Leigh Whipper
Actor
Biography
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.
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.
Filmography
Within Our Gates
1920
Of Mice and Men
as Crooks 1939
King of the Zombies
as Momba 1941
Undercurrent
as George 1946
Road to Zanzibar
as Scarface 1941
Mission to Moscow
as Haile Selassie (uncredited) 1943
The Symbol of the Unconquered
as Tugi - an Indian Fakir 1920
Young Widow
as Nate (Uncredited) 1946
White Cargo
as Jim Fish 1942
The Hidden Eye
as Alistair 1945
The Young Don't Cry
as Doosy 1957
Happy Land
as Old Ben (uncredited) 1943
Heart of the Golden West
as Rango 1942
Bahama Passage
as Morales 1941
The Shrike
as Mr. Carlisle 1955
Robin Hood of the Pecos
as Kezeye 1941