Juano Hernández
Encyclopedia
Juano Hernández was a Puerto Rican
stage and film actor of African
descent who was a pioneer in the African-American film industry. He made his debut in an Oscar Micheaux film, "The Girl from Chicago" which was directed at black audiences. Hernández also performed in a serious of dramatic roles in mainstream Hollywood movies. His participation in the film "Intruder in the Dust" earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for "New Star of the Year". Upon his semi-retirement he returned to Puerto Rico his homeland where he intended to make a film based on the life of Sixto Escobar
.
. With no formal education, he worked as a sailor and settled in Rio de Janeiro. He was hired by a circus
and become an entertainer, making his first appearance as an acrobat in Rio de Janeiro in 1922. He later lived in the Caribbean and made his living as a professional boxer, fighting under the name Kid Curley.
, he worked in vaudeville
and minstrel shows, sang in a church choir and was a radio script writer. During his spare time he perfected his diction by studying Shakespeare thus, enabling himself to work in the radio
. He co-starred in radio's first all-black soap opera
We Love and Learn. He also participated in the following soap operas: Mandrake the Magician (opposite Raymond Edward Johnson and Jessica Tandy
), The Shadow, Tennessee, Jed and Against the Storm. He became a household name after his participation in The Cavalcade of America
, a series which promoted American history and inventiveness. He appeared in the Broadway shows Strange Fruit and Set My People Free. His Broadway
debut was in the chorus of the 1927 musical production Showboat
.
Hernández appeared in 23 films throughout his career. His first films were small roles in films produced by Oscar Micheaux
, who made race films for black audiences. His film debut was a Micheaux film, The Girl from Chicago
(1932), in which he was cast as a Cuban racketeer.
In 1949, he acted in his first mainstream film, based on William Faulkner
's novel, Intruder in the Dust
, in which he played the role of "Lucas Beauchamp", a poor Southern sharecropper unjustly accused of murder. The film earned him a Golden Globe nomination
for "New Star of the Year". The film was listed as one of the ten best of the year by the New York Times. Faulkner said of the film: "I'm not much of a moviegoer, but I did see that one. I thought it was a fine job. That Juano Hernandez is a fine actor--and man, too."
Film historian Donald Bogle
said that Intruder in the Dust broke new ground in the cinematic portrayal of blacks, and Hernandez's "performance and extraordinary presence still rank above that of almost any other black actor to appear in an American movie."
In the 1950 western Stars In My Crown, directed by Jacques Tourneur
, starring Joel McCrea
, Hernández plays a freed slave
who refuses to sell his land and faces an angry lynch
mob.
He was singled out for praise for his performance in the 1950 film The Breaking Point with John Garfield
. The New York Times called his performance "quietly magnificent."
He also received favorable notices for his performances in Trial
(1955), about a politically charged court case, in which he played the judge, and Sidney Lumet
's The Pawnbroker
(1965).
in 1960 and 1961.
Other television shows he appeared in included Naked City
, The Defenders, The Dick Powell Show
and Studio One.
. He was unable to get funding in Puerto Rico and therefore he translated the script
into English
. He sent it to several companies in Hollywood and had it almost sold at the time of his death. In the last two years of his life he appeared in three films, The Extraordinary Seaman
(1969) with David Niven
, The Reivers
(1969) with Steve McQueen
, and They Call Me MISTER Tibbs (1970) with Sidney Poitier
.
He died in San Juan on July 17, 1970 of a cerebral hemorrhage and was interred at Cementerio Buxeda Memorial Park, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
.
Puerto Rican citizenship
Puerto Rican citizenship was first legislated by the U.S. Congress in Article 7 of the Foraker Act of 1900 and later recognized by the Puerto Rican constitution...
stage and film actor of African
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
descent who was a pioneer in the African-American film industry. He made his debut in an Oscar Micheaux film, "The Girl from Chicago" which was directed at black audiences. Hernández also performed in a serious of dramatic roles in mainstream Hollywood movies. His participation in the film "Intruder in the Dust" earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for "New Star of the Year". Upon his semi-retirement he returned to Puerto Rico his homeland where he intended to make a film based on the life of Sixto Escobar
Sixto Escobar
Sixto Escobar was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. Competing in the bantamweight division, he became Puerto Rico's first world champion....
