Research actor Canada Lee (Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata) and
you will find pages and pages declaring that he was blacklisted and not a single
fact to defend the accusations. He WAS NOT called to testify before the HUAC.
The cold
facts are that Lee was black and the number of roles available to black actors
between 1947 (When his supposed blacklisting began) and 1952 (When he died) were very, very
limited. Add to that the fact that Lee made a public declaration that he would
only take roles that educated society about race and enhanced the image of
African Americans. Lee died of a heart attack on May 9, 1952. His health had
been in decline in the prior two years before his death, so much so that he had
collapsed during the filming of Cry the
Beloved Country.
Lee’s career
was focused on stage work. He turned to films only occasionally. He made only four films in 12 years. Since the
supposed blacklist had no effect on Broadway, Lee could have, logically,
continued his career on stage if he couldn’t find acting parts in film, but he
completed his last play in 1948.
1951
Cry, the
Beloved Country (film)
1950
The
Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (TV Series)
1949
Lost
Boundaries (film)
Lt. 'Dixie'
Thompson
1948
Set My
People Free [Play]
Nov 03, 1948
- Nov 27, 1948
1947
Body and
Soul (film)
The
Roosevelt Story (Documentary)
Narrator -
Voice of the Depression
1946
The Duchess
of Malfi
[Play]
Oct 15, 1946
- Nov 16, 1946
On Whitman
Avenue
[Play]
Produced by
Canada Lee
Performer:
Canada Lee
May 08, 1946
- Sep 14, 1946
1945
Ask the OPA
(Documentary short)
The Tempest
[Play]
Performer
The entire
year of 1945
1944 (Film)
Lifeboat
South
Pacific
[Play]
Starring:
Canada Lee
Dec 29, 1943
- Jan 01, 1944
Anna Lucasta
[Play, All
Black Cast]
Performer
Aug 30, 1944
- Nov 30, 1946
1942
Henry
Browne, Farmer (Documentary short)
Narrator
Native Son
[Play]
Starring:
Canada Lee
Oct 23, 1942
- Jan 02, 1943
Across the
Board on Tomorrow Morning
[Play]
Performer
Aug 17, 1942
- Aug 22, 1942
1941
Native Son
[Play]
Performer
Mar 24, 1941
- Jun 28, 1941
Big White
Fog
[Play]
Performer
Oct 22, 1940
- Dec 14, 1940
Mamba's
Daughters
[Play]
Performer
Mar 23, 1940
- Apr 06, 1940
1939
Keep
Punching (Film, bit role)
Mamba's
Daughters
[Play,
Drama, Original]
Performer
Jan 03, 1939
- May 1939
1938
Haiti
[Play]
Performer
Mar 02, 1938
- Sep 24, 1938
1937
Brown Sugar
[Play]
Performer
Dec 02, 1937
- Dec 04, 1937
Moon of the
Caribbees
[Play]
Performer:
Canada Lee
Oct 29, 1937 - Closing date unknown
1936
Macbeth
[Play]
Performer:
Canada Lee
Apr 09, 1936
- May 1936
1935
Sailor,
Beware!
[Play]
Performer.
May 03, 1935
- May 1935