Kindaris Pictures Podcast
By A.M. Warren
Kindaris Pictures PodcastMar 29, 2021
Mother's Day Special (Season Finale)
Etta, Vivian, and Dorothy
In mid-April of 1939, The Afro American spent some time with The Dandridge Sisters (actual sisters, Vivian and Dorothy Dandridge, and friend, Etta Jones) after an engagement at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Cited Article: "The Afro Cameraman Spends a Day with the Dandridge Sisters)" - The Afro American - Apr. 22, 1939
Kindaris Pictures Website
The Other Migration
The "Roaring Twenties" was a period in which Black entertainers emerged as forces on the stage, in music, and on the screen. As we now know, talent didn't always grant fair or even kind treatment. Black performers that thought they'd gotten their big breaks on the American stage, screen, or radio, found themselves fleeing to Europe for better treatment and better opportunities by the 1930s. Hollywood's first Black Leading Lady, Nina Mae McKinney, was one of them.
In this episode, "A.G. Marie" shares news of Nina Mae McKinney's sixteen-week tour of Europe in 1936. She'd made Paris her home just a few years after the release of HALLELUJAH (1929). Her life and career were split between the United States and various European countries until she finally returned to New York in 1960. Believed to have become a domestic worker in her final years, Nina Mae McKinney died of a heart attack on May 3, 1967. She was 54 years old.
Cited Article: "Bye Bye" - The Afro American (Mar. 28, 1936) - scroll downward and left
TRAILER: Kindaris Pictures Podcast
Crime in the Sky
Cabin in the Sky is now mostly loved as an iconic work in Black Cinema history. At the time of its release, however, not everyone felt so fondly about it.
Cited Article: "Term "Cabin" Film Downright Criminal" (The Afro American - Mar. 13, 1943)
Kindaris Pictures website
A Story of Unity
Hear the sweet story of how Allen "Farina" Hoskins got his start in the film industry.
Cited article: "At Home with Farina of "Our Gang" Fame" by Ruby Berkley Goodwin (Mar. 1, 1930)
Kindaris Pictures Website
Ollie Goes to Hollywood
Do you know the name, Ollie Burgoyne?
Coming up in the same American entertainment period of trailblazers like Bert Williams, George Walker, and Aida Overton Walker, Olga "Ollie" Burgoyne (despite my mispronunciation, the emphasis is on the 'goyne' - bur-GOYNE) appeared in at least one Hollywood film and is believed to have worked behind-the-scenes in others.
Hear her story on this episode of the Kindaris Pictures Podcast.
Cited article: "Burgoyne with Paramount" - The Afro American (Feb. 14, 1931) - scroll up, then left
Sources: Bluesy Daye on Flicker, Wikipedia, Playbill, and TCM
Augusta Savage's Mysterious Trophy
In 1940, The Afro American reported that sculptor, Augusta Savage, was commissioned to create a trophy for the Council for Better Negro Motion Pictures.
Cited article: "Augusta Savage to Make Trophy as Film Award" - The Afro American (Jan. 2, 1940)
Kindaris Pictures website
Let THEM Tell It!
In 1944, The Afro American newspaper reported that five movie companies had been accused of deleting footage of Black-American soldiers from overseas newsreels.
Cited Article: "Movies Cut Troops" - The Afro American (Jan. 8, 1944)
Kindaris Pictures Website
The Regal Theater in Durham
The Regal Theater in Durham, NC was one of many theaters opened specifically for African-Americans in the South. When the Regal opened its doors to moviegoers in 1930, it boasted a Western Electric sound system--making it the first "Negro" theater in the United States to have such powerful equipment.
Source: "Open $50,000 Theater in North Carolina" - The Afro American - Dec. 27, 1930
References: Cinema Treasures, OpenDurham, And Justice For All, personal graduate research (2018)
The Sugar Hill Case
After they'd spent nearly a decade revitalizing the community, Black residents of the West Adams district in Los Angeles were at risk of being kicked out.
Sources:
"Pacts Are Held Unconstitutional" - The Afro American (Dec. 15, 1945)
"The Thrill of Sugar Hill" - by Hadley Meares (Curbed - Los Angeles)
Lena Horne as Lorna Dean
In November of 1944, Lena Horne made a monumental guest appearance on "Suspense" a CBS radio series sponsored by Roma Wines.
Referenced Article "Lena Shatters Precedent" (The Afro American - Nov. 25, 1944)
"You Were Wonderful" (Suspense) - download it for yourself!
Ethel Waters' Study
In this episode, we get a small glimpse into Ethel Waters' home circa 1934.
Referenced Article: A section in "New York Day by Day" by O.O. McIntyre in St. Petersburg Times (June 12. 1934).
