Jack Carter (actor)

Jack Carter

Jack Carter in April 1936,
photographed by Carl Van Vechten
Occupation Actor

Jack Carter (c. 1902 – November 9, 1967) was an African American actor. He is known for creating the role of Crown in the original Broadway production of Porgy (1927), and for starring in Orson Welles's stage productions including Macbeth (1936) and Doctor Faustus (1937). He appeared in a few motion pictures in the 1930s and 1940s.

Biography

Jack Carter created the role of Crown in the original stage production of Porgy.[1]:189 He is perhaps best known for having starred in the Federal Theatre Project's 1936 New York production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth that came to be known as the Voodoo Macbeth. Orson Welles adapted and directed the play, moved its setting from Scotland to a fictional Caribbean island, recruited an entirely African American cast, and earned the nickname for his production from the Haitian vodou that fulfilled the rôle of Scottish witchcraft.[2]:86

Welles later cast Carter as Mephistopheles in Doctor Faustus (1937), a Federal Theatre Project 891 production in which Welles played Faust.[3]:335–336

Select theatre credits

Date Title Role Notes
April 20– April 1927 Goat Alley Policeman Princess Theatre, New York[4]
October 10, 1927–August 1928 Porgy Crown Guild Theatre, New York[5]
1928–29 Porgy Crown Tour including nine weeks in Chicago, six weeks in London, and performances in Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Washington, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and cities in the northwestern United States and Canada[6]
September 13–October 1929 Porgy Crown Martin Beck Theatre, New York[7]
October 14, 1929 – January 1930 Porgy Crown National tour[8][9]
September 16–October 24, 1931 Singin' the Blues Dave Crocker Liberty Theatre, New York[10]
April 18–July 1934 Stevedore Lonnie Thompson Civic Repertory Theatre, New York[11]
October 1–November 1934 Stevedore Lonnie Thompson Civic Repertory Theatre, New York[12]
April 12, 1936 Macbeth Macbeth Lafayette Theatre, Harlem, New York
A free preview draws 3,000 more people than can be seated[1]:198
April 14–June 20, 1936 Macbeth Macbeth Lafayette Theatre, Harlem, New York[3]:333
Sold out for all ten weeks[1]:203[3]:333
July 6–15, 1936[3]:333[13] Macbeth Macbeth Adelphi Theatre, New York
Carter completes only Act I of the July 15 performance, which is completed by understudy Thomas Anderson[13]
Beginning July 16 Maurice Ellis stars as Macbeth in the remainder of the run at the Adelphi Theatre and on the subsequent national tour[14]
January 8–May 9, 1937 Doctor Faustus Mephistopheles Maxine Elliott Theatre, New York[3]:335–336

Select filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1939 The Devil's Daughter Philip Ramsay [15]
1939 Straight to Heaven Stanley Jackson [16]
1942 Take My Life Sergeant Holmes [17]
1945 Confidential Agent Singer [18]
1947 Sepia Cinderella Ralph Williams [19]
1948 Miracle in Harlem Philip Manley [20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Houseman, John (1972). Run Through: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-21034-3.
  2. ↑ Kliman, Bernice W. (1992). Macbeth. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719027314.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Welles, Orson; Bogdanovich, Peter; Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1992). This is Orson Welles. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-016616-9.
  4. ↑ "Goat Alley". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Porgy". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Rose McClendon Scrapbooks". Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  7. ↑ "Porgy". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  8. ↑ "'Porgy' Returns to Fords, Baltimore, After Scoring Triumph in London". Denton Journal. Denton, Maryland. October 12, 1929. p. 4.
  9. ↑ "Players in 'Porgy', Which Comes to Garrick Monday". The Capital Times. January 5, 1930. p. 6.
  10. ↑ "Singin' the Blues". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Stevedore". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Stevedore". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "News of the Stage". The New York Times. July 16, 1936.
  14. ↑ "News of the Stage". The New York Times. July 17, 1936.
  15. ↑ "The Devil's Daughter". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Straight to Heaven". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Take My Life". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Confidential Agent". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Sepia Cinderella". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Miracle in Harlem". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
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