
Canada Lee
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1907-03-03
Day of Death
1952-05-09 (45 years old)
Place of Birth
Manhattan, New York, US
Canada Lee
Biography
Canada Lee (born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata; March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952) was an American professional boxer and then an actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became an actor in the Federal Theatre Project, including the 1936 production of Macbeth adapted and directed by Orson Welles. A champion of civil rights in the 1930s and 1940s, Lee was blacklisted and died shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He advanced the African American tradition in theatre pioneered by such actors as Paul Robeson.
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Known For
Acting
(1998)
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
as Stephen Kumalo (archive footage)
(1951)
Cry, the Beloved Country
as Stephen Kumalo
(1949)
Lost Boundaries
as Lt. 'Dixie' Thompson
(1947)
Body and Soul
as Ben Chaplin
(1944)
Lifeboat
as Joe Spencer
(1942)
Henry Browne, Farmer
as Narrator (voice)
(1939)
Keep Punching
as Speedy Joe Williams (Henry's Trainer)