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Harrison, Richard Berry
Harrison, Richard Berry (1864–1935), American Negro actor, the son of slaves who escaped to Canada. He returned as an adult to Detroit, was befriended by L. E. Behymer, and after some training in elocution toured the Behymer and Chautauqua circuits with a repertory of Shakespearian and other recitations. He was working as a teacher of drama and elocution when he was persuaded to play ‘De Lawd’ in Marc Connelly's The Green Pastures (1930), in which he made an immediate success, appearing in the part nearly 2,000 times. Of medium build, with a soft but resonant voice, he was for the greater part of his life a lecturer, teacher, and arranger of festivals for Negro schools and churches. A modest man, he was surprised by his success as ‘De Lawd’; but he enjoyed his contact with the professional theatre, his one great regret being that he never appeared in Shakespeare, whose works he knew so well.
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Cite this article
PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Harrison, Richard Berry." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Harrison, Richard Berry." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-HarrisonRichardBerry.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Harrison, Richard Berry." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-HarrisonRichardBerry.html |
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Harrison, Richard B(erry)
Harrison, Richard B[erry] (1864–1935), actor. Harrison is one of many actors remembered for a single role. It was his interpretation of De Lawd in The Green Pastures (1930) which made that play so mesmerizing. He played the part nearly two thousand times before his death. Marc Connelly recalled him thus: “Topping his six‐foot height was a head of leonine gray hair. Below it, we saw a face that had managed to weather sixty‐five years of struggle and disheartenment. . . . He spoke with a voice like a cello's.” Harrison was the son of slaves who had escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad. Moving later to Detroit, he studied elocution and then offered Shakespearean and other recitals on the L. E. Behymer and Chautauqua circuits. The Green Pastures marked his only professional appearance in a play.
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Cite this article
Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Harrison, Richard B(erry)." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Harrison, Richard B(erry)." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-HarrisonRichardBerry.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Harrison, Richard B(erry)." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-HarrisonRichardBerry.html |
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