Spencer Williams (actor)
Encyclopedia
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.
, where the family lived on Magnolia Street. As a youngster, he attended Wards Academy in Natchez, Mississippi
.
He moved to New York City
when he was a teenager and secured work as call boy
for the theatrical impresario Oscar Hammerstein
. During this period, he received mentoring as a comedian from the African American vaudeville
star Bert Williams
. Williams began his studies at the University of Minnesota
, taking some time out to serve his country.
Williams served in the U.S. Army during World War I
, where he rose to the rank of sergeant. During the course of his time in service, Williams traveled the world, serving as General Pershing's
bugler while in Mexico
before he was promoted to camp sergeant major. In 1917, Williams was sent to France
to do intelligence work there. After World War I, Williams continued his military career; he was part of a unit whose job was to create war plans for the Southwestern United States, in case they might ever be needed. He arrived in Hollywood in 1923 and his involvement with films began by assisting with work on Octavus Roy Cohen
material. Williams began to snag bit roles in motion pictures, including a part in the 1928 Buster Keaton
film Steamboat Bill, Jr. Though he had found steady work since arriving in California, Williams had a short period in 1926 where there were no roles for him; he then went to work as an immigration officer. In 1927, Williams was working for the First National Studio, going on location to Topaz, Arizona to shoot footage for a film called The River. Williams produced his first film, Tenderfeet, in 1928.
Also in 1929, Williams was hired by producer Al Christie
to create the dialogue for a series of two-reel comedy films featuring all-black casts. The films, which played on racial stereotypes and used grammatically tortured dialogue, included The Framing of the Shrew, The Lady Fare, Melancholy Dame, (first Paramount Studios all African-American cast "talkie"), Music Hath Charms, and Oft in the Silly Night. Williams wore many hats at Christie's; he was a sound technician, wrote many of the scripts and was assistant director for many of the films. He was also hired to cast African-Americans for Gloria Swanson
's Queen Kelly
and produced the silent film Hot Biscuits in the same year. Williams also did some work for Columbia as the supervisor of their Africa Speaks recordings. Williams was also active in theater productions, taking a role in the all African-American version of Lulu Belle in 1929.
By 1931, Williams and a partner had founded their own movie and newsreel company called the Lincoln Talking Pictures Company. The company was self-financed. Williams, who had experience in sound technology, built the equipment, including a sound truck, for his new venture.
He should not be confused with musician Spencer Williams
who wrote numerous songs and made records with Lonnie Johnson
.
-comedy
Son of Ingagi, both released in 1939.
Alfred N. Sack, whose San Antonio, later Dallas, Texas based company Sack Amusement Enterprises produced and distributed race films, was impressed with Williams’ screenplay for Son of Ingagi and offered him the opportunity to write and direct a feature film. At that time, the only African American filmmaker was the self-financing writer/director/producer Oscar Micheaux
. Besides being a film production company, Sack also had interests in movie theaters. He had more than one name for his ventures; they were also known as Sack Attractions and Harlemwood Studios. Sack produced films under all of his company's various names.
With his own film projector, Williams began traveling in the southern US, showing his films to audiences there. During this time, he met William H. Kier, who was also traveling the same circuit showing films. The two formed a partnership and produced some motion pictures, training films for the Army Air Forces, as well as a film for the Catholic diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Williams’ resulting film, The Blood of Jesus (1941), was produced by his own company, Amnegro, on a $5,000 budget using non-professional actors for his cast. The film, a religious fantasy about the struggle for a dying’ Christian woman’s soul, was a major commercial success. Sack declared The Blood of Jesus was "possibly the most successful" race film ever made, and Williams was invited to direct additional films for Sack Amusement Enterprises. In the next six years, Williams directed Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus
(1942), Marching On!
(1943), Go Down Death
(1944), Of One Blood
(1944), Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
(1946), The Girl in Room 20
(1946), Beale Street Mama
(1947) and Juke Joint
(1947). After working ten years in Dallas, Williams returned to Hollywood in 1950.
