Rex Ingram
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 20, 1895
- Died
- September 19, 1969 (aged 73)
- Birthplace
- Cairo, Illinois, USA
Biography
Rex Ingram (October 20, 1895 – September 19, 1969) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Ingram graduated from the Northwestern University medical school in 1919 and was the first African-American man to receive a Phi Beta Kappa key from there. He went to Hollywood as a young man where he was literally discovered on a street corner by the casting director for Tarzan of the Apes (1918), starring Elmo Lincoln. He made his (uncredited) screen debut in that film and had many other small roles, usually as a generic black native, such as in the Tarzan films. With the arrival of sound, his presence and powerful voice became an asset and he went on to memorable roles in The Green Pastures (1936), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (the 1939 MGM version), The Thief of Bagdad (1940—perhaps his best-known film appearance—as the genie), The Talk of the Town (1942), and Sahara (1943). From 1929, he also appeared on stage, making his debut on Broadway. He appeared in more than a dozen Broadway productions, with his final role coming in Kwamina in 1961. He was in the original cast of Haiti (1938), Cabin in the Sky (1940), and St. Louis Woman (1946). He is one of the few actors to have played both God (in The Green Pastures) and the Devil (in Cabin in the Sky). In 1966 he played Tee-Tot in the movie Your Cheatin' Heart. Ingram was arrested for violating the Mann Act in 1948. Pleading guilty to the charge of transporting a teenage girl to New York for immoral purposes, he was sentenced to eighteen months in jail. He served just ten months of his sentence, but the incident had a serious effect on his career for the next six years. In 1962, he became the first African-American actor to be hired for a contract role on a soap opera, when he appeared on The Brighter Day. He had other work in television in the 1950s and 1960s. Rex Ingram died of a heart attack at the age of 73. [biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad
Movie · as Djinn (archival footage)
The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Bill Cosby Show
TV · as George · 1 ep
Journey to Shiloh
Movie · as Jacob
Hurry Sundown
Movie · as Prof. Thurlow
Cowboy in Africa
TV · as Nhinga, Dr. Tom Merar · 1 ep
Daktari
TV · as Natoma, Chief Makubu · 1 ep
Branded
TV · as Hannibal - Valet · 1 ep
Your Cheatin' Heart
Movie · as Teetot
Sam Benedict
TV · as Judge Larkin · 1 ep
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Desire in the Dust
Movie · as Burt Crane
Elmer Gantry
Movie · as Preacher of Black Congregation (uncredited)
Watusi
Movie · as Umbopa
Escort West
Movie · as Nelson Walker
Black Saddle
TV · as Alex Booth · 1 ep
God's Little Acre
Movie · as Uncle Felix
Anna Lucasta
Movie · as Joe Lucasta
The Rifleman
TV · as Thaddeus · 1 ep
The Ten Commandments
Movie · as Bit Part (uncredited)
Congo Crossing
Movie · as Dr. Leopold Gorman
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle
Movie · as Sukulu Chieftain
Gunsmoke
TV · as Juba · 1 ep
Climax!
TV · as Petraca · 1 ep
Moonrise
Movie · as Mose
Shoe Shine Jasper
Movie · as (voice)
Kraft Television Theatre
TV · as Lem · 1 ep
John Henry and the Inky-Poo
Movie · as Narrator / John Henry (voice)
A Thousand and One Nights
Movie · as Giant
Adventure
Movie · as Preacher (unconfirmed)
Dark Waters
Movie · as Pearson Jackson
Jasper's Paradise
Movie · as (voice)
Sahara
Movie · as Sgt. Maj. Tambul
Cabin in the Sky
Movie · as Lucius / Lucifer Jr.
Fired Wife
Movie · as Charles
The Talk of the Town
Movie · as Tilney
The Gay Knighties
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Hoola Boola
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
The Thief of Bagdad
Movie · as Djinn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Movie · as Jim
Let My People Live
Movie · as Dr. Gordon
The Green Pastures
Movie · as De Lawd / Adam / Hezdrel
Harlem After Midnight
Movie
Emperor Jones
Movie · as Court Crier
The Four Feathers
Movie · as Fuzzy Wuzzy Native
The King of Kings
Movie · as (uncredited)
The Ten Commandments
Movie · as Israelite Slave (uncredited)
Tarzan of the Apes
Movie · as (uncredited)