.
Early years
Juan G. Hernández (better known as Juano Hernández) was born in San JuanSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. With no formal education, he worked as a sailor and settled in Rio de Janeiro. He was hired by a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
and become an entertainer, making his first appearance as an acrobat in Rio de Janeiro in 1922. He later lived in the Caribbean and made his living as a professional boxer, fighting under the name Kid Curley.
Vaudeville and the stage
In New York CityNew 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...
, he worked in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and minstrel shows, sang in a church choir and was a radio script writer. During his spare time he perfected his diction by studying Shakespeare thus, enabling himself to work in the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
. He co-starred in radio's first all-black soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
We Love and Learn. He also participated in the following soap operas: Mandrake the Magician (opposite Raymond Edward Johnson and Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
), The Shadow, Tennessee, Jed and Against the Storm. He became a household name after his participation in The Cavalcade of America
Cavalcade of America
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on...
, a series which promoted American history and inventiveness. He appeared in the Broadway shows Strange Fruit and Set My People Free. His Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut was in the chorus of the 1927 musical production Showboat
Showboat
A showboat, or show boat, was a form of theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers . A showboat was basically a barge that resembled a long, flat-roofed house, and in order to move down the river, it was pushed by a small tugboat...
.
Film career
Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films...
, who made race films for black audiences. His film debut was a Micheaux film, The Girl from Chicago
The Girl from Chicago
The Girl from Chicago is an American film produced and directed by Oscar Micheaux, with an all-African American cast to include lead actor Carl Mahon. The story concerns a Federal agent who falls in love while on assignment in Mississippi...
(1932), in which he was cast as a Cuban racketeer.
In 1949, he acted in his first mainstream film, based on William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
's novel, Intruder in the Dust
Intruder in the Dust (1949 film)
Intruder in the Dust is a 1949 drama film produced and directed by Clarence Brown and starring David Brian and Claude Jarman, Jr. The film is based on the novel Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner.-Cast:* David Brian – John Gavin Stevens...
, in which he played the role of "Lucas Beauchamp", a poor Southern sharecropper unjustly accused of murder. The film earned him a Golden Globe nomination
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for "New Star of the Year". The film was listed as one of the ten best of the year by the New York Times. Faulkner said of the film: "I'm not much of a moviegoer, but I did see that one. I thought it was a fine job. That Juano Hernandez is a fine actor--and man, too."
Film historian Donald Bogle
Donald Bogle
Donald Bogle is a film historian and author of six books concerning African Americans in film and on television. He is an instructor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and at the University of Pennsylvania.-Early years:...
said that Intruder in the Dust broke new ground in the cinematic portrayal of blacks, and Hernandez's "performance and extraordinary presence still rank above that of almost any other black actor to appear in an American movie."
In the 1950 western Stars In My Crown, directed by Jacques Tourneur
Jacques Tourneur
Jacques Tourneur was a French-American film director.-Life:Born in Paris, France, he was the son of film director Maurice Tourneur. At age 10, Jacques moved to the United States with his father. He started a career in cinema while still attending high school as an extra and later as a script clerk...
, starring Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
, Hernández plays a freed slave
Freedman
A freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....
who refuses to sell his land and faces an angry lynch
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
mob.
He was singled out for praise for his performance in the 1950 film The Breaking Point with John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
. The New York Times called his performance "quietly magnificent."
He also received favorable notices for his performances in Trial
Trial (1955 film)
Trial is a 1955 American film directed by Mark Robson and written by Don Mankiewicz . It stars Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, Arthur Kennedy and Juano Hernandez...