Following the production of Juke Joint, Williams relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma
, where he joined Amos T. Hall in founding the American Business and Industrial College.
comedians Freeman Gosden
and Charles Correll
were planning to take their long-running comedy program Amos 'n Andy to television. The program focused on the misadventures of a group of African Americans in the Harlem
section of New York City. Gosden and Correll were white, but played the black lead characters using racially stereotypical speech patterns. They had previously played the roles in blackface
make-up for the 1930 film Check and Double Check
, but for the television version they opted to use an African American cast.
Gosden and Correll conducted an extensive national talent search to cast the television version of Amos 'n Andy. News of the search reached Tulsa, where Williams was sought out by a local radio station that was aware of his previous work in race films. A Catholic priest, who was a radio listener and a friend, was the key to the whereabouts of Williams. He was working in Tulsa as the head of a vocational school for veterans when the casting call went out. Williams successfully auditioned for Gosden and Correll, and he was cast as Andrew H. Brown. Williams was joined in the cast by New York theater actor Alvin Childress
, who was cast as Amos, and vaudeville comedian Tim Moore
, who was cast as their friend George "Kingfish" Stevens. When Williams accepted the role of Andy, he returned to a familiar location; the CBS studios were built on the former site of the Christie Studios. Until Amos 'n' Andy, Williams had never worked in television.
Amos 'n Andy was the first U.S. television program with an all-black cast, running for 78 episodes on CBS
from 1951 to 1953. However, the program created considerable controversy, with the NAACP going to federal court to achieve an injunction to halt its premiere. In August 1953, after the program had recently left the air, there were plans to turn it into a vaudeville act with Williams, Moore and Childress reprising their television roles. It is not known if there were any performances. After the show completed its network run, CBS syndicated Amos 'n Andy to local U.S. television stations and sold the program to television networks in other countries. The program was eventually pulled from release in 1966, under pressure from civil rights groups that stated it offered a negatively distorted view of African American life. While the show was still in production, Williams and Freeman Gosden clashed over the portrayal of Andy, with Gosden telling Williams he knew how Amos 'n' Andy were meant to talk. Gosden never visited the set again.
Williams, along with television show cast members Tim Moore, Alvin Childress, and Lillian Randolph
and her choir, began a US tour as "The TV Stars of Amos 'n' Andy" in 1956. CBS
considered this a violation of their exclusivity rights for the show and its characters; the tour came to a premature end. Williams, Moore, Childress and Lee, performed a one-night show in Windsor, Ontario
in 1957, apparently without any legal action being taken.
Williams returned to work in stage productions. In 1958, he had a role in the Los Angeles production of Simply Heavenly; the play had a successful New York run. His last credited role was as a hospital orderly in the 1962 Italian horror production L'Orribile Segreto del Dottor Hitchcock.
. He was survived by his wife, Eula. At the time of his death, news coverage focused solely on his work as a television actor, since few white filmgoers knew of his race films. The New York Times
obituary for Williams cited Amos 'n Andy but made no mention of his work as a film director. A World War I veteran, he is buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery
.
When friends and family from Vidalia, Louisiana were interviewed for a local newspaper article in 2001, he was remembered as a happy person, who was always singing or whistling and telling jokes. His younger cousins also recalled his generosity with them for "candy money"; just as he was seen on television as Andy, he always had his cigar. On March 31, 2010, the state of Louisiana voted to honor Williams and musician Will Haney, also from Vidalia, in a celebration on May 22 of that year.
, warehouse in 1983. One film directed by Williams, his 1942 feature Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus, is still considered lost. There were seven films in total; they were originally shown at small gatherings throughout the South.
Most film historians consider The Blood of Jesus to be Williams’ crowning achievement as a filmmaker. Dave Kehr of The New York Times
called the film "magnificent" and Time
magazine counted it among its "25 Most Important Films on Race." In 1991, The Blood of Jesus became the first race film to be added to the U.S. National Film Registry
.
Film critic Armond White
named both The Blood of Jesus and Go Down Death as being "among the most spiritually adventurous movies ever made. They conveyed the moral crisis of the urban/country, blues/spiritual musical dichotomies through their documentary style and fable-like narratives."
