Herb Jeffries Film career
what role did he have in films, actor, or what?
What role did Herb Jeffries have in films, actor, or what?
Touring the Deep South with Hines, Jeffries was struck by the realities of segregation, as the Orchestra's playing was restricted to tobacco warehouses and black-only movie theatres. Watching young boys fill theatres to watch the latest western, Jeffries resolved to create a cowboy hero geared specifically for such an audience. A self-confessed western buff who had grown up watching the silent escapades of Tom Mix and Jack Holt, in the 1930s Jeffries set out to produce a low-budget western with an all-black cast. Though the silent era had seen a number of films starring only black actors, they had all but disappeared with the economic downturn and the arrival of the talkies, which proved too expensive for many of the "white independents" funding such projects. Jeffries's ambition was to produce sound cinema's "first all-Negro musical western". To fund his project, Jeffries approached a veteran B-movie producer named Jed Buell. Jeffries, having obtained finances, wrote his own songs for the film and hired Spencer Williams to appear with him. When Buell wanted to know of a likely candidate for the lead role, Jeffries nominated himself. Having grown up partly on his grandfather's farm, he had all the requisite horse-riding and roping skills, beside a fine singing voice, but Buell expressed concerns; Jeffries, whose mother was of Irish descent, was "not black enough". Eventually they went ahead, using make-up to darken the leading man's skin tone. Jeffries made his debut as a crooning cowboy with Harlem on the Prairie, which was considered the first black western following the inauguration of the talkies and the first sound Western with an all-black cast. The movie was shot in 1937 over five days at N.B. Murray's Dude Ranch in Apple Valley, California, with Jeffries performing all his own stunts. Though critical reception was mixed, the film received a write-up in Time magazine and grossed $50,000 in its first 12 months. Playing a singing cowboy in low-budget films, Jeffries became known as the "Bronze Buckaroo" by his fans. In a time of American racial segregation, such "race movies" played mostly in theaters catering to African-American audiences. The films include Harlem on the Prairie, The Bronze Buckaroo, Harlem Rides the Range and Two-Gun Man from Harlem.  Jeffries went on to star in another three musical westerns over the next two years. Jeffries starred as a singing cowboy, in several all-black Western films, in which he sang his own western compositions. In those films, Jeffries starred as cowboy Bob Blake, sang and performed his own stunts. Bob Blake was the good guy, with a thin mustache, who wore a white Stetson and rode a white horse named Stardusk.  Jeffries went on to make other films, starring in the title film role of Calypso Joe co-starring Angie Dickinson in Calypso Joe (1957). In 1968, Jeffries appeared in the long-running western TV series The Virginian playing a gunslinger who intimidated the town. In the 1970s he appeared on episodes of I Dream of Jeannie and Hawaii Five-0. He later directed and produced Mundo depravados, a cult film starring his wife, Tempest Storm. CANNOTANSWER
to star in
Herb Jeffries (born Umberto Alexander Valentino; September 24, 1913 – May 25, 2014) was an American actor of film and television and popular music and jazz singer-songwriter, known for his baritone voice.

He starred in several low-budget "race" Western feature films aimed at black audiences, Harlem on the Prairie (1937), Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938), Rhythm Rodeo (1938), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939) and Harlem Rides the Range (1939). He also acted in several other films and television shows. During his acting career he was usually billed as Herbert Jeffrey (sometimes "Herbert Jeffries" or "Herbert Jeffries, Sensational Singing Cowboy").

In the 1940s and 1950s Jeffries recorded for a number of labels, including RCA Victor, Exclusive, Coral, Decca, Bethlehem, Columbia, Mercury and Trend. His album Jamaica, recorded by RKO, is a concept album of self-composed calypso songs.

Early life and ethnicity
Jeffries was born Umberto Alexander Valentino in Detroit to a white Irish mother who ran a rooming house. His father, whom he never knew, was of mixed Sicilian, French, Italian and Moorish roots. He also claimed that his paternal great-grandmother was an Ethiopian with the surname of Carey.

