Robert Adams (actor) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Robert Adams
Born	1902 Georgetown, British Guiana
Died	1965 (aged 58–59) Georgetown, British Guiana
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1935–60

Robert Adams (1902 – 1965) was a talented actor from British Guiana. He performed on both stage and in movies. Robert Adams made history in Britain. He started one of the first professional theatre groups for Black actors. He also became Britain's first Black actor on television in 1937. Later, in 1947, he was the first Black actor to perform a Shakespeare play on TV.

Early Life and Education

Robert Adams was born in Georgetown, British Guiana. His father was a boat builder. In 1920, Robert won a special scholarship. This allowed him to study at Jamaica's Mico Teachers' College. He graduated with high honors.

After college, he worked as a teacher in British Guiana. He also enjoyed acting in plays as a hobby. In the 1920s, he moved to England. He wanted to study law and music there. He also hoped to become a professional actor. To pay for his studies, he worked hard. He was a laborer and even a wrestler! He was known as "The Black Eagle." He became the heavyweight champion of the British Empire. In 1931, he helped start the League of Coloured Peoples. This group worked for equal rights.

Robert Adams: A Pioneer in Acting

Robert Adams began his film career in 1934. He started as an extra, meaning he was in the background. Soon, he got bigger roles in movies. These included Midshipman Easy (1935) and Song of Freedom (1936). In Song of Freedom, he acted alongside the famous Paul Robeson. He also appeared in King Solomon's Mines (1937).

Other films he was in were Old Bones of the River (1938). He even worked as a stunt double for Paul Robeson. This was for the 1940 movie The Proud Valley. He played a Nubian slave in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). In 1946, he starred in Men of Two Worlds. Critics praised this film as "ground-breaking."

Stage Performances

Robert Adams' first big stage role was in 1935. He acted in a play called Stevedore. This play was at the Embassy Theatre. Paul Robeson was also in this play. A writer named Nancy Cunard praised Robert Adams. She called him "an extraordinarily fine, a natural-born actor."

Another important role was in 1936. He played Jean-Jacques Dessalines in the play Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History. This play was written by C. L. R. James. Again, he acted with Paul Robeson. Other great actors like Orlando Martins were also in it.

Adams then took the main role in a TV version of The Emperor Jones. He played Brutus Jones. This character was a Pullman porter who became a ruler of a Caribbean island. Paul Robeson had played this role before. The BBC showed Adams' performance live in 1938. This made him the first Black actor to play a main dramatic role on British television. He also appeared in a play by W. B. Yeats that year. In 1939, he was in Colony, a play about sugar workers.

Leading Black Actor in Britain

When World War II started, Paul Robeson went back to the United States. Robert Adams then became the most important Black actor in Britain. He continued to act on television in the 1940s and 1950s.

In 1944, Adams started the Negro Arts Movement. Later, he founded the Negro Repertory Arts Theatre. This theatre group put on many plays. One of them was All God's Chillun Got Wings. He also acted in a BBC television version of this play in 1946. In 1948, he played Bigger Thomas in a play based on the book Native Son.

Robert Adams later took a break from acting to study law. He returned to the West End stage in London in 1958. He was in the play The Iceman Cometh. He also appeared on television in Green Pastures (1958). His last TV role was in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl in 1960. He eventually moved back to British Guiana, where he passed away in 1965.

Film and TV Roles

Here is a list of some of the films Robert Adams appeared in: