Rex Ingram (October 20, 1895 – September 19, 1969) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Rex Ingram (October 20, 1895 – September 19, 1969) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Ingram graduated from the Northwestern University medical school in 1919 and was the first African-American man to receive a Phi Beta Kappa key from there. 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 The Green Pastures (1936), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (the 1939 MGM version), 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). In 1966 he played Tee-Tot in the movie Your Cheatin' Heart.
Ingram was arrested for violating the Mann Act in 1948. Pleading guilty to the charge of transporting a teenage girl to New York for immoral purposes, he was sentenced to eighteen months in jail. He served just ten months of his sentence, but the incident had a serious effect 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 work in television in the 1950s and 1960s.
Rex Ingram died of a heart attack at the age of 73.
[biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0002270
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q726459
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Filmography (Movies)
Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad
Character:Djinn (archival footage)
Release Date:27/05/2008
The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/1973
Journey to Shiloh
Character:Jacob
Release Date:10/05/1968
Hurry Sundown
Character:Prof. Thurlow
Release Date:09/02/1967
Your Cheatin' Heart
Character:Teetot
Release Date:04/11/1964
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:24/05/1961
Desire in the Dust
Character:Burt Crane
Release Date:10/10/1960
Elmer Gantry
Character:Preacher of Black Congregation (uncredited)
Release Date:07/07/1960
Watusi
Character:Umbopa
Release Date:25/03/1959
Escort West
Character:Nelson Walker
Release Date:23/01/1959
Anna Lucasta
Character:Joe Lucasta
Release Date:01/11/1958
God's Little Acre
Character:Uncle Felix
Release Date:23/09/1958
The Ten Commandments
Character:Bit Part (uncredited)
Release Date:05/10/1956
Congo Crossing
Character:Dr. Leopold Gorman
Release Date:01/07/1956
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle
Character:Sukulu Chieftain
Release Date:16/02/1955
Moonrise
Character:Mose
Release Date:01/10/1948
Shoe Shine Jasper
Character:(voice)
Release Date:28/02/1947
John Henry and the Inky-Poo
Character:Narrator / John Henry (voice)
Release Date:06/09/1946
Adventure
Character:Preacher (unconfirmed)
Release Date:28/12/1945
A Thousand and One Nights
Character:Giant
Release Date:20/07/1945
Dark Waters
Character:Pearson Jackson
Release Date:21/11/1944
Jasper's Paradise
Character:(voice)
Release Date:13/10/1944
Sahara
Character:Sgt. Maj. Tambul
Release Date:22/09/1943
Fired Wife
Character:Charles
Release Date:04/09/1943
Cabin in the Sky
Character:Lucius / Lucifer Jr.
Release Date:24/03/1943
The Talk of the Town
Character:Tilney
Release Date:20/08/1942
The Gay Knighties
Character:Narrator (voice)
Release Date:22/08/1941
Hoola Boola
Character:Narrator (voice)
Release Date:27/06/1941
The Thief of Bagdad
Character:Djinn
Release Date:19/02/1940
Let My People Live
Character:Dr. Gordon
Release Date:10/03/1939
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Character:Jim
Release Date:10/02/1939
The Green Pastures
Character:De Lawd / Adam / Hezdrel
Release Date:01/08/1936
Harlem After Midnight
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1934
Emperor Jones
Character:Court Crier
Release Date:29/09/1933
The Four Feathers
Character:Fuzzy Wuzzy Native
Release Date:01/06/1929
The King of Kings
Character:(uncredited)
Release Date:19/04/1927
The Ten Commandments
Character:Israelite Slave (uncredited)
Release Date:23/11/1923
Tarzan of the Apes
Character:(uncredited)
Release Date:27/01/1918
Television Appearances
The Bill Cosby Show
Character:George
Cowboy in Africa
Character:Dr. Tom Merar
Cowboy in Africa
Character:Nhinga
Daktari
Character:Chief Makubu
Daktari
Character:Natoma
Branded
Character:Hannibal - Valet
Sam Benedict
Character:Judge Larkin
Black Saddle
Character:Alex Booth
The Rifleman
Character:Thaddeus
Gunsmoke
Character:Juba
Climax!
Character:Petraca
Kraft Television Theatre
Character:Lem
Images