Firm evidence of Jeffries's race and age is hard to come by, but census documents from 1920 described him as mulatto and listed his father as a black man named Howard Jeffrey. Jeffries himself, late in life, said that Howard Jeffrey was his stepfather, and his biological father was Domenico Balentino, a Sicilian who died in World War I.

Jeffries once described himself in an interview as "three-eighths Negro", claiming pride in an African American heritage during a period when many light-skinned black performers were attempting "to pass" as all-white in an effort to broaden their commercial appeal. In marked contrast, Jeffries used make-up to darken his skin in order to pursue a career in jazz and to be seen as employable by the leading all-black musical ensembles of the day.

Much later in his career, Jeffries identified as white for economic or highly personal reasons. Jet reported that Jeffries identified as White and stated his "real" name as "Herbert Jeffrey Ball" on an application in order to marry Tempest Storm in 1959. Jeffries told the reporter for Jet:

Raised in Detroit, Jeffries grew up "a ghetto baby" in a mixed neighborhood without encountering severe racism as a child. In the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, he dropped out of high school to earn a living as a singer. He showed great interest in singing during his formative teenage years and was often found hanging out with the Howard Buntz Orchestra at various Detroit ballrooms. Intensely musical from boyhood, he began performing in a local speakeasy where he caught the attention of Louis Armstrong, who gave the teenager a note of recommendation for Erskine Tate at the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago. Knowing that Tate fronted an all-black band, Jeffries claimed to be a Creole and was offered a position as a featured singer three nights a week. Later he toured with Earl "Fatha" Hines's Orchestra in the Deep South.

A 2007 documentary short describes Jeffries as "assuming the identity of a man of color" early in his career. He is shown in Black/White & All That Jazz explaining that he was inspired by New Orleans-born musician Louis Armstrong to say falsely, at a job interview in Chicago, that he was "a Creole from Louisiana" when he was of Irish and Sicilian heritage, among other ethnic backgrounds.

Music career
From Detroit, at the urging of Louis Armstrong, Jeffries moved to Chicago where he performed in various clubs. One of his first gigs was in a club allegedly owned by Al Capone. Jeffries began his career working with Erskine Tate and his Vendome Orchestra. Tate signed the 19-year-old Jeffries to a contract with his Orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago. His break came during the 1933 Chicago World's Fair A Century of Progress International Exposition singing with the Earl Hines Orchestra on Hines' national broadcasts live from the Grand Terrace Cafe. His first recordings were with Hines in 1934, including "Just to be in Carolina". By 1940, he was singing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and then recorded with him from 1940 to 1942. His 1940 recording of "Flamingo" with Ellington, released in 1941, sold more than 14 million copies in its day. His name had been Herbert Jeffrey, but the credits on the record mistakenly called him Jeffries, so he renamed himself to match the typo. During his time with the Duke Ellington Orchestra as a lead vocalist, Jeffries proved his talent as a mature singer, demonstrating his wide vocal range in such songs as "I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I've Got," "The Brownskin Gal," and "Jump for Joy" (all 1941). The 1944 single "My Little Brown Book" by Ellington and his Famous Orchestra, on which Jeffries provided vocals, reached No. 4 on Billboard R&B chart.

In his teens Jeffries developed a fine voice; initially he sang in higher registers. He started out his singing career as a lyrical tenor, but, on the advice of Duke Ellington's longtime music arranger, Billy Strayhorn, he lowered his range to mimic the vocal stylings of crooner Bing Crosby. Jeffries became a "silken, lusty baritone," according to music critic Jonny Whiteside.

