Canada Lee

• Born: May 3, 1907
• Birthplace: New York, New York
• Died: May 9, 1952
• Place of death: New York, New York

Actor

An acclaimed actor on stage and film, Lee worked with legendary directors such as Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock. He also was an activist who spoke out against racial discrimination in the U.S. armed forces during World War II. Despite frequent controversies surrounding his views and his roles, Lee worked extensively during his brief career.

Early Life

Canada Lee was born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata in New York City to James Cornelius and Lydia Whaley Canegata. The family was poor, but Lee was ambitious. He worked briefly as a stable boy and jockey before physically outgrowing the latter profession. He became an amateur boxer in 1925 and went on to box professionally for seven years. Before one fight, an announcer incorrectly introduced him as Canada Lee, a name the fighter liked and used the rest of his life. During his boxing career, he suffered some damage to one eye and his nose, which added to his appeal and mystique when he became an actor.

In 1934, Lee went to a local Young Men’s Christian Association to apply for a labor position. Auditions for a play were being held there, and he was persuaded to read for a part. He was cast in the play, a Frank Wilson production of Brother Moses, and received good reviews.

Life’s Work

When Lee decided to make acting his career, he was determined not to perpetuate racial stereotypes. He brought unique interpretations to his roles and, despite the limited opportunities for African American actors, he worked steadily for the next ten years. He found work with the Federal Theatre Project and acted in its presentation of Stevedore in 1934. His performance led to a role in legendary director and actor Orson Welles’s all-African American stage production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Welles set the play on a Caribbean island, complete with incessant drumming and many references to voodoo. Lee’s performance was again praised, though some critics found fault with his diction and pronunciation. Welles’s interpretation of the play was controversial, and on more than one occasion, Lee had to physically protect the director from outraged mobs.

Lee’s next major stage role was that of Bigger Thomas in Richard Wright’s Native Son (1941). Wright, a highly regarded African American writer, was impressed that Lee, a naturally friendly man, could bring such menacing intensity to the role of Thomas.

During World War II, Lee vigorously supported the American war effort, taking part in organizations to support servicemen and earning official recognition for his efforts in recruitment and bond sales. However, he often spoke out against the military’s racial segregation. In 1945, he appeared in another Shakespeare play, portraying Caliban in The Tempest. The following year, he played Bosola in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. In this role, Lee appeared in whiteface, his facial features distorted with putty, a decision that was widely criticized. Also in 1946, Lee drew praise from former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for his performance in On Whitman Avenue, a play about housing discrimination.

Lee also was active in motion pictures. Perhaps his most famous role was in Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat (1944). His character was originally written to be little more than comic relief, but Lee refused to utter dialogue that he found degrading, so the part was rewritten. Lee went on to appear in the boxing film Body and Soul (1947) and Lost Boundaries (1949), about African Americans trying to disguise their racial identity. His last motion picture was Cry, the Beloved Country (1951), filmed in South Africa. Lee and cast mate Sidney Poitier had to sneak into the country as indentured servants because of apartheid policies.

While in Africa, Lee’s health began to fail. He returned to the United States and received a diagnosis of chronic hypertension and uremia, which led to his death in 1952.

Significance

Lee was a controversial figure for many years. He angered government leaders by denouncing racial discrimination, he angered the political right by having progressive associations, and he angered some liberals because of unproven claims that he had denounced Paul Robeson to the government at the height of the anticommunist campaign. Despite being blacklisted by conservative groups, which cost him several acting roles, Lee managed to keep working and became the first African American to direct a Broadway play and to host a radio program.

Bibliography

Gill, Glenda E. “Swifter than a Weaver’s Shuttle: The Days of Canada Lee.” In No Surrender! No Retreat! African American Performers of Twentieth Century American Theatre. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000. Detailed account of Lee’s theater career, critical and audience reaction, and the context of his work.

Hill, Errol. Shakespeare in Sable: A History of Black Shakespearean Actors. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1984. A fine summary of the African American experience in classical theater, this source contains a brief account of Lee’s acting career.

Smith, Mona Z. Becoming Something: The Story of Canada Lee. New York: Faber & Faber, 2004. The definitive biography of Lee, covering every aspect of his full life.