Frederick O’Neal

In 1940, Frederick O’Neal co-founded the Harlem-based American Negro Theatre (ANT) alongside playwright Abram Hill. The theater company provided classical training for emerging Black actors and an opportunity to develop material that followed W.E.B. Du Bois’ principle of Black drama being “by, about, for, and near” African Americans. The American Negro Theatre produced twelve original plays and seven adaptations between 1940 and 1951, including an international tour of Anna Lucasta.

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Photograph of Frederick O-Neal

Frederick O’Neal

In 1940, Frederick O’Neal co-founded the Harlem-based American Negro Theatre (ANT) alongside playwright Abram Hill. The theater company provided classical training for emerging Black actors and an opportunity to develop material that followed W.E.B. Du Bois’ principle of Black drama being “by, about, for, and near” African Americans. The American Negro Theatre produced twelve original plays and seven adaptations between 1940 and 1951, including an international tour of Anna Lucasta.

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Harry Belafonte

1927-2023Actor

The legendary actor, singer, and activist was an ANT graduate and performed in plays like ANT’s 1946 production of On Strivers Row.

Ossie Davis

1917-2005Actor

Davis got his start on the New York stage, performing in productions of Jeb (1946), where he would meet his future wife Ruby Dee, The Green Pastures (1951), and A Raisin in the Sun (1959).

Ruby Dee

1922-2014Actor

The legendary ANT graduate performed in many of the group’s productions, including On Strivers Row (1940), Natural Man (1941), Starlight (1942), Three’s a Family (1943), and The Washington Years (1948).

Canada Lee

1907-1952Actor

Before starting his acting career, the multi-talented Canada Lee was a trained concert violinist, nightclub owner, horse racing jockey, and national amateur boxing champion. He worked with many ANT graduates, including Sidney Poitier.

Sidney Poitier

1927-2022Actor

A 1959 New York Times article recounts Poitier’s rocky first audition with ANT: “He struggled to read the script, and his West Indian accent made him difficult to understand. So he bought a radio and spent hours at a time listening to the voices and training himself to enunciate words clearly. He also studied newspapers and magazines and taught himself to read. Ultimately, he was hired by the theater.”

Hilda Simms

1918-1994Actor

A theatrically trained actress, Hilda Simms joined the American Negro Theater in the 1940s, starring as the lead character in Anna Lucasta and continuing in the role as it moved onto Broadway and toured Europe. When she eventually left the part, it was taken over by Ruby Dee.