However, Williams’ films have also been the subject of criticism. Richard Corliss, writing in Time magazine, stated: "Aesthetically, much of Williams' work vacillates between inert and abysmal. The rural comedy of Juke Joint is logy, as if the heat had gotten to the movie; even the musical scenes, featuring North Texas jazzman Red Calhoun, move at the turtle tempo of Hollywood's favorite black of the period, Stepin Fetchit
. And there were technical gaffes galore: in a late-night scene in Dirty Gertie, actress Francine Everett
clicks on a bedside lamp and the screen actually darkens for a moment before full lights finally come up. Yet at least one Williams film, his debut Blood of Jesus (1941), has a naive grandeur to match its subject." It should also be realized that Williams often worked on a very meager budget. The Blood of Jesus was filmed for a cost of $5,000; most black films of that era had budgets of double and triple that amount.
To date, there has been no biography devoted solely to Williams’ life and career. Jacqueline Stewart, an associate professor in the Department of Radio, Television and Film at the University of Chicago
, is researching and writing a new book on Williams. Williams began writing a book about his 55 years in show business in 1959; it is not known whether it was published.
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...
actor and filmmaker. He was best known for playing Andy in the Amos 'n Andy television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show and for the directing the 1941 race film The Blood of Jesus
The Blood of Jesus
The Blood of Jesus is a 1941 American race film written, directed, and starring Spencer Williams. It was also released under the alternate title of The Glory Road.-Plot:...
. Williams was a pioneer African-American film producer and director.
Early career
Williams (who was sometimes billed as Spencer Williams Jr.) was born in Vidalia, LouisianaVidalia, Louisiana
Vidalia is a city in and the parish seat of Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,543 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Vidalia is located at and has an elevation of ....
, where the family lived on Magnolia Street. As a youngster, he attended Wards Academy in Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
.
He moved to 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...
when he was a teenager and secured work as call boy
Call boy (theatre)
Call boy is the job title of a stagehand in the theatre. They are hired by either the director, producer or stage crew chief...
for the theatrical impresario Oscar Hammerstein
Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I was a businessman, theater impresario and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America...
. During this period, he received mentoring as a comedian from the African American 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...
star Bert Williams
Bert Williams
Egbert Austin "Bert" Williams was one of the preeminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920...
. Williams began his studies at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, taking some time out to serve his country.
Williams served in the U.S. Army during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, where he rose to the rank of sergeant. During the course of his time in service, Williams traveled the world, serving as General Pershing's
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
bugler while in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
before he was promoted to camp sergeant major. In 1917, Williams was sent to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to do intelligence work there. After World War I, Williams continued his military career; he was part of a unit whose job was to create war plans for the Southwestern United States, in case they might ever be needed. He arrived in Hollywood in 1923 and his involvement with films began by assisting with work on Octavus Roy Cohen
Octavus Roy Cohen
Octavus Roy Cohen was an American author, born in South Carolina where he received his secondary education at the Porter Military Academy, now the exclusive Porter-Gaud School. He went on to receive a college education at the Clemson University...
material. Williams began to snag bit roles in motion pictures, including a part in the 1928 Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
film Steamboat Bill, Jr. Though he had found steady work since arriving in California, Williams had a short period in 1926 where there were no roles for him; he then went to work as an immigration officer. In 1927, Williams was working for the First National Studio, going on location to Topaz, Arizona to shoot footage for a film called The River. Williams produced his first film, Tenderfeet, in 1928.
