Francine Everett
Encyclopedia
Francine Everett was an African-American actress and singer who is best known for her performances in race films, independently-produced motion pictures with all-black casts that were created exclusively for distribution to cinemas that catered to African American
audiences.
in 1915, her father, Noah, was a tailor. She married Booker Everett in 1933, aged 18. That marriage was dissolved and she later re-married to actor Rex Ingram
. They divorced three years later in 1939. She studied and acted with the Federal Theater in Harlem
, which was sponsored by the Works Progress Administration
.
and Dooley Wilson
, Big Timers (1945), which co-starred Moms Mabley
and Stepin Fetchit
, Tall, Tan and Terrific (1946) with Mantan Moreland
and Dots Johnson, and Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
(1946), directed by Spencer Williams
.
Everett appeared as a singer in more than 50 soundies
, short musical films that were produced in the 1940s; her most notable soundie was Ebony on Parade (1947), which co-starred Dorothy Dandridge
, Cab Calloway
and the Count Basie
band. She also worked as a model in print advertisements for clothing and cosmetics.
, she had bit parts in two Hollywood films: Lost Boundaries
(1949) and Sidney Poitier
's first film, No Way Out
(1950), before retiring from acting.
At the height of her career, Everett was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in Harlem” by columnist Billy Rowe in The Amsterdam News, a black-owned newspaper in New York City
. Looking back at her career, filmmaker William Greaves
commented: "She would have been a superstar in Hollywood were it not for the apartheid climate in America and the movie industry at the time."
Everett appeared as a singer in more than 50 "soundies", short musical films featuring the notable jazz and popular musicians of the 1940s. One was the 1947 release Ebony on Parade, featuring Dorothy Dandridge
, Cab Calloway
and Count Basie
's band. She was also a popular print model who appeared in clothing and cosmetic advertisements in the 1940s.
Everett died at a nursing home in The Bronx, New York, aged 84, on May 27, 1999.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
audiences.
Early life
Born as Franciene Williamson in Louisburg, North CarolinaLouisburg, North Carolina
Louisburg is a town in Franklin County, North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,111. It is the county seat of Franklin County...
in 1915, her father, Noah, was a tailor. She married Booker Everett in 1933, aged 18. That marriage was dissolved and she later re-married to actor Rex Ingram
Rex Ingram (actor)
Rex Ingram was an American stage, film, and television actor.-Early life and career:Born near Cairo, Illinois on the Mississippi River, Ingram's father was a steamer fireman on the riverboat Robert E. Lee...
. They divorced three years later in 1939. She studied and acted with the Federal Theater in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, which was sponsored by the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
.
Career
Among Everett's starring roles were the films Paradise in Harlem (1939), Keep Punching (1939) co-starring Canada LeeCanada Lee
Canada Lee was an American actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. A champion of civil rights in the 1930s and 1940s, he died shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He became an actor after careers as a jockey, boxer, and musician...
and Dooley Wilson
Dooley Wilson
Arthur "Dooley" Wilson was an American actor and singer. He was born in Tyler, Texas, and is remembered as piano-player "Sam" who sings "As Time Goes By" at the request of Ilsa Lund in the 1942 film, Casablanca - the Sam in the famously misremembered line "Play it again, Sam" -- a phrase which...
, Big Timers (1945), which co-starred Moms Mabley
Moms Mabley
Jackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken , was an American standup comedian and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" of African-American vaudeville.-Early years:...
and Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit was the stage name of American comedian and film actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry....
, Tall, Tan and Terrific (1946) with Mantan Moreland
Mantan Moreland
Mantan Moreland was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s.-Career:Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Moreland began acting by the time he was an adolescent, reportedly running away to join the circus...
and Dots Johnson, and Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. is a 1946 race film directed by Spencer Williams and produced by Sack Amusement Enterprises.-Plot:Gertie LaRue is a nightclub entertainer from the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. She arrives on the Caribbean island of "Rinidad" to perform as the headliner in...
(1946), directed by Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams (actor)
Spencer Williams was an African American actor and filmmaker. He was best known for playing Andy in the Amos 'n Andy television show and for the directing the 1941 race film The Blood of Jesus. Williams was a pioneer African-American film producer and director.-Early career:Williams...
.
Everett appeared as a singer in more than 50 soundies
Soundies
Soundies were an early version of the music video: three-minute musical films, produced in New York City, Chicago, and Hollywood between 1940 and 1946, often including short dance sequences. The completed Soundies were generally released within a few months of their filming; the last group was...
, short musical films that were produced in the 1940s; her most notable soundie was Ebony on Parade (1947), which co-starred Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress...
, Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
and the Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
band. She also worked as a model in print advertisements for clothing and cosmetics.
Hollywood
Everett's association with Hollywood was brief and desultory. She first arrived in Hollywood in the mid-1930s with her husband, actor Rex Ingram, but refused to accept racially demeaning stereotypical roles. After starring in Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. is a 1946 race film directed by Spencer Williams and produced by Sack Amusement Enterprises.-Plot:Gertie LaRue is a nightclub entertainer from the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. She arrives on the Caribbean island of "Rinidad" to perform as the headliner in...
, she had bit parts in two Hollywood films: Lost Boundaries
Lost Boundaries
Lost Boundaries is a film released in 1949. The film was directed by Alfred L. Werker and starred , Mel Ferrer, and Susan Douglas Rubes. The film is based on the book by William Lindsay White, relating the true story of , a graduate of Rush Medical College whose family passed for white while living...
(1949) and Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
's first film, No Way Out
No Way Out (1950 film)
No Way Out is a black-and-white film noir directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and starring Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally, and Sidney Poitier...
(1950), before retiring from acting.
At the height of her career, Everett was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in Harlem” by columnist Billy Rowe in The Amsterdam News, a black-owned newspaper in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Looking back at her career, filmmaker William Greaves
William Greaves
William Greaves is a documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of African-American filmmaking. He has produced over two hundred documentary films writing and directing more than half of them...
commented: "She would have been a superstar in Hollywood were it not for the apartheid climate in America and the movie industry at the time."
Everett appeared as a singer in more than 50 "soundies", short musical films featuring the notable jazz and popular musicians of the 1940s. One was the 1947 release Ebony on Parade, featuring Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress...
, Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
and Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
's band. She was also a popular print model who appeared in clothing and cosmetic advertisements in the 1940s.
Retirement
After retiring from the entertainment industry, Everett took a clerical job at Harlem Hospital in New York. She retired from her hospital job in 1985, and in her later years she spoke about the race films at seminars sponsored by the International Agency for Minority Artist Affairs.Everett died at a nursing home in The Bronx, New York, aged 84, on May 27, 1999.