J. Augustus Smith

J. Augustus Smith, also known as Gus Smith (born January 14, 1891),[1] was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter.

Biography

Smith was born in Gainesville, Florida, in 1891.[1] He made his stage debut during childhood, playing in minstrel shows.[1]

In 1911, Smith formed his own minstrel company, with which he toured the United States. He went on to have a career in acting and writing for theatre and film.[1]

Smith wrote and appeared in Drums O' Voodoo (1934).[2] Drums O' Voodoo was based on his play Louisiana,[3][4] which premiered in 1933 on Broadway, starring Smith.[5][6] The stage production featured an all-Black cast, members of the New Negro Repertory Theater Group, founded by Smith. The cast members reprised their roles for the film.[7]

Smith co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in Turpentine, a play about conditions in turpentine camps in the American South.[8] He also wrote Just Ten Days, a folk-comedy that played at parks in the Bronx.[9]

Smith and Oliver Foster had the lead roles in the theatrical production Walk Together Chillun.[10]

Filmography

Actor

Writer
  • Drums O' Voodoo (1934)

References
  1. "WPA Lafayette All-Negro Staff". The New York Age. 1936-08-22. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  2. "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com.
  3. Staff, America Film Institute; Gevinson, Alan; Institute, American Film; Afi, American Film (May 25, 1997). Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520209640 – via Google Books.
  4. Johns, Vere E. (1934-05-19). "In the name of art". The New York Age. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  5. "At the Majestic". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1933-02-19. p. 53. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  6. ""Louisiana," a play of the South, at Majestic Theatre". Times Union. 1933-02-21. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  7. "Broadway stars prominent in voodoo talkie". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1934-04-28. p. 18. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  8. "Actor-author will appear at Gibbs High". Tampa Bay Times. 1942-10-11. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  9. "15,000 see Negro folk play on caravan". The New York Age. 1937-08-21. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  10. Peterson, Bernard L. (May 25, 1990). Early Black American Playwrights and Dramatic Writers: A Biographical Directory and Catalog of Plays, Films, and Broadcasting Scripts. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313266218 – via Google Books.
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