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Backdrop from a project of Edna Mae Harris
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Edna Mae Harris

1910 - 1997 (age 86) • Acting

Edna Mae Harris was one of the best-known Black actresses of the 1930s and 1940s. She starred in many all-black cast independently produced movies of the day. An attractive woman who had a soulful voice, personality and sex appeal, she could sing, dance and act. The personification of a Harlem performer, Edna found fame by playing in both stage and screen versions of The Green Pastures (1936) as Zeba. Audiences loved her, and she received glorious reviews, so it was no surprise when Hollywood asked her to repeat her role on screen to wide acclaim. Edna Mae was very much in demand starring in some of the top Black movies such as Spirit of Youth (1938), Paradise in Harlem (1939), Sunday Sinners (1940), The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940), and Tall, Tan, and Terrific (1946), showing her excellent acting skills in drama and comedy. Edna Mae Harris got to tell her story in her later years in the documentary, Midnight Ramble (1994), about independently produced Black films.

Known For

Lying Lips

50%

Elsie Bellwood

1939

Paradise in Harlem

50%

Doll Davis

1939

Spirit of Youth

61%

Mary Bowdin

1938

Sunday Sinners

100%

Corrine Aiken

1940

The Notorious Elinor Lee

40%

Fredi Welsh

1940

I Remember Harlem

self

1981

Legs Ain't No Good

1942

Midnight Ramble

73%

Self - Actress

1994

I Remember Harlem

self

1981

Stage Door Canteen

63%

Sun Tan Girl (uncredited)

1943

Legs Ain't No Good

1942

Stolen Paradise

100%

Maid

1940

Sunday Sinners

100%

Corrine Aiken

1940

The Notorious Elinor Lee

40%

Fredi Welsh

1940

Lying Lips

50%

Elsie Bellwood

1939

Paradise in Harlem

50%

Doll Davis

1939

Spirit of Youth

61%

Mary Bowdin

1938

The Green Pastures

63%

Zeba

1936

Bullets or Ballots

66%

Rose - Lee's Maid (uncredited)

1936

Private Number

67%

Lulu (Uncredited)

1936

Fury

75%

Black Woman (uncredited)

1936

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