Ben Carter (actor)

Ben Carter
Born February 10, 1910
Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.
Died December 12, 1946 (aged 36)
New York, New York, U.S.
Cause of death
 Heart attack
Occupation Actor, casting agent
Years active 1934-1946

Ben Carter (February 10, 1910[1]/1911[2]/1907[3] – December 12, 1946[4]) was an American actor and casting agent. He appeared in numerous Hollywood feature films including The Harvey Girls, Dixie Jamboree, and Born to Sing.

Early life

Carter was born in Fairfield, Iowa.[1][2] His father was a barber and his mother was a housemaid.[1] He graduated from high school in Aurora, Illinois.[1]

Career

Carter headed to Los Angeles to work in movies. As a booking agent he focused on African American performers in New York City and Los Angeles.[1] He was one of the first African American performers to land a seven-year contract at 20th Century-Fox.[3] He opened his agency office in 1935.[1]

Carter appeared in Gone With the Wind (1939) as well as casting all the other African American actors and actresses in it,[1] Maryland (1940) and Tin Pan Alley (1940).[3] Carter often performed in comic roles and in scenes which allowed him to display his singing ability such as in The Harvey Girls (1946) and A Day at the Races (1937). Among his most prominent roles were in the Charlie Chan movies The Scarlet Clue (1945) and Dark Alibi (1946).

Personal life

Carter was a member of the Hollywood Victory Committee[1] and was a civil rights activist.[3]

He resided at 2133 S. Harvard Blvd. in Sugar Hill (now "West Adams"), Los Angeles, California, in 1942.[1] He was homosexual.[1]

Carter suffered from diphtheria.[3] He died in December 12, 1946 in New York City.[4]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Bogle, Donald (2009). Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams. Random House.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ben Carter at the Internet Movie Database
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Carter, Ben (1907-1946)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Hundreds of Hollywood's Celebs Pay Final Tribute to Ben Carter". The Afro American (Hollywood). PPS. 28 December 1946.

External links