That's OLD News! (#15) - Theresa Harris & Co-Stars

This month's installment of "That's OLD News!" contains historic news articles on our Star of the Month, Theresa Harris and fellow performers of color who appeared in some of the same films as she.

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"81 Year-Old Gets Film Role"
St. Petersburg Times - Jul 7, 1954

That 81-year old was Nellie Conley, aka Madame Sul-Te-Wan--and the film the short article speaks of may have been Carmen Jones (1954). Madame Sul-Te-Wan made her screen debut in 1915 (at the age of 42). Over the span of about four decades, she appeared in over fifty movies--including the pre-code crime drama, Thunderbolt (1929) with Theresa Harris. This article above provides some additional must-read trivia about Madame Sul-Te-Wan!

*I believe that Madame Sul-Te-Wan might be the bellhop (or hat check girl?) in the beginning of the clip above.

"Blue Blowers on the Air"

The Afro American - April 9, 1927

Curtis Mosby and his popular jazz and blues band, the Blue Blowers accompanied singer/actors in numerous films through the late 1920s and early 1930s. They accompanied Theresa Harris as she sang "Daddy, Won't You Please Come Home" in Thunderbolt. As indicated in the article above, Curtis Mosby and his Blue Blowers "went on the air" in 1927--when the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) began broadcasting in new cities on the West Coast, the band was selected as their musical headliner.

"Flying - Rochester Learns to Pilot Plane"

The Afro American - Jul 6, 1940

In July of 1940, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson flew into New York from Detroit for an opening at a Paramount Theater. He also performed "My, My" at the opening, the song he sang with Theresa Harris in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940). 

*GIF set from Buck Benny Rides Again*

"New Million Dollar Film to Premiere"

The Afro American - Oct 29, 1938

Gang Smashers (starring Nina Mae McKinney) was written and produced by the legendary Ralph Cooper, and also distributed by the film company he'd co-founded, Million Dollar Productions. The year before, Ralph Cooper appeared in Gangsters on the Loose with Theresa Harris. He also wrote and produced the film.

"Universal Signs Carolyn Snowden"

The Afro American - Aug 14, 1926

Carolynne Snowden (posted by The Loudest Voice - Tumblr)

Unsung stage and screen performer, Carolynne Snowden (sometimes referred to as Carolyn or Caroline) signed a contract with Universal Pictures in 1926 (for The Marriage Clause). She appeared in movies for many of the other Hollywood studios, including The Green Pastures (1936), a film that, like Snowden, Theresa Harris played an Angel in.