Eddie Green (actor)

Eddie Green was born on August 16, 1896, in Baltimore, Maryland. Before age eight he had already gained a reputation in local show business circles by performing as a "boy magician" in Baltimore area churches. As he grew into his teen years he started to gain employment in local concert halls as a magician before breaking into the vaudeville circuit, where he made nine dollars a week. Early in his vaudeville career, Green began to branch out from magic and work in burlesque acts. For eleven years, Green worked with the legendary vaudeville company headed by Billy Minsky, Minsky's Burlesque.[1]

Green left Minsky in the late 1920s and moved to New York City in 1929. His first major role was in the Broadway production of Hot Chocolates, a black musical review where he performed with the likes of James Baskett and Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. Green would also go on to perform in Blackberries of 1932 (for which he wrote the book), A Woman's A Fool to be Clever, and The Hot Mikado.[2] As the age of the "talking pictures" began, Green participated in creating what would later be known as the "race pictures". Green was involved in many film productions namely; Mr. Adams Bomb, Laff Jamboree, and Mantan Messes Up. Through his film career he got noticed by famous radio personality Rudy Vallée who convinced him to move to radio.[3]

Green wrote many songs, the best known being "A Good Man Is Hard to Find."[4]

Vallée featured Green heavily on his radio programs The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, The Royal Gelatin Hour, and Sealtest Dairy Show. He also worked during the 1930s and 1940s with his old friend Louis Armstrong in his variety series where he would perform sketches with Gee Gee James. Some other major radio programs Green appeared on were Maxwell House Show Boat, The Philco Radio Hall of Fame, and Jubilee.[5] However, Green did not gain his highest acclaim until he began to work with Amos 'n' Andy and Duffy's Tavern, the latter of which also became a hit movie. Through his work with Ed Gardner he became one of the most influential black artists in radio.[6]

Eddie Green died of a heart ailment on September 19, 1950, in Los Angeles, California.