In 1945, Jeffries had a hit on the Billboard R&B chart with "Left A Good Deal In Mobile" (No. 2), on which he was accompanied by pianist Joe Liggins and his band Honeydrippers.
Then, he moved to Europe and performed there for many years, including at nightclubs he owned. He was back in America by the 1950s, recording jazz records again, including 1957 collection of ballads, Say It Isn't So.

In 1995, at age 81, he recorded The Bronze Buckaroo (Rides Again), a Nashville album of songs on the Warner Western label.

Film career
Touring the Deep South with Hines, Jeffries was struck by the realities of segregation, as the Orchestra's playing was restricted to tobacco warehouses and black-only movie theatres. Watching young boys fill theatres to watch the latest western, Jeffries resolved to create a cowboy hero geared specifically for such an audience. A self-confessed western buff who had grown up watching the silent escapades of Tom Mix and Jack Holt, in the 1930s Jeffries set out to produce a low-budget western with an all-black cast. Though the silent era had seen a number of films starring only black actors, they had all but disappeared with the economic downturn and the arrival of the talkies, which proved too expensive for many of the "white independents" funding such projects. Jeffries's ambition was to produce sound cinema's "first all-Negro musical western". To fund his project, Jeffries approached a veteran B-movie producer named Jed Buell. Jeffries, having obtained finances, wrote his own songs for the film and hired Spencer Williams to appear with him. When Buell wanted to know of a likely candidate for the lead role, Jeffries nominated himself. Having grown up partly on his grandfather's farm, he had all the requisite horse-riding and roping skills, beside a fine singing voice, but Buell expressed concerns: Jeffries, whose mother was of Irish descent, was "not black enough". Eventually they went ahead, using make-up to darken the leading man's skin tone.
Jeffries made his debut as a crooning cowboy with Harlem on the Prairie, which was considered the first black western following the inauguration of the talkies and the first sound Western with an all-black cast. The movie was shot in 1937 over five days at Murray's Dude Ranch in Apple Valley, California, with Jeffries performing all his own stunts. Though critical reception was mixed, the film received a write-up in Time magazine and grossed $50,000 in its first 12 months. Playing a singing cowboy in low-budget films, Jeffries became known as the "Bronze Buckaroo" by his fans. In a time of American racial segregation, such "race movies" played mostly in theaters catering to African-American audiences. The films include Harlem on the Prairie, The Bronze Buckaroo, Harlem Rides the Range and Two-Gun Man from Harlem.

Jeffries went on to star in another three musical westerns over the next two years. Jeffries starred as a singing cowboy, in several all-black Western films, in which he sang his own western compositions. In those films, Jeffries starred as cowboy Bob Blake, sang and performed his own stunts. Bob Blake was the good guy, with a thin mustache, who wore a white Stetson and rode a white horse named Stardusk.

Jeffries went on to make other films, starring in the title film role of Calypso Joe co-starring Angie Dickinson in Calypso Joe (1957). In 1969, Jeffries appeared in the long-running western TV series The Virginian (episode Stopover) in which he played a gunslinger who intimidated the town. In the 1970s he appeared on episodes of I Dream of Jeannie and (in 1969)  Hawaii Five-0 [S1/Ep 17, "The Face of the Dragon" as Jardine]. He later directed and produced Mundo depravados, a cult film starring his wife, Tempest Storm.

Awards and honors
 Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, 1979
 Hollywood Walk of Fame
 Palm Springs Walk of Stars, 1988
 Western Performers Hall of Fame, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 2004

Personal life
His four marriages (including one to exotic dancer Tempest Storm) produced five children.

In 2007, while assembling material for the producers of a documentary film about him (A Colored Life), Jeffries found his birth certificate; this reminded him that he actually was born in 1913 and that he had misrepresented his age after he left home to look for a job.

In later years, he resided in Wichita, Kansas. He died of heart failure at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center on May 25, 2014, at the age of 100. He was survived by his fifth wife, Savannah, three daughters, and two sons.