Also in 1929, Williams was hired by producer Al Christie
Al Christie
Al Christie was a Canadian-born motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Career:Born Alfred Ernest Christie, in London, Ontario, Canada, he was one of a number of Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood who made their way to Hollywood, California, attracted by the newly developing motion...
to create the dialogue for a series of two-reel comedy films featuring all-black casts. The films, which played on racial stereotypes and used grammatically tortured dialogue, included The Framing of the Shrew, The Lady Fare, Melancholy Dame, (first Paramount Studios all African-American cast "talkie"), Music Hath Charms, and Oft in the Silly Night. Williams wore many hats at Christie's; he was a sound technician, wrote many of the scripts and was assistant director for many of the films. He was also hired to cast African-Americans for Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
's Queen Kelly
Queen Kelly
Queen Kelly is the title of an American silent film produced in 1928-29 and released in 1929, originally by United Artists. The film was directed by Erich von Stroheim, starred Gloria Swanson in the title role, and also starred Walter Byron and Seena Owen. It was produced by Joseph P...
and produced the silent film Hot Biscuits in the same year. Williams also did some work for Columbia as the supervisor of their Africa Speaks recordings. Williams was also active in theater productions, taking a role in the all African-American version of Lulu Belle in 1929.
By 1931, Williams and a partner had founded their own movie and newsreel company called the Lincoln Talking Pictures Company. The company was self-financed. Williams, who had experience in sound technology, built the equipment, including a sound truck, for his new venture.
He should not be confused with musician Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs "Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Royal Garden Blues", "I've Found a New Baby", "Everybody Loves My Baby", "Tishomingo Blues", "Careless Love", and many...
who wrote numerous songs and made records with Lonnie Johnson
Lonnie Johnson
Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson was an American blues and jazz singer/guitarist and songwriter who pioneered the role of jazz guitar and is recognized as the first to play single-string guitar solos...
.
Film directing
During the 1930s, Williams secured small roles in race films, a genre of low-budget, independently-produced films with all-black casts that were created solely for exhibition in racially segregated theaters. Williams also created two screenplays for race film production: the Western film Harlem Rides the Range and the horrorHorror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
-comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
Son of Ingagi, both released in 1939.
Alfred N. Sack, whose San Antonio, later Dallas, Texas based company Sack Amusement Enterprises produced and distributed race films, was impressed with Williams’ screenplay for Son of Ingagi and offered him the opportunity to write and direct a feature film. At that time, the only African American filmmaker was the self-financing writer/director/producer Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films...
. Besides being a film production company, Sack also had interests in movie theaters. He had more than one name for his ventures; they were also known as Sack Attractions and Harlemwood Studios. Sack produced films under all of his company's various names.
With his own film projector, Williams began traveling in the southern US, showing his films to audiences there. During this time, he met William H. Kier, who was also traveling the same circuit showing films. The two formed a partnership and produced some motion pictures, training films for the Army Air Forces, as well as a film for the Catholic diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Williams’ resulting film, The Blood of Jesus (1941), was produced by his own company, Amnegro, on a $5,000 budget using non-professional actors for his cast. The film, a religious fantasy about the struggle for a dying’ Christian woman’s soul, was a major commercial success. Sack declared The Blood of Jesus was "possibly the most successful" race film ever made, and Williams was invited to direct additional films for Sack Amusement Enterprises. In the next six years, Williams directed Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus
Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus
Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus is a race film directed and written by Spencer Williams. The film featured an all-black cast and was produced exclusively for exhibition in U.S. cinemas serving African American communities...
(1942), Marching On!
Marching On!
Marching On! is a 1943 American race film directed and written by Spencer Williams.The film is also known as Where's My Man To-nite .- Plot summary :...
(1943), Go Down Death
Go Down Death
Go Down, Death! is a 1944 race film directed by and starring Spencer Williams. The film’s title derives from a poem by the African American writer James Weldon Johnson.-Plot:...
(1944), Of One Blood
Of One Blood (film)
Of One Blood is a 1944 race film directed by and starring Spencer Williams. The film focuses on two orphaned African American brothers who grow up to become a lawyer and a police officer, and who work together to break up a crime ring that is run by a miscreant who turns out to be their long-lost...
(1944), 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), The Girl in Room 20
The Girl in Room 20
The Girl in Room 20 is a 1949 race film directed by and starring Spencer Williams. The focuses on Daisy Mae Walker an aspiring singer from a small town in Texas, who comes to New York City to pursue a show business career, only to fall prey to a sleazy nightclub owner...
