Nathan Curry (January 2, 1897 – December 14, 1964) was an American actor. He was a supporting actor in several films featuring African American casts.[1] Curry had prominent parts in silent films but was not given screen credit.[2] He was one of the featured players of Black Hollywood.[3][4]
Before Los Angeles, he lived in Houston, Texas.[2] He began acting in movies in 1919[5] awith a small part in The Leopard Woman.[2] He was cast in the film South Sea Love in 1927.[6] Curry was in charge of 27 actors during the filming of The Notorious Lady (1927) at the First National Productions' studio.[7] For the 1929 film, Four Feathers, Curry helped cast and was in charge of the 600 Black actors that took part in the film's battle scenes.[2] In Al Christie's talkie, Music Hath Harms, Curry had a prominent role as Champagne, the bandmaster.[2] In Ernest B. Shoedsack's film, King Kong, Curry managed 150 actors, including adults and children.[8]
In 1948, he was an employee of the Los Angeles Housing Authority.[5]
He was part of the African American community of actors in Hollywood along with Maceo Bruce Sheffield and others.[9]
Filmography
edit- The Leopard Woman (1920)
- Tarzan and the Golden Lion[2] (1927)
- Topsy and Eva[2] (1927)
- West of Zanzibar[2] (1928)
- Thunderbolt (1929)[10]
- Music Hath Harms (1929) as Prof. Aleck Champagne
- Four Feathers (1929)[2]
- Tarzan and His Mate (1934) as Saidi[11]
- Harlem on the Prairie (1937) as Bart[12][13]
- Congo Maisie (1940) as Laemba[10]
- Lucky Ghost (1942) as Farmer[14]
- Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1942) as Policeman
- Uncle Tom's Cabin[2]
- The Missing Link[2]
- One in the Air[2]
- Diamond Handcuff[2]
- Hallelujah[2]
- Hearts in Dixie[2] (1929)
- Golden Dawn[2]
- Isles of Escape[2]
References
edit- ^ Nash, Jay Robert; Connelly, Robert; Ross, Stanley Ralph (October 27, 1985). The Motion Picture Guide. Cinebooks. ISBN 9780933997004 – via page 651.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Nathan Curry One of Busiest Film Actors". The Pittsburgh Courier. 29 March 1930. p. 16. ProQuest 201922066. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Low, W. Augustus; Clift, Virgil A. (1981-01-01). Encyclopedia of Black America. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-038834-5 – via page 573.
- ^ Film History. Taylor & Francis. 1997.
- ^ a b "Nathan Curry to Undergo Surgery". Los Angeles Sentinel. 9 December 1948. p. 1. ProQuest 562112175. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Colored Stars Selected For Ince Production". The Pittsburgh Courier. 16 July 1927. p. A2. ProQuest 201878258. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Lewis Stone Gets Excellent Support From Colored Movie Actors". The New York Amsterdam News. 29 December 1926. p. 11. ProQuest 226369199. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Levette, Harry (27 May 1933). "In Hollywood". Afro-American. p. 11. ProQuest 530996863. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Govenar, Alan (2008-12-10). Untold Glory: African Americans in Pursuit of Freedom, Opportunity, and Achievement. Crown. ISBN 978-0-307-49241-8.
- ^ a b Nesteby, James R. (1982). Black Images in American Films, 1896-1954. University Press of America. pp. 52, 127. ISBN 0-8191-2167-3. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ O'Brien, Daniel (September 6, 2017). Black Masculinity on Film: Native Sons and White Lies. Springer. ISBN 9781137593238 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Nathan Curry". Video Detective. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
- ^ Bradley, Edwin M. (2020-06-08). Hollywood Musicals You Missed: Seventy Noteworthy Films from the 1930s. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-7358-5.
- ^ Institute, American Film; Hanson, Patricia King (1999). AFI Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-21521-4.