Leigh Whipper
Actor
- Born
- October 29, 1876 · Charleston, South Carolina, USA
- Died
- July 26, 1975 (age 98)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leigh Rollin Whipper (October 29, 1876 – July 26, 1975) was an American actor on the stage and in motion pictures. He was the first African American to join the Actors' Equity Association, and one of the founders of the Negro Actors Guild of America. He is best known for creating the role of Crooks in the original Broadway production of Of Mice and Men, which he reprised in the 1939 film version.
Read moreShow less
Educated at Howard University Law School, he left in 1895 and never practiced as a lawyer. Without any dramatic training, he made his first Broadway appearance in Georgia Minstrels. His first film role was in the 1920 silent film The Symbol of the Unconquered.
During the Second World War, Whipper was a member of the steering committee of Negro Division the Hollywood Victory Committee.
Known for
The Ox-Bow Incident
March 11, 1943
Within Our Gates
January 12, 1920
Of Mice and Men
December 24, 1939
King of the Zombies
May 14, 1941
Undercurrent
November 11, 1946
Road to Zanzibar
April 11, 1941
Dark Waters
November 21, 1944
Mission to Moscow
April 29, 1943
The Symbol of the Unconquered: A Story of the Ku Klux Klan
November 28, 1920
Young Widow
March 1, 1946
White Cargo
December 12, 1942
The Hidden Eye
August 31, 1945
Acting23
- 2026Once Upon a Time in Harlem as Self (archival footage)
- 1957The Young Don't Cry as Doosy
- 1955The Shrike as Mr. Carlisle
- 1947Untamed Fury as Uncle Gabe
- 1946Undercurrent as George
- 1946Young Widow as Nate (Uncredited), Nate (uncredited)
- 1945The Negro Sailor as Editor
- 1945The Hidden Eye as Alistair
- 1944Dark Waters as Office Custodian (uncredited)
- 1943Happy Land