This episode was recorded in remembrance of Ethel Waters, who was born on October 31, 1896, in Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
The Jinxed Set
Did you know that three of the stars of Cabin in the Sky were injured on set? Here the story straight from the October 31, 1942 issue of The Afro American.
Newspaper Link (The Afro American - Google News Archive)
"Bojangles Shot" - Oct. 1930
This episode of the Kindaris Pictures Podcast revisits the news of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson being mistakenly shot by police in Pittsburgh, PA.
Cited article: The Afro American - Oct. 11, 1930
Kindaris Pictures website
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Stepin is a Father
In late September 1930, news outlets (including THE AFRO AMERICAN) announced the birth of Lincoln "Stepin Fetchit" Perry's firstborn.
Sammy's Little Sister (Finale)
Paying tribute to Dorothy Morrison Green, child actress (and sister to Ernest "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison, Jr.).
Who Needs to Remember Scarlett?
Thoughts on the censorship of Gone with the Wind (1939).
Another Dandridge
Celebrating the life and career of actress, singer, and dancer, Vivian Dandridge.
"Play It, Hazel".
Paying tribute to the jazz/classical pianist, Hazel Scott, and discussing the movie role that almost was...
Louise and Fredi: The Forgotten Contenders
In this episode, we pay tribute to Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington - stars of the 1934 film, "Imitation of Life". The actresses (and eventual friends) received high praise for their performances.
Oscar Winner, James Baskett
Paying tribute to James Baskett - winner of an Honorary Academy Award in 1948.
100 Years of 'Within Our Gates'
Within Our Gates opened in Chicago on January 12, 1920. It is believed that the film was Oscar Micheaux's response to the D.W. Griffith blockbuster, "The Birth of a Nation". In this episode, we discuss the ruckus surrounding the movie's release.
Correction: I stated that Oscar Micheaux was born on January 8th, he was born on January 2nd.
Eartha Kitt Remembrance
Honoring Eartha Kitt - the dynamic entertainer we lost on December 25, 2008.
Julia: Good Show, Bad Time?
In this episode, Adrienne briefly addresses the criticism of the NBC sitcom, "Julia" - starring Diahann Carroll.
Anita Bush and Her Players
The Anita Bush Players were an all-Black theater troupe that would later become known as the Lafayette Players. The troupe launched the careers of many stage and film greats.
The (Black) Women - Season Finale
Season One, Episode Ten
Celebrating the Black women in MGM's 1939 classic, THE WOMEN (starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell).
Thanks, Donald Bogle!
Paying tribute to the author and historian whose work has GREATLY inspired the Kindaris Pictures Podcast, and Kindaris Pictures in general. Donald Bogle is the author of seven (not six, as stated in the podcast) books, including "Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films", "Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood", and most recently (not mentioned in the episode) "Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers".
I Want You to Be My Baby But the Casting Director Said 'No'.
Did you know that The Ronettes were almost cast in a movie with Joey Dee and the Starlighters?
Ben Carter: Central Ave. Selznick
Learn about actor/agent Ben Carter in this episode of the Kindaris Pictures Podcast. Carter was responsible for booking the majority of Old Hollywood's Black talent.
Kindaris Pictures: An Origin Story
A rejection.
A drive home.
An epiphany.
This is the story of Kindaris Pictures.
No. They Weren't Friends.
Adrienne discusses the use of the word "friend" (and sometimes "equal") when referring to certain Black characters of Hollywood's Golden Era.
The Interesting Tale of THE GREEN PASTURES.
In this episode of the Kindaris Pictures Podcast, Adrienne talks about the critical reception of THE GREEN PASTURES (1936) and gives her own review. THE GREEN PASTURES was Hollywood's 3rd all-Black cast production. Based on the play of the same name, it was the highest grossing all-Black cast film until 1954's CARMEN JONES was released. This episode also features a cameo from Adrienne's furry buddy, Miss Kenya. Visit kindarispictures.com. for more information on this episode.
Hub of Black Los Angeles: The Dunbar Hotel
In the third episode of the Kindaris Pictures Podcast, Adrienne talks about The Dunbar Hotel - an business, political, and entertainment hub for Black Los Angeles.
(Recorded July 3, 2019)
Hallelujah, We Speak Your Names! (June 2019)
In the second episode of the Kindaris Pictures Podcast, we honor the unsung cast of the 1929 film, HALLELUJAH! The things they endured--and overcame--are worth speaking of. Their names are worthy of lifting.
Mildred Washington: A Life Cut Short (April 2019)
In this inaugural episode, Adrienne Warren of Kindaris Pictures talks about the Long Beach Earthquake of 1933--and a significant life that was claimed because of it.
Uploaded: Sunday, April 7, 2019
Warning: This episode details the earthquake and includes sound effects.