Filmography
 Harlem on the Prairie (1937)
 Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938)
 Harlem Rides the Range (1939)
 The Bronze Buckaroo (1939)
 Calypso Joe (1957)
 Chrome and Hot Leather (1971)
 Portrait of a Hitman (1977)
 Awake: The Life of Yogananda (2014)

Discography
 Magenta Moods (Exclusive, 1950)
 Just Jeffries (Mercury, 1951)
 Flamingo (Coral, 1952)
 The Singing Prophet (Olympic, 1954)
 Jamaica (RKO, 1956)
 Say It Isn't So (Bethlehem, 1957)
 Herb Jeffries (Harmony, 1957)
 Devil Is a Woman (Golden Tone, 1957)
 Passion (Brunswick, 1957)
 I Remember the Bing (Dobre, 1978)
 I've Got the World on a String (Discovery, 1989)
 The Bronze Buckaroo (Rides Again) (Warner Western 1995)
 The Duke and I (2012)

References

External links

 Herb Jeffries at JazzBiographies.com
 
 Herb Jeffries at B-Westerns.com
 
 Herb Jeffries Interview NAMM Oral History Library (1995)

1913 births
2014 deaths
American jazz singers
Traditional pop music singers
American country singer-songwriters
African-American male actors
American male television actors
Male Western (genre) film actors
African-American male singer-songwriters
American male film actors
Singing cowboys
Male actors from Detroit
Mercury Records artists
RCA Victor artists
Duke Ellington Orchestra members
American people of Irish descent
American people of Italian descent
African-American country musicians
African-American centenarians
Jazz musicians from Michigan
American male jazz musicians
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Exclusive Records artists
Men centenarians
20th-century African-American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Michigan
Bartlett Carré (July 10, 1897-April 26, 1971) was involved in the film industry during five decades, spanning both the silent and sound film eras. He spent most of that time in production capacities, either as a production supervisor or manager, associate producer, or assistant director. He appeared in numerous films, mostly in small uncredited roles, or as a stunt man, but he did have one starring role in the 1925 silent film, Flying Hoofs, and directed the 1935 film, Gun Smoke.  His first participation in film was in the small role of Jake Watkins in the 1924 silent film, Behind Two Guns. He last worked in films in 1963 where he was either the associate producer or production supervisor. He was the brother-in-law of the actress, Lenore Ulric.

Partial filmography
 Behind Two Guns (1924)
 Flying Hoofs (1925) - actor
 The Texas Tornado (1932) - actor
 Lightning Range (1933)
 The Fighting Cowboy (1933)
 Five Bad Men (1935)
 Gun Smoke (1936) - director

References

1897 births
1971 deaths
Male actors from Massachusetts
American male silent film actors
20th-century American male actors
Film directors from Massachusetts Kalaipuli G. Sekaran is an Indian film distributor, producer, director and actor who has worked in Tamil language films.

Career
G. Sekaran began his career as a film financier and distributor, before becoming a producer and a partner at Kalaipuli Films with S. Thanu and Soori. They debuted as producer with the film Yaar? (1985) by Kannan, with Sekaran portraying a negative role in the film. He subsequently moved on and worked on as a director in films including Oorai Therunjukitten (1988), Kaaval Poonaigal (1989) and Ulavaali (1994), before launching himself as a lead actor in Jameen Kottai (1995). He subsequently also played the lead role in Kudumba Sangili (1999). After that Sekaran went back to distributing films.

In the late 2000s, he became the chairman of the Distributors’ Council and represented the interest of distributors. In 2008, he directed a thriller called Kattuviriyan starring Malavika for which he also composed the music. In 2011, he worked on the production of a film titled Kallaparundhu, but the film did not have a theatrical release.

Filmography

As actor

References

Living people
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Indian male film actors
20th-century Indian film directors
Tamil film directors
Tamil screenwriters
Male actors from Tamil Nadu
Indian male screenwriters
Tamil film score composers
Year of birth missing (living people)