Rex Ingram (actor)

Infobox actor
name = Rex Ingram


imagesize = 150px
birthdate = birth date|1895|10|20
birthplace = Cairo, Illinois, U.S.
deathdate = death date and age|1969|9|19|1895|10|20 (heart attack)
deathplace = Hollywood, California, U.S.
occupation = actor
spouse = Francine Everett (1936-1939)

Rex Ingram (October 20, 1895 – September 19, 1969) was an African American film and stage actor. Born near Cairo, Illinois on the Mississippi River (his father was a steamer fireman on the riverboat "Robert E. Lee"), he claimed to have obtained a medical degree from Northwestern University in 1919 and that he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, but this is unconfirmed.

He went to Hollywood as a young man where he was literally discovered on a street corner by the casting director for "Tarzan of the Apes" (1918), starring Elmo Lincoln. He made his (uncredited) screen debut in that film and had many other small roles, usually as a generic black native, such as in the "Tarzan" films. With the arrival of sound, his presence and powerful voice became an asset and he went on to memorable roles in "Green Pastures" (1936), "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (the 1939 MGM version, opposite Mickey Rooney), "The Thief of Bagdad" (1940), perhaps his best-known film appearance (as the genie), "The Talk of the Town" (1942), and "Sahara" (1943).

From 1929, he also appeared on stage, making his debut on Broadway. He appeared in more than a dozen Broadway productions, with his final role coming in "Kwamina" in 1961. He was in the original cast of "Haiti" (1938), "Cabin in the Sky" (1940), and "St. Louis Woman" (1946). He is one of the few actors to have played both God (in "The Green Pastures") and the Devil (in "Cabin in the Sky").

Ingram was arrested for violating the "Mann Act" in 1949. Pleading guilty to the charge of transporting a teenage girl to New York for immoral purposes, he was sentenced to eighteen months. He served just ten months of his sentence, but the incident had a serious impact on his career for the next six years.

In 1962, he became the first African American actor to be hired for a contract role on a soap opera, when he appeared on "The Brighter Day". He had other minor work in television in the sixties, appearing in an episode each of "I Spy" and "The Bill Cosby Show", both of which starred Bill Cosby, who used his influence to land him the roles.

On his passing in 1969, his body was interred in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Filmography

*"Tarzan of the Apes" (1918) (uncredited)
*"Salomé" (1918) (uncredited)
*"The Ten Commandments" (1923) (uncredited)
*"The Wanderer" (1925) (uncredited)
*"Lord Jim" (1925) (uncredited)
*"Beau Geste" (1926) (uncredited)
*"The King of Kings" (1927) (uncredited)
*"The Four Feathers" (1929) (uncredited)
*"The Emperor Jones" (1933) (uncredited)
*"Harlem After Midnight" (1934)
*"The Green Pastures" (1936)
*"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1939)
*"The Thief of Bagdad" (1940)
*"The Talk of the Town" (1942)
*"Cabin in the Sky" (1943)
*"Fired Wife" (1943)
*"Sahara" (1943)
*"Package for Jasper" (1944)
*"Dark Waters" (1944)
*"A Thousand and One Nights" (1945)
*"Adventure" (1945)
*"John Henry and the Inky-Poo" (1946)
*"Moonrise" (1948)
*"Tarzan's Hidden Jungle" (1955) (uncredited)
*"Congo Crossing" (1956)
*"Hell on Devil's Island" (1957)
*"God's Little Acre" (1958)
*"Escort West" (1958)
*"Anna Lucasta" (1959)
*"Watusi" (1959)
*"Elmer Gantry" (1960) (uncredited)
*"Desire in the Dust" (1960)
*"Your Cheatin' Heart" (1964)
*"Hurry Sundown" (1967)
*"Journey to Shiloh" (1968)

ources

* [http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/Biography.asp?ctr=746034 Barnes and Noble biography]

External links

*
*

Persondata
NAME= Ingram, Rex
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= actor
DATE OF BIRTH= 1895-10-20
PLACE OF BIRTH= Cairo, Illinois, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH= 1969-9-19 (heart attack)
PLACE OF DEATH= Hollywood, California, U.S.