Put your “thinking caps” on because this is not your typical Famous Black Thespian, but Thalmus Rasulala will always qualify as a “Famous Black Thespian” in our book. Thalmus Rasulala (real name Jack Crowder), born November 15, 1939, and most notably recognized for his distinguished mustache, was one of the original cast members of ABC’s [...]
Famous Black Thespians
Isabel Sanford was born August 29, 1917 in New York City, New York, to parents James Edward Sanford and Josephine Perry. She began her acting career during the 1960s working in the theatre industry. In 1967 she made her film debut in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, playing the critically acclaimed role of the maid Tillie [...]
Jazz, blues, gospel vocalist and actress Ethel Waters was born on Halloween, October 31, 1896. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues but frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. Her best-known recordings are “Dinah,” “Birmingham Bertha,” “Stormy Weather,” “Hottentot Potentate,” and “Cabin in the [...]
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, better known as Bernie Mac, was a funny man. A VERY funny man. I still remember seeing him on Def Comedy Jam back in the 1990s. He was a seriously funny talent and definitely a true King of Comedy!! Mac was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois by his single mother, Mary, [...]
Have you ever heard the saying “Everyone has a twin somewhere in the world”? Many of us never get to actually see that twin, but we often hear people say to us “You look just like someone I know.” Well some of the celebrities in this list have gotten lucky enough to see their doppelgangers [...]
Calvin Lockhart, the Bahamian-American actor of stage and film with dashing good looks, was best known for the role of big-time gangster “Biggie Smalls” in the 1975 film Let’s Do It Again. Rapper Christopher Wallace took the alias from Lockhart’s character but a lawsuit forced him to change his stage name to Notorious B.I.G. Lockhart [...]
Affectionately known for the role of the strong mother Florida Evans on the hit 70s sitcoms Good Times, black thespian Esther Rolle proved to be as spirited and iron-willed off-camera as well. The afro-rockin’ actress with the gravelly voice was born in Pompano Beach, Florida, the 10th child of 18 born to Caribbean farming immigrants. [...]
Isaac Hayes was born on August 20, 1942 in Covington, Tennessee and was the second child of Isaac Hayes, Sr. and Eula Hayes. After his mother died young, and his father abandoned his family, Isaac, Jr., was raised by his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wade, Sr. The child of a poor sharecropper family, he grew up [...]
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