- Fred Toones
Fred "Snowflake" Toones (b.
January 5 , 1906,North Carolina , d.February 13, 1962,Los Angeles ,California ) was anAfrican-American film actor of the early sound era. There is still debate over the exact year of his birth, which some sources cite as 1905."Snowflake" (the patently racist nickname he was best known by) appeared in over 200 films between 1928 and 1951, although the majority of his roles were uncredited. Toones was a prime example of racial stereotyping in the
Hollywood film industry of his time. His standard characterization in the 1930s and 1940s was that of a middle-aged "colored" man with a high-pitched voice who worked as a redcap, bootblack, or janitor.Toones acted in films such as
Hawk of the Wilderness (1938) andDaredevils of the Red Circle (1939) withBruce Bennett and in many "B" westerns such asThe Lawless Nineties (1936) withJohn Wayne . He also appeared in dozens of two-reelers such asWoman Haters (1934) with theThree Stooges . In the early 1940s, Fred Toones worked extensively in the comedies ofPreston Sturges .Between 1936 and 1947, Toones worked under contract for
Republic Pictures , appearing in about 40 of its films, but his typecasting in menial and subservient roles meant that his efforts even there were more often than not uncredited. In theautobiography of film directorWilliam Witney , he reveals that Toones also ran the shoeshine stand at Republic Studios.Filmography
*http://movies.aol.com/celebrity/fred-snowflake-toones/71345/main
External links
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* [http://www.b-westerns.com/villan23.htm Fred 'Snowflake' Toones at B-Westerns.com]
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