Leigh Whipper
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 29, 1876, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
- Died
- July 26, 1975
- Movies
- 23
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leigh Rollin Whipper (October 29, 1876 – July 26, 1975) was an American actor on the stage and in motion pictures. He was the first African American to join the Actors' Equity Association, and one of the founders of the Negro Actors Guild of America. He is best known for creating the role of Crooks in the original Broadway production of Of Mice and Men, which he reprised in the 1939 film version.
Educated at Howard University Law School, he left in 1895 and never practiced as a lawyer. Without any dramatic training, he made his first Broadway appearance in Georgia Minstrels. His first film role was in the 1920 silent film The Symbol of the Unconquered.
Best-Known Movies
Filmography
| 2026 | Once Upon a Time in Harlem | Self (archival footage) |
| 1957 | The Young Don't Cry | Doosy |
| 1955 | The Shrike | Mr. Carlisle |
| 1947 | Untamed Fury | Uncle Gabe |
| 1946 | Undercurrent | George |
| 1946 | Young Widow | Nate (Uncredited), Nate (uncredited) |
| 1945 | The Negro Sailor | Editor |
| 1945 | The Hidden Eye | Alistair |
| 1944 | Dark Waters | Office Custodian (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Happy Land | Old Ben (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Mission to Moscow | Haile Selassie (uncredited) |
| 1943 | The Ox-Bow Incident | Sparks (uncredited) |
| 1942 | White Cargo | Jim Fish |
| 1942 | Heart of the Golden West | Rango |
| 1942 | The Vanishing Virginian | Uncle Josh |
| 1941 | Bahama Passage | Morales |
| 1941 | King of the Zombies | Momba |
| 1941 | Road to Zanzibar | Scarface |
| 1941 | Virginia | Ezechial |
| 1941 | Robin Hood of the Pecos | Kezeye |
| 1939 | Of Mice and Men | Crooks |
| 1920 | The Symbol of the Unconquered: A Story of the Ku Klux Klan | Tugi - an Indian Fakir |
| 1920 | Within Our Gates |
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