Actor+9

= actors = = One of the most well known theaters during the harlem renaissance was the Apollo theater. People went to theaters to see plays and operas. =



Paul Robertson

 Perhaps the most famous African-American actor of the early 20th century, Paul Robeson rose to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. Encouraged by his wife, Essie, Robeson began moonlighting as an actor in local YMCA productions. The overt racism that Robeson encountered working as a lawyer clinched his decision to take up acting full-time.



Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters was known as “Sweet Mama Stringbean” for her slender figure, she could sing the blues beyond compare. In 1919 she became one of the first black artists hired by Black Swan Records. Her rendition of Harold Arlen's "Stormy Weather" at the Cotton Club in 1933 moved composer Irving Berlin to cast Waters in the musical comedy //As Thousands Cheer //. When the show toured the South, she snared top billing alongside her white cast members, a first for any black actress. In 1949, her turn as Granny in //Pinky //earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Works Cited:

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/exploring/harlem/faces/actors_launch_text.html