(1955), about a politically charged court case, in which he played the judge, and Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
's The Pawnbroker
The Pawnbroker (film)
The Pawnbroker is a 1964 drama film, starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters and Jaime Sánchez and directed by Sidney Lumet. It was adapted by Morton S. Fine and David Friedkin from the novel of the same name by Edward Lewis Wallant....
(1965).
Television appearances
Over the years, Hernández made guest appearances on a dozen U.S. network television programs, appearing three times on the series Adventures in ParadiseAdventures in Paradise
Adventures in Paradise is an American television series which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962. It starred Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. The show was created by James Michener...
in 1960 and 1961.
Other television shows he appeared in included Naked City
Naked City (TV series)
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format....
, The Defenders, The Dick Powell Show
The Dick Powell Show
The Dick Powell Show is an American anthology series that ran on NBC from 1961- 1963, primarily sponsored by the Reynolds Metals Company. It was hosted by longtime film star Dick Powell until his death from lymphatic cancer on January 2, 1963, then by a series of guest hosts until the series ended...
and Studio One.
Later years
Hernández returned to Puerto Rico late in his life. Together with Julio Torregrosa he wrote a script for a movie about the life of Puerto Rico's first boxing champion, Sixto EscobarSixto Escobar
Sixto Escobar was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. Competing in the bantamweight division, he became Puerto Rico's first world champion....
. He was unable to get funding in Puerto Rico and therefore he translated the script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. He sent it to several companies in Hollywood and had it almost sold at the time of his death. In the last two years of his life he appeared in three films, The Extraordinary Seaman
The Extraordinary Seaman
The Extraordinary Seaman is a 1969 American comedy war film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring David Niven, Faye Dunaway, Alan Alda and Mickey Rooney.-Plot:...
(1969) with David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, The Reivers
The Reivers
The Reivers, published in 1962, is the last novel by the American author William Faulkner. The bestselling novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1963. Faulkner previously won this award for his book A Fable, making him one of only three authors to be awarded it more than once...
(1969) with Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
, and They Call Me MISTER Tibbs (1970) with 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...
.
He died in San Juan on July 17, 1970 of a cerebral hemorrhage and was interred at Cementerio Buxeda Memorial Park, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
-Barrios :*Carraízo*Las Cuevas*Dos Bocas*La Gloria*Quebrada Grande*Quebrada Negrito*Saint Just*Trujillo Alto Pueblo*Cooperativa Jardines de Trujillo Alto-Geo/Topography:*Carraízo dam...
.
Filmography
- The Girl from ChicagoThe Girl from ChicagoThe Girl from Chicago is an American film produced and directed by Oscar Micheaux, with an all-African American cast to include lead actor Carl Mahon. The story concerns a Federal agent who falls in love while on assignment in Mississippi...
(1932) .... Gomez - Harlem is Heaven (1932) (uncredited) .... Cop
- Lying LipsLying LipsLying Lips is a 1939, melodrama, race movie by Oscar Micheaux, starring Edna Mae Harris, and Robert Earl Jones .Lying Lips was the thirty-seventh film of Micheaux.-Plot:...
(1939) .... Rev. Bryson - Intruder in the DustIntruder in the Dust (1949 film)Intruder in the Dust is a 1949 drama film produced and directed by Clarence Brown and starring David Brian and Claude Jarman, Jr. The film is based on the novel Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner.-Cast:* David Brian – John Gavin Stevens...
(1949) .... Lucas Beauchamp - Young Man with a HornYoung Man with a Horn (film)Young Man with a Horn is a 1950 drama film based on a biographical novel of the same name aboutBix Beiderbecke, the legendary jazz cornetist...
(1950) .... Art Hazzard - The Breaking Point (1950) .... Wesley Park
- Stars in My Crown (1950) .... Uncle Famous Prill
- TrialTrial (1955 film)Trial is a 1955 American film directed by Mark Robson and written by Don Mankiewicz . It stars Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, Arthur Kennedy and Juano Hernandez...
