Canada Lee
Known for ActingBorn 1907-03-03 — died 1952-05-09Manhattan, New York, US
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
Lifeboat
1944 · as Joe Spencer
Body and Soul
1947 · as Ben Chaplin
Cry, the Beloved Country
1951 · as Stephen Kumalo
Lost Boundaries
1949 · as Lt. 'Dixie' Thompson
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
1998 · as Stephen Kumalo (archive footage)
Keep Punching
1939 · as Speedy Joe Williams (Henry's Trainer)
Henry Browne, Farmer
1942 · as Narrator (voice)