(1946), Beale Street Mama
Beale Street Mama
Beale Street Mama is a 1946 race film directed by and starring Spencer Williams and distributed by Sack Amusement Enterprises. The film is set in Memphis, Tennessee and focuses on a street sweeper who comes upon a large parcel of money. He uses the newly-acquired wealth to go on a spending spree,...
(1947) and Juke Joint
Juke Joint (1947 film)
Juke Joint is a 1947 race film directed by and starring Spencer Williams and produced and released by Sack Amusement Enterprises.-Plot:Bad News Johnson, a con artist from Memphis, Tennessee, arrives in Dallas, Texas, accompanied by his dim sidekick July Jones with only twenty-five cents between them...
(1947). After working ten years in Dallas, Williams returned to Hollywood in 1950.
Following the production of Juke Joint, Williams relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, where he joined Amos T. Hall in founding the American Business and Industrial College.
Amos 'n Andy
In 1948, U.S. radioRadio
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...
comedians Freeman Gosden
Freeman Gosden
Freeman Fisher "Gozzie" Gosden was an American radio comedian, and pioneer in the development of the situation comedy form. He is best known for his work in the Amos 'n' Andy series.-Biography:...
and Charles Correll
Charles Correll
Charles James Correll was an American radio comedian, best known for his work on the Amos 'n' Andy show with Freeman S. Gosden. Correll voiced the central character of Andy Brown, along with various supporting characters. Before teaming up with Gosden, Correll worked as a stenographer and a...
were planning to take their long-running comedy program Amos 'n Andy to television. The program focused on the misadventures of a group of African Americans in the 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...
section of New York City. Gosden and Correll were white, but played the black lead characters using racially stereotypical speech patterns. They had previously played the roles in blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
make-up for the 1930 film Check and Double Check
Check and Double Check
Check and Double Check is a 1930 comedy film made and released by RKO Pictures based on the then-popular Amos 'n' Andy radio show. The title was derived from a catchphrase associated with the show.-Production:...
, but for the television version they opted to use an African American cast.
Gosden and Correll conducted an extensive national talent search to cast the television version of Amos 'n Andy. News of the search reached Tulsa, where Williams was sought out by a local radio station that was aware of his previous work in race films. A Catholic priest, who was a radio listener and a friend, was the key to the whereabouts of Williams. He was working in Tulsa as the head of a vocational school for veterans when the casting call went out. Williams successfully auditioned for Gosden and Correll, and he was cast as Andrew H. Brown. Williams was joined in the cast by New York theater actor Alvin Childress
Alvin Childress
Alvin Childress was an African American actor who is best known for playing the cabdriver Amos Jones in the 1950s television comedy series Amos 'n Andy.-Biography:...
, who was cast as Amos, and vaudeville comedian Tim Moore
Tim Moore (comedian)
Tim Moore was a celebrated American vaudevillian and comic actor of the first half of the 20th century. He gained his greatest recognition in the starring role of George "Kingfish" Stevens in the CBS television series, Amos 'n' Andy...
, who was cast as their friend George "Kingfish" Stevens. When Williams accepted the role of Andy, he returned to a familiar location; the CBS studios were built on the former site of the Christie Studios. Until Amos 'n' Andy, Williams had never worked in television.
Amos 'n Andy was the first U.S. television program with an all-black cast, running for 78 episodes on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1951 to 1953. However, the program created considerable controversy, with the NAACP going to federal court to achieve an injunction to halt its premiere. In August 1953, after the program had recently left the air, there were plans to turn it into a vaudeville act with Williams, Moore and Childress reprising their television roles. It is not known if there were any performances. After the show completed its network run, CBS syndicated Amos 'n Andy to local U.S. television stations and sold the program to television networks in other countries. The program was eventually pulled from release in 1966, under pressure from civil rights groups that stated it offered a negatively distorted view of African American life. While the show was still in production, Williams and Freeman Gosden clashed over the portrayal of Andy, with Gosden telling Williams he knew how Amos 'n' Andy were meant to talk. Gosden never visited the set again.
