Title supplied by cataloger. Rolland Joseph 'Speedy' Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1922. After serving three years in the Marines during World War II, he and his wife, Gloria, relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles in 1946. Curtis served four years with the Los Angeles Police Department, but resigned from the force in order to pursue both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from USC. He later became involved in city politics, as an associate of Sam Yorty, and later a field deputy to City Council members Billy Mills and Tom Bradley. He was briefly director of the Model Cities program in 1973. Rolland J. Curtis died in his home in 1979, the victim of a homicide. An affordable housing complex on Exposition Blvd. near Vermont Ave. was named in his honor in 1981, along with a nearby street and park.; Founded by Nick and Edna Stewart in 1950, the Ebony Showcase Theater was the first African American owned theater in Los Angeles, located at 4718-26 W. Washington Blvd. Nick Stewart, who was most famous for his portrayal of "Lightnin'" in the TV show Amos and Andy, and voicing Brer Rabbit in Disney's Song of the South, sought to build a place where African Americans could act in roles outside of the traditional stereotypes. The theater has been credited for starting the career of many young black actors, including Michelle Nichols, John Amos and Isabel Sanford. It was demolished in 1998. Steve Allen can be seen sitting behind a piano with a large crowd of youngsters watching him from behind a low barrier, possibly the outer edge of an orchestra pit inside the Ebony Showcase Theatre. On January 21, 1966 there was a presentation of an original musical entitled "The Greatest Mouse That Ever Lived" which was performed by a group of Watts High School youngsters, and it appears that Allen attended one of the rehearsals and maybe even helped with the music. Nick and Edna Stewart are the founders of the Ebony Showcase Theatre located at 45720 W. Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles. Photograph dated January 18, 1966. See images 00119192 through 00119204; and 00137995 through 00138003 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Stewart, Nick,--1910-2000 Stewart, Edna Allen, Steve,--1921-2000 Ebony Showcase Theater (Los Angeles, Calif.) Theaters Lost architecture Actors--United States African American boys African American girls Teenagers Young women Young men Men Music rehearsals Piano Los Angeles (Calif.)
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