Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Allen C. Browne
Taken: July 22, 2017
Caption: Paul Robeson
Additional Description: This 1944 portrait of Paul Robeson playing Othello by Betsy Graves Reyneau hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

“Paul Robeson's appearance in the title role in The Emperor Jones catapulted him to stardom in 1925, and his popularity soared with a 1930 Othello that ran for nearly three hundred performances. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Joe in both the stage and movie versions of Show Boat, singing ‘Ol' Man River.’ He stopped making films in 1942, explaining, ‘The industry is not prepared to permit me to portray the life or express the living interests, hopes, and aspirations of the struggling people from whom I come.’ Robeson's left-wing sentiments became a focal point of anti-Communism in the postwar era, and his passport was revoked in 1950. His American career largely came to an end. With the return of his passport in 1958 after a court battle, he attempted to revitalize his career, but illness and exhaustion led to a life of seclusion during his latter years.” -- National Portrait Gallery
Submitted: October 10, 2017, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Database Locator Identification Number: p400429
File Size: 1.610 Megabytes

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