Canada Lee recites "The Lord's Prayer" in the 1944 movie "Lifeboat"
Former jockey and boxer Canada Lee was one of the most talented actors of his generation, but he appeared in only five films before his death at the age of 45. He was also a musician and stage actor. You can read more about his fascinating life here: Canada Lee (1907-1952) | BlackPast.org
I have always been moved by this segment of the classic Hitchcock movie "Lifeboat." Something about the feeling he put into the recital of "The Lord's Prayer" made it feel as if he were praying for more than just rescue from the unforgiving sea. His character, nicknamed "charcoal" by another character, was the only person of color on the lifeboat. And although there were obviously some racist undertones directed toward him, "he maintained a dignity and rational presence throughout the film."
Years ago, I read a very interesting book about him titled "Becoming Something: The Story of Canada Lee." The book was a very enlightening read with lots of American history from the era written into the story. I came away from the book with the impression Canada Lee would have been successful at whatever career chosen in life. But for the era of segregation and stereotype casting racial roles in movies, the name Canada Lee would likely be remembered as an iconic leading man from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Unfortunately, it was McCarthyism/The "Red Scare against communism which led to his blacklisting and acting demise.
McCarthyism, named after Senator Joseph McCarthy, refers to the period of intense anti-communist suspicion and accusations in the United States during the Cold War era. It was characterized by accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason, often without sufficient evidence, and the persecution of individuals and groups suspected of communist sympathies. This period, also known as the Red Scare, involved public figures like McCarthy using unsubstantiated claims and intimidation tactics to target perceived enemies, particularly within the government and entertainment industry.
"inside dust jacket flap"
Imagine an actor as familiar to audiences as Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and Morgan Freeman are today - who is then virtually deleted from cultural history. Such is the story of Canada Lee. Among the most respected black actors of the 1940's and a passionate civil rights activist, Lee was reduced to a footnote in the history of the McCarthy era, and his death was one of a handful directly attributed to the blacklist.
Born in Harlem in 1907, Lee was a Depression-era Renaissance man, reinventing himself numerous times during one of our country's darkest periods: a musical prodigy on violin and piano, he made his concert debut at New York's prestigious Aeolian Hall at eleven; by thirteen he had become a successful jockey; in his teens, a pro boxer; and in his twenties, a leading contender for the national welterweight title, until an unlucky blow to the head cost him the sight in one eye and his fighting career. After wandering into auditions for the Federal Theatre Project's Negro Unit, Lee took up acting and shot to stardom in Orson Welle's Broadway production of Native Son. He later appeared in such films as Alfred Hitchcock's classic Lifeboat and the original Cry, the Beloved Country with a young Sidney Poitier.
But Lee's meteoric rise to fame was followed by a devastating fall from grace. Labeled a Communist by the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Committee as early as 1943, Lee was pilloried during the notorious spy trial of Judith Coplon in 1949, and his career was ultimately destroyed when his longtime friend Ed Sullivan denounced him in his nationally syndicated column. Lee died in 1952, forty-five and penniless, a heartbroken victim of a dangerous and conflicted time. Now, after nearly a decade of research, Mona Z. Smith revives the legacy of a man who was perhaps the blacklist's most tragic victim.
