Paul Robeson: Film Pioneer

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This is the first book-length study of the 12 films starring African American Renaissance man Paul Robeson (1898-1976). Singer, actor, author, lawyer, athlete, pacifist and civil rights activist, Robeson was also the first African American to receive top billing in motion pictures, delivering unforgettable characterizations in such classics as The Emperor Jones (1933), Sanders of the River (1935), Show Boat (1936) and The Proud Valley (1940). Original research is provided from primary materials housed at the Schomburg Center for Black Culture in Harlem and from Robeson’s family and friends, including his son Paul Robeson Jr. and his godson, singer-composer Eric Bibb. Two appendices cover Robeson’s film work as offscreen narrator and singer and his many stage appearances.