
Leigh Whipper
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1876-10-29
Day of Death
1975-07-26 (98 years old)
Place of Birth
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Leigh Whipper
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.
Known For
Acting
(1957)
The Young Don't Cry
as Doosy
(1955)
The Shrike
as Mr. Carlisle
(1947)
Untamed Fury
as Uncle Gabe
(1946)
Undercurrent
as George
(1946)
Young Widow
as Nate (Uncredited)
(1945)
The Hidden Eye
as Alistair
(1945)
The Negro Sailor
as Editor
(1943)
The Ox-Bow Incident
as Sparks (uncredited)
(1943)
Mission to Moscow
as Haile Selassie (uncredited)
(1943)
Happy Land
as Old Ben (uncredited)
(1942)
White Cargo
as Jim Fish
(1942)
Heart of the Golden West
as Rango
(1942)
The Vanishing Virginian
as Uncle Josh
(1941)
King of the Zombies
as Momba
(1941)
Road to Zanzibar
as Scarface
(1941)
Robin Hood of the Pecos
as Kezeye
(1941)
Bahama Passage
as Morales
(1941)
Virginia
as Ezechial
(1939)
Of Mice and Men
as Crooks
(1920)
(1920)
The Symbol of the Unconquered
as Tugi - an Indian Fakir