Williams, along with television show cast members Tim Moore, Alvin Childress, and Lillian Randolph
Lillian Randolph
Lillian Randolph was an American actress and singer, a veteran of radio, film, and television. An African American, she worked in entertainment from the 1930s well into the 1970s, appearing in hundreds of radio shows, motion pictures, short subjects, and television shows.-Early years:Born...
and her choir, began a US tour as "The TV Stars of Amos 'n' Andy" in 1956. CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
considered this a violation of their exclusivity rights for the show and its characters; the tour came to a premature end. Williams, Moore, Childress and Lee, performed a one-night show in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
in 1957, apparently without any legal action being taken.
Williams returned to work in stage productions. In 1958, he had a role in the Los Angeles production of Simply Heavenly; the play had a successful New York run. His last credited role was as a hospital orderly in the 1962 Italian horror production L'Orribile Segreto del Dottor Hitchcock.
Death
Williams died of a kidney ailment on December 13, 1969, at the Sawtelle Veterans Administration Hospital in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. He was survived by his wife, Eula. At the time of his death, news coverage focused solely on his work as a television actor, since few white filmgoers knew of his race films. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
obituary for Williams cited Amos 'n Andy but made no mention of his work as a film director. A World War I veteran, he is buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery
Los Angeles National Cemetery
The Los Angeles National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in West Los Angeles, at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard. The cemetery was dedicated in 1889. Interred there are war veterans, from the Spanish-American war, World War I, World War II, Korean War,...
.
When friends and family from Vidalia, Louisiana were interviewed for a local newspaper article in 2001, he was remembered as a happy person, who was always singing or whistling and telling jokes. His younger cousins also recalled his generosity with them for "candy money"; just as he was seen on television as Andy, he always had his cigar. On March 31, 2010, the state of Louisiana voted to honor Williams and musician Will Haney, also from Vidalia, in a celebration on May 22 of that year.
Career re-evaluation
Recognition for Williams’ work as a film director came years after his death, when film historians began to rediscover the race films. Some of Williams’ films were considered lost until they were located in a Tyler, TexasTyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
, warehouse in 1983. One film directed by Williams, his 1942 feature Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus, is still considered lost. There were seven films in total; they were originally shown at small gatherings throughout the South.
Most film historians consider The Blood of Jesus to be Williams’ crowning achievement as a filmmaker. Dave Kehr of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the film "magnificent" and Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine counted it among its "25 Most Important Films on Race." In 1991, The Blood of Jesus became the first race film to be added to the U.S. National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
.
Film critic Armond White
Armond White
Armond White is a New York-based film and music critic known for his provocative and idiosyncratic film criticism, which some have characterized as contrarian. He is currently the editor of City Arts, for which he also writes articles and reviews...
named both The Blood of Jesus and Go Down Death as being "among the most spiritually adventurous movies ever made. They conveyed the moral crisis of the urban/country, blues/spiritual musical dichotomies through their documentary style and fable-like narratives."
However, Williams’ films have also been the subject of criticism. Richard Corliss, writing in Time magazine, stated: "Aesthetically, much of Williams' work vacillates between inert and abysmal. The rural comedy of Juke Joint is logy, as if the heat had gotten to the movie; even the musical scenes, featuring North Texas jazzman Red Calhoun, move at the turtle tempo of Hollywood's favorite black of the period, Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit was the stage name of American comedian and film actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry....
. And there were technical gaffes galore: in a late-night scene in Dirty Gertie, actress Francine Everett
Francine Everett
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.-Early life:Born as...
clicks on a bedside lamp and the screen actually darkens for a moment before full lights finally come up. Yet at least one Williams film, his debut Blood of Jesus (1941), has a naive grandeur to match its subject." It should also be realized that Williams often worked on a very meager budget. The Blood of Jesus was filmed for a cost of $5,000; most black films of that era had budgets of double and triple that amount.
To date, there has been no biography devoted solely to Williams’ life and career. Jacqueline Stewart, an associate professor in the Department of Radio, Television and Film at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, is researching and writing a new book on Williams. Williams began writing a book about his 55 years in show business in 1959; it is not known whether it was published.