Noble Johnson

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[edit] Biography

African-American movie actor and producer Noble Johnson was born on April 18, 1881, in Marshall, Missouri. Johnson, as an adult, was built like a bull. Standing 6'2" at 215 pounds, his impressive physique and handsome features made him in demand as a character actor and bit player. In the silent era he assayed a wide variety of characters of different races in a plethora of films, primarily serials, westerns and adventure movies. While Johnson was cast as blacks in many films, he also played Native American and Latino parts and "exotic" characters such as Arabians or even a devil in hell in Dante's Inferno (1924) (the old black and white orthochromatic film stock of the early days was less discriminating about a person's color, as were B+W stocks in general, permitting some African-American actors a break, as their "color" was washed out or less obvious when photographed in B+W. As late as the early 1960s, there were very few African-American members of the Screen Actors Guild, since there was a lack of opportunity for them as black performers were confined mostly to race films until the 1960s). In all his roles, Johnson lived up to his Christian name: his was a noble and dignified presence that exhibited great power and substance.

Johnson also was an entrepreneur. In 1916 he founded his own studio to produce what would be called "race films", movies made for the African-American audience, which was ignored by the "mainstream" film industry. The Lincoln Motion Picture Co., which was in existence until 1921, was an all-black company, the first to produce movies portraying African-Americans as real people instead of as racist caricatures (Johnson was followed into the race film business by Oscar Micheaux and others). Johnson, who served as president of the company and was its primary asset as a star actor, helped support the studio by acting in other companies' productions such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916), and using the money he made in those films to invest in Lincoln.

Lincoln's first picture was The Realization of a Negro's Ambition (1916). For four years Johnson managed to keep Lincoln a going concern, primarily die to his extraordinary commitment to African-American filmmaking. However, he reluctantly resigned as president in 1920, as he no longer could continue his double business life, maintaining a demanding career in Hollywood films while trying to run a studio.

In the 1920s Johnson was a very busy character actor, appearing in such top-notch films as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) with Rudolph Valentino, Cecil B. DeMille's original The Ten Commandments (1923) and The Thief of Bagdad (1924). He made the transition to sound, appearing in the 1930 version of Moby Dick (1930) as Qeequoq to John Barrymore's Captain Ahab. He was also the tribal leader on Skull Island in the classic King Kong (1933) (and its sequel, The Son of Kong (1933)) and appeared in Frank Capra's classic Lost Horizon (1937) as one of the porters. One of his last films was John Ford's classic She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), in which he played Native American Chief Red Shirt. He retired from the movie industry in 1950.

Johnson died on January 9, 1978, in Yucaipa (San Bernardino), California, at age 96. He is buried in the Garden of Peaceat Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, California. He was one of the oldest African-American Actors ever to live.

[edit] Filmography

Actor - filmography (1950s) (1940s) (1930s) (1920s) (1910s)

North of the Great Divide (1950) .... Nagura, Oseka Chief Rock Island Trail (1950) (uncredited) .... Bent Creek ... aka Transcontinent Express (UK)

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) .... Chief Red Shirt Dream Girl (1948) (uncredited) .... Bartender The Gallant Legion (1948) (uncredited) .... Chief Black Eagle Unconquered (1947) (uncredited) .... Big Ottawa Native American Along the Oregon Trail (1947) (uncredited) .... Native American nation leader Slave Girl (1947) (uncredited) .... Native Guard Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947) .... Hasson Plainsman and the Lady (1946) .... Wassao, Shoshone Chief ... aka Drumbeats Over Wyoming (USA: reissue title) Angel on My Shoulder (1946) (uncredited) .... Trustee (in Hell) A Game of Death (1945) .... Carib The Desert Song (1943) (uncredited) .... Abdel Rahmen Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) (uncredited) .... Charlie the Native American Night in New Orleans (1942) .... Carney Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942) .... Tecumseh Jungle Book (1942) .... Sikh ... aka Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book The Mad Doctor of Market Street (1942) .... Native Chief Elan Shut My Big Mouth (1942) .... Chief Standing Bull Aloma of the South Seas (1941) .... Moukali Hurry, Charlie, Hurry (1941) .... Chief Poison Arrow Road to Zanzibar (1941) .... Chief Seven Sinners (1940) (uncredited) .... Irate Russian ... aka Cafe of the Seven Sinners North West Mounted Police (1940) (uncredited) .... Native American ... aka Northwest Mounted Police ... aka The Scarlet Riders The Ranger and the Lady (1940) .... Henchman El Lobo The Ghost Breakers (1940) .... The Zombie Green Hell (1940) (uncredited) .... Native American nation leader

