Most brothers do not know we had a famous fraternity brother who was an actor, writer and director in Hollywood during the early 1900s by the name of Bro. Clarence Muse. Bro. Muse appeared in over 200 films, including Huckleberry Finn (1931), Porgy and Bess (1959), and the 1976 cult comedy Car Wash with Richard Pryor.
Beyond the Uncle Tom roles that kept Bro. Muse and all blacks employed during this dark period of time for black actors, he was a highly educated and pioneering creative force that made great strides within the Hollywood system of the time. In 1911, Bro. Muse graduated from the prestigious Dickinson School of Law as the school’s first black graduate. He realized that he could earn more with his signing voice, than he could with a struggling law practice. So he appeared in New York with the all-black Lincoln Players, a troupe that performed Shakespeare and other classics.
In 1921, Bro. Muse appeared in a comedy, which he also co-produced, called The Custard Nine. In 1929, he was offered the lead role in Hearts in Dixie, the first Hollywood musical with an all-black cast. Bro. Muse also appeared with boxing great Joe Louis in Spirit of Youth (1938) and poet Langston Hughes’ Way Down South (1939). In 1955, he played Sam, the pianist in the TV series Casablanca. After Car Wash, he appeared in the 1979 movie The Black Stallion.
Bro. Muse died on the eve of his ninetieth birthday. Throughout his career, he had made a living from the roles that were available. When Bro. Muse was able, he wrote the parts he wanted to play, and he did everything he could to help other black actors. He was a leading light in early black Hollywood. In 1973, he was one of the first inductees into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
I have included pictures with this posting of Bro. Muse with Joe Louis, James Carney, Bill “Bojangles??? Robinson and other Hollywood greats.
Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Bro. Blair Underwood and many other black actors would not be the stars they are today if it was not for the trailblazing efforts of our fellow fraternity brother Bro. Clarence Muse, JD.