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Fredi Washington(1903-1994)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Fredi Washington
Fredi Washington was a pioneering African-American actress whose fair skin and green eyes often were impediments to her showing her extraordinary acting skills. Her talent was often overlooked because of people's obsession with her race and color. In the few films in which she acted her enormous talent as an actress couldn't be hidden.

Her first film performance was with Duke Ellington in a musical short, Black and Tan (1929), as a dancer. In Hollywood she was urged to "pass" for fully white by studio heads, who said they would make her a bigger star than Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Constance Bennett and Greta Garbo. Fredi refused. Her best-known role was as the original Peola, in the controversial film Imitation of Life (1934). She appeared with Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones (1933) and in a few other films with her skin darkened. Her best work was on the stage, notably in "Mamba's Daughters" with Ethel Waters. Fredi never made it to the top like her contemporaries Waters, Josephine Baker, and Nina Mae McKinney because she didn't look "black" enough. But Fredi had what it took, as is more than evident in the few films that she did do.

Her best work was as an activist. She was the head of the Negro Actors Guild, helping black performers get a fair chance in the entertainment industry. Hopefully, people who discover her work today will see her beauty and talent shine through and look beyond her skin color, unlike most people of her time.
BornDecember 23, 1903
DiedJune 28, 1994(90)
BornDecember 23, 1903
DiedJune 28, 1994(90)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos17

Rochelle Hudson and Fredi Washington in Imitation of Life (1934)
Fredi Washington in Imitation of Life (1934)
Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington in Imitation of Life (1934)
Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington in Imitation of Life (1934)
Fredi Washington in Imitation of Life (1934)
Groucho Marx, Margaret Dumont, Robert Greig, Margaret Irving, Donald MacBride, Zeppo Marx, Edward Metcalfe, Kathryn Reece, Ann Roth, Lillian Roth, Louis Sorin, and Fredi Washington in Animal Crackers (1930)
Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington in Imitation of Life (1934)
"Emperor Jones" Paul Robeson 1933 United Artists **I.V.
Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington in Imitation of Life (1934)
Fredi Washington
Fredi Washington
Fredi Washington

Known for

Claudette Colbert and Warren William in Imitation of Life (1934)
Imitation of Life
7.5
  • Peola Johnson
  • 1934
Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones (1933)
The Emperor Jones
6.4
  • Undine
  • 1933
Ouanga (1936)
Ouanga
4.6
  • Klili Gordon
  • 1936
Duke Ellington in Black and Tan (1929)
Black and Tan
6.5
Short
  • Fredi - Duke's Girlfriend
  • 1929

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Gertrude Berg in The Goldbergs (1949)
    The Goldbergs
    7.5
    TV Series
    • 1949
  • Sally Blane, Joan Carroll, Howard Hickman, Claire Trevor, and Fredi Washington in One Mile from Heaven (1937)
    One Mile from Heaven
    6.4
    • Flora Jackson
    • 1937
  • Ouanga (1936)
    Ouanga
    4.6
    • Klili Gordon
    • 1936
  • Claudette Colbert and Warren William in Imitation of Life (1934)
    Imitation of Life
    7.5
    • Peola Johnson
    • 1934
  • Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho (1934)
    Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho
    7.2
    Short
    • Train Conductor's Wife
    • 1934
  • Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1934)
    Mills Blue Rhythm Band
    6.3
    Short
    • Dancer
    • 1934
  • Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones (1933)
    The Emperor Jones
    6.4
    • Undine
    • 1933
  • Duke Ellington in Black and Tan (1929)
    Black and Tan
    6.5
    Short
    • Fredi - Duke's Girlfriend
    • 1929
  • Jeanne Eagels in The Letter (1929)
    The Letter
    6.6
    • Opium Den Dancer (uncredited)
    • 1929
  • Square Joe
    • 1922

Soundtrack

  • Duke Ellington in Black and Tan (1929)
    Black and Tan
    6.5
    Short
    • performer: "Cotton Club Stomp"
    • 1929

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • December 23, 1903
    • Savannah, Georgia, USA
  • Died
    • June 28, 1994
    • Stamford, Connecticut, USA(stroke)
  • Spouses
      Dr. Hugh Anthony BellDecember 6, 1952 - October 3, 1970 (his death)
  • Parents
      Robert T. Washington
  • Relatives
    • Isabel Washington(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (billed as "Edith Warren") in "Black Boy" on Broadway.
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Print Biographies

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    First husband was Lawrence Brown, a trombonist in the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Following their divorce in 1951 she married Connecticut dentist Hugh Anthony Bell, and retired. She worked at the Stamford branch of Bloomingdale's from 1954 to 1980.
  • Quotes
    [when asked why she didn't try to "pass" for white] Because I'm honest and because you don't have to be white to be good.
  • Nickname
    • The Dark Duse of Hollywood

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