Earl Cameron facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Earl Cameron
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Cameron in 2017, aged 100
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| Born |
Earlston Jewitt Cameron
8 August 1917 |
| Died | 3 July 2020 (aged 102) Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active |
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| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 6 |
Earl Cameron (born Earlston Jewitt Cameron, August 8, 1917 – July 3, 2020) was a famous actor from Bermuda. He spent most of his life acting in the United Kingdom. He became one of the first black actors to become a star in British movies.
Earl Cameron was known for bringing new ideas about race to British films. He often played characters who were sensitive and stood up for what was right. People said his acting gave his characters a special grace and strong moral values.
He acted with Sean Connery in the James Bond movie Thunderball (1965). He also appeared in many British science fiction TV shows in the 1960s. This included Doctor Who, where he was one of the first black actors to play an astronaut on TV. He continued acting in films until 2013, when he was 96 years old.
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Becoming an Actor: Earl Cameron's Early Life
Earl Cameron was born in Pembroke, Bermuda. He grew up in Hamilton. His father was a stonemason who passed away in 1922. After that, his mother worked many jobs to support their family.
As a young man, Cameron joined the British Merchant Navy. He said he always wanted to travel. He arrived in London in 1939, just as World War II was starting. He decided to stay in London when his ship left without him.
It was hard for Cameron to find work because he was black. He took small jobs, like washing dishes in a hotel. In 1941, a friend gave him a ticket to a play called Chu Chin Chow. His friend and other black actors had small roles in the show. Cameron was tired of his low-paying jobs. He asked his friend if he could join the play. A few weeks later, one actor didn't show up. Cameron met the director and got a part right away.
Cameron felt he had an easier time than some other black actors. This was because his Bermudian accent sounded American to British people. The next year, he got a speaking role in a play called The Petrified Forest.
In 1945 and 1946, Cameron toured with a singing group called the Duchess and Two Dukes. They performed for British soldiers in India and the Netherlands. In 1946, he went back to Bermuda for a short time. Then he returned to the UK to act. He got a job as an understudy in a play called Deep Are the Roots. This play was important to him. It gave him his first big chance in London's West End. He also met his first wife while touring with this play.
Earl Cameron's Film Career Highlights
Earl Cameron's big break in movies came with Pool of London in 1951. This film was set in London after the war. It dealt with issues like racial prejudice and romance. Cameron's character was a sailor who fell in love with a white woman. He received great praise for his role. This movie is seen as the first major role for a black actor in a mainstream British film.
His next important film was Simba in 1955. In this movie about the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, Cameron played a doctor. The doctor tried to balance his love for Western ways with his Kikuyu heritage. In the same year, Cameron played a Mau Mau general in Safari.
Cameron later said he didn't see himself as a pioneer at the time. He only realized it later. He also found it hard to get good roles. He explained that unless a part was specifically for a black actor, they wouldn't consider him. They also wouldn't change a white part to a black part. This was very frustrating for him and other black actors.
Despite this, Cameron got major roles in many films from the 1950s onwards. These included The Heart Within (1957) and Sapphire (1959). He also played the King of Abyssinia in The Message (1976), a film about the Prophet Muhammad.
Other films he appeared in include Tarzan the Magnificent (1960), Flame in the Streets (1961), and A Warm December (1973). In A Warm December, he worked with famous actor Sidney Poitier.
Cameron was considered for a role in the James Bond film Dr. No (1962). However, he was later cast as Pinder, Bond's assistant, in Thunderball (1965). He also acted with Sean Connery again in the film Cuba (1979).
In his later career, Cameron had a big role in The Interpreter (2005). He played a dictator named Edmond Zuwanie. Critics praised his performance, calling it "magnificent" and "subtle and menacing." He also had a small role as a portrait artist in The Queen (2006), starring Helen Mirren. In 2010, he appeared in the film Inception. His last film role was in the short film Up on the Roof in 2013.
Earl Cameron's Television Appearances
Cameron had roles in many TV shows. One of his first big TV roles was in the 1960 BBC drama The Dark Man. He played a West Indian taxi driver in the UK. The show explored the challenges and prejudices he faced. In 1956, he had a smaller role in another BBC drama about racism at work, called A Man From The Sun.
Cameron appeared in popular TV shows like Danger Man and The Prisoner. He worked with Patrick McGoohan in both series.
His other TV work included Emergency – Ward 10, The Zoo Gang, and Crown Court. He also read five Br'er Rabbit stories on the BBC children's series Jackanory in 1971. He was in Doctor Who in the episode The Tenth Planet. He was reportedly the first black actor to play an astronaut on television. He also became one of the few actors from Doctor Who to live to be 100 years old.
He appeared in many single TV dramas too. These included Television Playhouse (1957) and A World Inside (1962). In 1996, he played The Abbot in the urban fantasy TV series Neverwhere on BBC2.
Radio Work
In 2017, shortly after his 100th birthday, Cameron was part of a BBC Radio 4 show. It was an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel Anansi Boys.
Personal Life and Beliefs
From 1963, Earl Cameron was a follower of the Baháʼí Faith. He joined the religion during the first Baháʼí World Congress in London.
In 2007, the Baháʼí community in London held a party to celebrate his 90th birthday. He lived in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. He had six children. He was survived by his second wife, Barbara Bower. His first wife, Audrey Godowski, passed away in 1994.
Awards and Recognition
Earl Cameron received several honors for his work.
- In 2009, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This is a high honor in the UK.
- In December 2012, a theater in Hamilton, Bermuda, was named the Earl Cameron Theatre in his honor. He attended the ceremony.
- The University of Warwick gave Cameron an honorary doctorate degree in January 2013.
- In 2015, the British Film Institute (BFI) held a special event to celebrate his career.
- In 2016, he was the first person added to the Screen Nation "Hall of Frame" at the BFI Southbank.
- In 2019, the Earl Cameron Award was created. It honors Bermudian professionals in theater and film.
Death and Legacy
Earl Cameron passed away at his home in Kenilworth, England, on July 3, 2020. He was 102 years old. His family was with him.
His children said that he refused to take roles that made people of color look bad. They said he was a man who truly stood by his moral principles.
Bermudian Premier Edward David Burt called Cameron an "iconic actor." He said Cameron was a "proud son of Bermuda" who brought dignity to stage and screen for decades. Cameron's films were shown on Bermudian TV after his death.
Many actors and historians in the UK also paid tribute to him. They called him a "total legend" and a "remarkable and wonderful man." In 2021, a series of films and talks were held at the BFI to remember Earl Cameron's life and career.
Images for kids
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Cameron in 2017, aged 100
See also
In Spanish: Earl Cameron para niños
