The Canada Lee Photograph Collection documents portions of actor Canada Lee's personal life, professional career and civic activities. The collection consists of portraits of Lee, family, friends and colleagues; candid shots documenting some of his overseas travels; sparse documentation of his early boxing career; and publicity and production stills, portrait studies, and candid shots documenting Lee's stage, film, radio and television performances. The collection contains only a few pictures of Lee's family and no images of his other pursuits as a violinist, racehorse jockey, and bandleader. Many photographs are unidentified.
Biographical/historical: Canada Lee was a renowned stage and screen actor whose human right activities caused him to be blacklisted in the early 1950s. Born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata in New York City in 1907, Lee was a violinist, racehorse jockey, and bandleader, as well as a title-winning boxer before turning to acting. He was first associated with the WPA Negro Theatre Project where he appeared as Banquo in "MacBeth" (1936). Lee later rose to stardom, achieving tremondous success on Broadway in the role of Bigger Thomas in Orson Welles' production of "Native Son" (1940-41) and won Broadway's highest acting honor at the time, the Critic's Award, for best performance of 1941. Lee later went to Hollywood to appear in Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 film "Lifeboat." Returning to the New York stage, Lee appeared in "Anna Lucasta" (1944-45), "The Tempest" (1945) and "Set My People Free" (1948). Lee also narrated radio broadcasts including "New World A-Coming." In 1946, Lee became possibly the first African-American actor to appear on a Broadway stage in a white role with his performance, in white makeup, in "The Duchess of Malfi."
Lee used his celebrity status in the political arena, lobbying Congress on human rights issues. This later was turned against him when he was labeled a communist during the McCarthy era and was subsequently blacklisted by the entertainment industry. Unable to find work in the United States, Lee went to South Africa to make "Cry, The Beloved Country." Though the movie, which premiered in the United States in January 1952, enjoyed tremendous success, Lee was still blacklisted and unable to find work in the United States. In 1952, Lee began work on an Italian movie production, "Othello, the Moor of Venice," which was left unfinished when he died of complications from heart disease on May 9, 1952 in New York City.
Content: Collection includes work by Fritz Henle, Ethel Pries, Carl Van Vechten and others.
Citation/reference: Forms part of the Canada Lee Papers, 1940-1973.