Willa Pearl Curtis

Willa Pearl Curtis (March 21, 1896 – December 19, 1970) was an American actress in film and television. She was active in the Negro Motion Picture Players Association in Los Angeles.

Willa Pearl Curtis
Willa Pearl Curtis in Unexpected Riches (1942)
BornMarch 21, 1896
Texas
DiedDecember 19, 1970
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Other namesWilla Curtis, Willie Pearl Curtis
OccupationActress, singer

Curtis started as a performer in theater and music in Texas.[1] When Curtis first arrived in Los Angeles, she worked as a maid to a stage actress.[1] Like many black actresses of her generation, Curtis was often cast as a maid or cook, often uncredited bit parts,[2] in films during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.[3] Her credited appearances included roles in The Wages of Sin (1938), Second Chorus (1940), Unexpected Riches (1942), Mom and Dad (1945),[4] The Lawton Story (1949),[5] Native Son (1951),[6] Oiltown USA (1953), and Queen Bee (1955).[7] Among her many uncredited roles, she played the mother of Buckwheat in an Our Gang short, Tale of a Dog, and clowned with Shemp Howard in "Pick a Peck of Plumbers" (1944).[8]

On television, Curtis appeared in episodes of Death Valley Days (1953),[9] The Life of Riley (1953), The Amos 'n Andy Show (1951, 1953, 1955), Four Star Playhouse (1955), Stories of the Century (1955), Cavalcade of America (1955), The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1957), Wide Country (1963), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963),[10] and Ben Casey (1964).

Curtis was active in the Negro Motion Picture Players Association in Los Angeles.[11] She also worked as a singer with fellow Amos 'n Andy performer Jester Hairston,[12] and headed the concert committee of the historic First A. M. E. Church in Los Angeles.[13]

Curtis died in Los Angeles in 1970, aged 74 years. Her gravesite is in Lincoln Memorial Park in Carson, California.[14]

References
  1. "Pastor's Housekeeper is Mainstay of Rectory" Wilmington News-Journal (April 5, 1949): 17. via Newspapers.com
  2. Herman Hill, "Willa Curtis to Do Movie in Argentine" The Pittburgh Courier (January 21, 1950): 19. via Newspapers.com
  3. "Pearl in 'Bee'" Argus-Leader (May 8, 1955): 19. via Newspapers.com
  4. "All Star Cast in 'Mom and Dad'" The Nashville Graphic (March 4, 1948): 2. via Newspapers.com
  5. "'Prince of Peace', Oklahoma's Passion Play, Opens at Astor" The Post Standard (May 18, 1951): 27. via Newspapers.com
  6. Helen Bower, "Star Gazing: Double Bill Deals with Race Problems" Detroit Free Press (January 3, 1952): 18. via Newspapers.com
  7. "Queen Bee" Variety (October 19, 1955): 6. via Internet Archive
  8. Greg Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Norman Maurer, The Three Stooges Scrapbook (Citadel Press 2000): 281. ISBN 9780806509464
  9. "Willie Pearl Curtis Stars on TV Film" The New York Age (May 30, 1953): 6. via Newspapers.com
  10. "Nancy Kelly Stars in 'Lonely Hours'" The South Bend Tribune (July 13, 1963): 21. via Newspapers.com
  11. "Motion Picture Players Ass'n" California Eagle (February 17, 1943): 4A. via Internet Archive
  12. "Acting, Singing Share Willa Curtis' Time" The Los Angeles Times (December 12, 1954): 128. via Newspapers.com
  13. "Hairston Chorus in Concert Sept. 25" California Eagle (September 15, 1955): 5. via Internet Archive
  14. Garrett Therolf, "Finally, a gravestone for little Viola Vanclief" The Los Angeles Times (October 13, 2014).
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