(1955) .... Judge Theodore Motley - Kiss Me DeadlyKiss Me DeadlyKiss Me Deadly is a 1955 film noir drama produced and directed by Robert Aldrich starring Ralph Meeker. The screenplay was written by A.I. Bezzerides, based on the Mickey Spillane Mike Hammer mystery novel Kiss Me, Deadly. Kiss Me Deadly is often considered a classic of the noir genre. The film...
(1955) .... Eddie Yeager - Ransom!Ransom!Ransom! is a 1956 crime drama examining the reactions of parents, police, and the public to a kidnapping. Written by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume, the film was based on a popular episode of "The United States Steel Hour" titled "Fearful Decision," which aired in 1954...
(1956) .... Jesse Chapman aka Uncle Jesse - Something of ValueSomething of ValueSomething Of Value is a 1957 drama directed by Richard Brooks and starring Rock Hudson, Dana Wynter and Sidney Poitier.-Plot:The movie, based on the book of the same name by Robert Ruark, portrays the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya. It shows the colonial and native African conflict caused by colonialism...
(1957) .... Njogu, Oath Giver - Machete (1958) .... Bernardo
- St. Louis BluesSt. Louis Blues (1958 film)St. Louis Blues is a 1958 film broadly based on the life of W. C. Handy. It starred jazz and blues greats Nat "King" Cole, Pearl Bailey, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, and Barney Bigard, as well as gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and actress Ruby Dee...
(1958) .... Rev. Charles Handy - The Mark of the HawkThe Mark of the HawkThe Mark of the Hawk is a 1957 drama film, directed by Michael Audley with a screenplay by Lloyd Young and H.Kenn Carmichael...
(1958) .... Amugu - Sergeant RutledgeSergeant RutledgeSergeant Rutledge is a 1960 Western and military courtroom drama starring Woody Strode and Jeffrey Hunter. It was directed by John Ford and shot on location in Monument Valley, Utah....
(1960) .... Sgt. Matthew Luke Skimore - Westinghouse Presents: The Dispossessed (1961) (TV) .... Standing Bear
- Two LovesTwo LovesTwo Loves is a 1961 American drama film directed by Charles Walters. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Shirley MacLaine - Anna Vorontosov* Laurence Harvey - Paul Lathrope* Jack Hawkins - Abercrombie...
(1961) .... Rauhuia - The Sins of Rachel CadeThe Sins of Rachel CadeThe Sins of Rachel Cade is a 1961 drama film starring Angie Dickinson in the title role as well as Peter Finch and Roger Moore.-Plot:During World War II, Protestant medical missionary Rachel comes to the village of Dibela in the Belgian Congo. Widowed military administrator Colonel Derode is...
(1961) .... Kalanumu - Hemingway's Adventures of a Young ManHemingway's Adventures of a Young ManHemingway's Adventures of a Young Man is a 1962 drama film directed by Martin Ritt based on the Nick Adams stories by Ernest Hemingway, and featuring Richard Beymer as Adams.-Cast:*Richard Beymer as Nick Adams*Diane Baker as Carolyn...
(1962) .... Bugs - The PawnbrokerThe Pawnbroker (film)The Pawnbroker is a 1964 drama film, starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters and Jaime Sánchez and directed by Sidney Lumet. It was adapted by Morton S. Fine and David Friedkin from the novel of the same name by Edward Lewis Wallant....
(1964) .... Mr. Smith - The Extraordinary SeamanThe Extraordinary SeamanThe Extraordinary Seaman is a 1969 American comedy war film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring David Niven, Faye Dunaway, Alan Alda and Mickey Rooney.-Plot:...
(1969) .... Ali Shar - The ReiversThe Reivers (film)The Reivers is a 1969 film directed by Mark Rydell based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name...
(1969) .... Uncle Possum - They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! is a 1970 film; a sequel to In the Heat of the Night . Sidney Poitier reprised his role of police detective Virgil Tibbs, though in this sequel, Tibbs is working for the San Francisco Police rather than the Philadelphia Police or the Pasadena Police .-Plot:The plot...
(1970) .... Mealie Williamson
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Black history in Puerto Rico
- List of Puerto Ricans of African descent