Jack Carter (actor)

Jack Carter (c. 1902 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor. He is known for creating the role of Crown in the original Broadway production of Porgy (1927), and for starring in Orson Welles's stage productions including Macbeth (1936) and Doctor Faustus (1937). He appeared in a few motion pictures in the 1930s and 1940s.

Jack Carter
Jack Carter in April 1936,
photographed by Carl Van Vechten
Borncirca 1902
DiedNovember 9, 1967
OccupationActor
Years active1920s-1940s

Career

Jack Carter created the role of Crown in the original stage production of Porgy.[1]: 189  | From 1928 to 1929 Carter portrayed Crown in a national tour production of Porgy. The tour included nine weeks in Chicago, six weeks in London, and performances in Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Washington, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and cities in the northwestern United States and Canada[2] From September 16 to October 24 in 1931 Carter portrayed the role of Dave Crocker in Singin' the Blues at the Liberty Theatre in New York.[3] During 1934 Carter performance in a New York production of Stevedore as Lonnie Thompson at the Civic Repertory Theatre. He started the role in April through July, and resumed his role in October through November 1934.

He is perhaps best known for having starred in the Federal Theatre Project's 1936 New York production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth that came to be known as the Voodoo Macbeth. Orson Welles adapted and directed the play, moved its setting from Scotland to a fictional Caribbean island, recruited an entirely African American cast, and earned the nickname for his production from the Haitian vodou that fulfilled the rôle of Scottish witchcraft.[4]: 86  In 1936, at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem, New York, a free preview drew 3,000 more people than can be seated[1]: 198  The show reportedly was sold out for all ten weeks.[1]: 203 [5]: 333  During its run at the Adelphi Theatre on Broadway, Carter completed only Act I of the July 15 performance, which was then completed by understudy Thomas Anderson.[6] Beginning July 16, Maurice Ellis played the role of Macbeth in the remainder of the run at the Adelphi Theatre and on the subsequent national tour.[7]

Welles later cast Carter as Mephistopheles in Doctor Faustus (1937), a Federal Theatre Project 891 production in which Welles played Faust.[5]: 335–336 

  • Jack Carter as Crown in Porgy (1927–30)
    Jack Carter as Crown in Porgy (1927–30)
  • Jack Carter in Voodoo Macbeth (1936)
    Jack Carter in Voodoo Macbeth (1936)
  • Jack Carter and Edna Thomas in Voodoo Macbeth
    Jack Carter and Edna Thomas in Voodoo Macbeth
  • Jack Carter in Voodoo Macbeth (1936)
    Jack Carter in Voodoo Macbeth (1936)

Work

Theatre
Year Title Role Venue Ref
1927 Goat Alley Policeman Princess Theatre, Broadway [8]
1927-28 Porgy Crown Guild Theatre, Broadway [9]
1928–29 US National tour [2]
1929 Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway [10]
1929-30 2nd National tour [11][12]
1931 Singin' the Blues Dave Crocker Liberty Theatre, New York [3]
1934 Stevedore Lonnie Thompson Civic Repertory Theatre, New York [13]
[14]
1936 Voodoo Macbeth Macbeth Lafayette Theatre, Harlem, New York
1936 Lafayette Theatre, Harlem, New York [5]: 333 
1936 Adelphi Theatre on Broadway [5]: 333 [6]
1937 Doctor Faustus Mephistopheles Maxine Elliott Theatre, New York [5]: 335–336 

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1934 Charlie Chan's Courage Victor Jordan
1939 The Devil's Daughter Philip Ramsay [15]
1939 Straight to Heaven Stanley Jackson [16]
1942 Take My Life Sergeant Holmes [17]
1945 Confidential Agent Singer Uncredited[18]
1947 Sepia Cinderella Ralph Williams [19]
1948 Miracle in Harlem Philip Manley (final film role)[20]

References
  1. Houseman, John (1972). Run Through: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-21034-3.
  2. "Rose McClendon Scrapbooks". Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  3. "Singin' the Blues". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  4. Kliman, Bernice W. (1992). Macbeth. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719027314.
  5. Welles, Orson; Bogdanovich, Peter; Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1992). This is Orson Welles. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-016616-9.
  6. "News of the Stage". The New York Times. July 16, 1936.
  7. "News of the Stage". The New York Times. July 17, 1936.
  8. "Goat Alley". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  9. "Porgy". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  10. "Porgy". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  11. "'Porgy' Returns to Fords, Baltimore, After Scoring Triumph in London". Denton Journal. Denton, Maryland. October 12, 1929. p. 4.
  12. "Players in 'Porgy', Which Comes to Garrick Monday". The Capital Times. January 5, 1930. p. 6.
  13. "Stevedore". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  14. "Stevedore". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  15. "The Devil's Daughter". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  16. "Straight to Heaven". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  17. "Take My Life". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  18. "Confidential Agent". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  19. "Sepia Cinderella". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  20. "Miracle in Harlem". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
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