On Tue, 19 May 1992 09:35:28 EST <WXK03@ALBNYDH2> said: >1898-1976. I think he played Shakespeare. He sang "Old Man River" in the >30's version of Show Boat demonstrating a marvelous voice. > >Anyone else want to add anything on him? > Shakespeare: OTHELLO, three times (London, 1930; NYC and on tour, 1943-5; Stratford-on-Avon, 1959). There's an excellent chapter on him in Richard Dyer's HEAVENLY BODIES (NY: St. Martins, 1986) that points out that Robeson altered the words to "Old Man River"--a song that became his signature. Dyer comments, "These changes in the words of 'Old Man River' are interventions in one of the most popular show tunes of the time; they mark a political black presence in a mainstream (i.e., white) cultural product." ---------- In our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either. --Mark Twain-- ---------- | Jeremy G. Butler - - - - - - - - - - | Internet : [log in to unmask] | | SCREEN-L Coordinator | BITNET : JBUTLER@UA1VM | | | | Telecommunication & Film Dept * The University of Alabama * Tuscaloosa |