Allegheny Uprising (1939) (uncredited) .... Captured Delaware Native American ... aka The First Rebel (UK) Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) (uncredited) .... Native American Tropic Fury (1939) .... Hannibal, slave-driver ... aka Fury of the Tropics (USA) Union Pacific (1939) (uncredited) .... Native American shooting piano Juarez (1939) (uncredited) .... Gen. Regules Frontier Pony Express (1939) .... Luke Johnson Hawk of the Wilderness (1938) .... Mokuyi Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938) (uncredited) .... Native sergeant Four Men and a Prayer (1938) (uncredited) .... Native Conquest (1937) (uncredited) .... Roustan ... aka Marie Walewska (UK) Wee Willie Winkie (1937) (uncredited) .... Sikh policeman Lost Horizon (1937) (uncredited) .... Leader of Porters (Return Journey) ... aka Lost Horizon of Shangri-La (USA: TV title) The Plainsman (1936) (uncredited) .... Native American #1 with Painted Horse Mummy's Boys (1936) (uncredited) .... Tattoo Artist My American Wife (1936) (uncredited) .... Native American nation leader Escape from Devil's Island (1935) .... Bisco ... aka Song of the Damned (USA) Dante's Inferno (1935) (uncredited) .... Devil She (1935) (uncredited) .... Amahaggar Chief The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) .... Ram Singh Kid Millions (1934) (uncredited) .... Attendant Murder in Trinidad (1934) .... Queechie Massacre (1934) (uncredited) Roman Scandals (1933) (uncredited) .... Torturer The Son of Kong (1933) (uncredited) .... Native King White Woman (1933) (uncredited) .... Local resident nation leader King Kong (1933) .... Skull Island nation leader ... aka The Eighth Wonder ... aka The Eighth Wonder of the World Nagana (1933) .... Head Boatman The Mummy (1932) .... The Nubian ... aka Cagliostro ... aka Im-Ho-Tep ... aka King of the Dead The Most Dangerous Game (1932) .... Ivan ... aka The Hounds of Zaroff (UK) Mystery Ranch (1932) .... Mudo Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) .... Janos The Black One Safe in Hell (1931) .... Bobo, a Caribbean Policeman ... aka The Lost Lady (USA) East of Borneo (1931) .... Osman Son of India (1931) (uncredited) .... Guard Kismet (1930/I) (uncredited) Moby Dick (1930) .... Queequeg Mamba (1930) .... Hassim

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) .... Li Po The Four Feathers (1929) .... Ahmed Black Waters (1929) .... Jeelo Redskin (1929) .... Pueblo Jim Sal of Singapore (1928) .... Erickson's 1st Mate Noah's Ark (1928) .... Broker Yellow Contraband (1928) .... Li Wong Foo The Black Ace (1928) Manhattan Knights (1928) .... Doc Mellis The Yellow Cameo (1928) Why Sailors Go Wrong (1928) .... Native Something Always Happens (1928) .... The Thing The Gateway of the Moon (1928) .... Soriano Soft Cushions (1927) .... The Captain of the Guard Topsy and Eva (1927/I) .... Uncle Tom Vanity (1927) .... Ship's Cook The King of Kings (1927) .... Charioteer Red Clay (1927) .... Chief Bear Paw When a Man Loves (1927) .... An Apache ... aka His Lady (UK) The Lady of the Harem (1926) .... Tax Collector The Little Warrior (1926) ... aka Miss Robin Hood (USA) The Flaming Frontier (1926) .... Sitting Bull The Law of the Snow Country (1926) .... Martell Hands Up! (1926) .... Sitting Bull The Gold Hunters (1925) .... Wabigoon Adventure (1925) .... Googomy The Dancers (1925) .... Ponfilo The Navigator (1924) (uncredited) .... Cannibal chief Dante's Inferno (1924) (uncredited) .... Devil with lash whipping woman Little Robinson Crusoe (1924) .... Marimba (cannibal chief) ... aka Robinson Crusoe Jr. The Midnight Express (1924) .... Deputy Sheriff The Thief of Bagdad (1924) .... The Indian Prince A Man's Mate (1924) .... Lion The Ten Commandments (1923) .... The Bronze Man (prologue) Burning Words (1923) .... Bad Pierre The Haunted Valley (1923) Drums of Fate (1923) .... Native King The Loaded Door (1922) .... Blackie Lopez Tracks (1922) .... Leon Serrano The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1922) .... Friday Serenade (1921) .... Capt. Ramirez The Bronze Bell (1921) .... Chatterji The Wallop (1921) .... Espinol The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) .... Conquest The Leopard Woman (1920) .... Chaké, Madame's Slave Sunset Sprague (1920) .... The Crow The Adorable Savage (1920) .... Ratu Madri Under Crimson Skies (1920) .... Baltimore Bucko

Lightning Bryce (1919) (uncredited) .... The Butler (Episodes 12 & 13) The Midnight Man (1919) .... Spike Lure of the Circus (1918) .... Silent Andy The Human Tiger (1918) The Branded Man (1918) Play Straight or Fight (1918) Bull's Eye (1917) .... Sweeney Bodin The Red Ace (1917) .... Little Bear The Last of the Night Riders (1917) A Soldier of the Legion (1917) The Hero of the Hour (1917) .... Native American Mr. Dolan of New York (1917) .... Thomas Jefferson Jones The Indian's Lament (1917) .... Sleepy Horse The Terror (1917) .... Mike Tregurtha Love Aflame (1917) .... Cannibal King ... aka Hearts Aflame (USA: review title) Fighting for Love (1917) .... Johnny Little Bear A Trooper of Troop K (1917) (as Noble M. Johnson) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) Kinkaid, Gambler (1916) .... Romero Valdez The Lady from the Sea (1916) The Realization of a Negro's Ambition (1916) A Western Governor's Humanity (1915) A Species of Mexican Man (1915) From Champion to Tramp (1915) Mr. Jarr's Magnetic Friend (1915) Mr. Carlson of Arizona (1915) Mr. Jarr Takes a Night Off (1915) Mr. Jarr and the Lady Reformer (1915)

Filmography as: Actor, Writer, Producer, Archive Footage

Writer - filmography (1920s) (1910s)

Tracks (1922) (as Mark Noble) (story)

The Indian's Lament (1917) (story)

Filmography as: Actor, Writer, Producer, Archive Footage

Producer - filmography

The Realization of a Negro's Ambition (1916) (producer)

Filmography as: Actor, Writer, Producer, Archive Footage

Archive Footage

Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed (1999) (V) .... The Nubian Lost Island of Kioga (1966) (TV) .... Mokuyi Rose Hobart (1936) (uncredited) .... Man (from East of Borneo (1931)