk Together Chillun". Library of Congress.
  19. ^ "Production stills from Walk Together, Chillun by Frank Wilson, February 2, 1936 | Alexander Street, a ProQuest Company". search.alexanderstreet.com.
  20. ^ "J. Augustus Smith". Playbill.
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