Ernest Whitman

Ernest Whitman

Birth : 1893-02-21, Fort Smitth, AR

Death : 1954-08-05

History

Ernest Whitman was born on February 21, 1893, in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was a Negro actor, known for Road to Zanzibar (1941), Cabin in the Sky (1943) and The Return of Frank James (1940). He died on August 5, 1954, in Hollywood, California, of a heart attack.

Profile

Ernest Whitman

Movies

The Sun Shines Bright
Pleasant 'Uncle Plez' Woodford
John Ford weaves three "Judge Priest" stories together to form a good- natured exploration of honour and small-town politics in the South around the turn of the century. Judge William Priest is involved variously in revealing the real identity of Lucy Lake, reliving his Civil War memories, preventing the lynching of a youth and contesting the elections with Yankee Horace K. Maydew.
Half-Pint Pygmy
Pygmy (voice) (uncredited)
George and Junior hunt for the world's smallest pygmy.
Blonde Savage
Tonga
An expedition into the deep jungle discovers a native tribe led by a tall white blonde woman.
Banjo
Uncle Jasper
Family drama about a young farm girl, suddenly orphaned, who must give up her beloved dog when she's sent to live with her aunt in Boston.
My Brother Talks to Horses
Mr. Mordecai
Living with his family in Baltimore, 9-year-old Lewie Penrose claims that he can converse with horses--and also pick the winners of upcoming races. When it appears as though Lewie is telling the truth, he attracts the interest of gambler Rich Roeder who needs a "sure thing" in the upcoming Preakness. Meanwhile, Lewie's older brother John carries on a romance with the lovely Martha.
The Lost Weekend
Black Man Talking to Himself (uncredited)
Don Birnam, a long-time alcoholic, has been sober for ten days and appears to be over the worst... but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother and girlfriend, he begins a four-day bender that just might be his last - one way or another.
Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears
The stories of "Goldilocks" and "Little Red Riding Hood" collide with the world of jazz, resulting in three jiving bears and a jitterbugging Big Bad Wolf.
Stormy Weather
Jim Europe (uncredited)
Dancing great Bill Williamson sees his face on the cover of Theatre World magazine and reminisces: Just back from World War I, he meets lovely singer Selina Rogers at a soldiers' ball and promises to come back to her when he "gets to be somebody." Years go by, and Bill and Selina's rising careers intersect only briefly, since Selina is unwilling to settle down. Will she ever change her mind? Concludes with a big all-star show hosted by Cab Calloway.
Cabin in the Sky
Jim Henry
When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove that he deserves to be in heaven. He awakens, remembering nothing and struggles to do right by his devout wife, Petunia, while an angel known as the General and the devil's son, Lucifer Jr., fight for his soul.
Among the Living
Pompey
A mentally unstable man, who has been kept in isolation for years, escapes and causes trouble for his identical twin brother.
The Pittsburgh Kid
Feets Johnson
Unable to sign boxer Joe Louis to movie contract, Republic Pictures had to make do with the losers of Louis' heavyweight championship bouts. One of these was Billy Conn, who after being knocked out by Louis in the 13th round awakened to star in the Republic programmer The Pittsburgh Kid. The story finds clean-limned pugilist Conn (playing himself) being managed by pretty Patricia Mallory.
The Get-Away
Moose Jones
A jailed cop befriends a mob chieftain and stages a breakout with him.
Road to Zanzibar
Whiteface
Stranded in Africa, Chuck and his pal Fearless have comic versions of jungle adventures, featuring two attractive con-women.
Santa Fe Trail
Black Man in Barn (uncredited)
As a penalty for fighting fellow classmates days before graduating from West Point, J.E.B. Stuart, George Armstrong Custer and four friends are assigned to the 2nd Cavalry, stationed at Fort Leavenworth. While there they aid in the capture and execution of the abolitionist, John Brown following the Battle of Harper's Ferry.
Mystery Sea Raider
First Fisherman
June McCarthy has unwittingly aided an undercover Nazi naval officer with acquiring a "mother ship" for German submarines in the Atlantic.
Third Finger, Left Hand
Sam
Magazine editor Margot Merrick pretends to be married in order to avoid advances from male colleagues. Unfortunately, things don't go to plan when Jeff Thompson, a potential suitor, uncovers the deception and decides to show up at Margot's family home posing as her husband!
The Return of Frank James
Pinky
Farmer Frank and his ward hunt brother Jesse's killers, the back-shooting Fords.
Maryland
Clarence "Dogface" Reems
A woman tormented by the hunting death of her husband forbids her son to have anything to do with horses. But when he falls for the daughter of his father's trainer, he defies his mother by entering the Maryland Hunt.
Safari
Witch doctor
Millionaire Baron de Courland and his fiancée Linda Stewart employ Jim Logan as a guide for their hunting trip in the jungle. Linda finds unplanned adventure in her sudden love for Jim, ultimately forsaking her future with the Baron for the joys of true love.
Buck Benny Rides Again
Colored Gentleman
Radio star Jack Benny, intending to stay in New York for the summer, is forced by the needling of rival Fred Allen to prove his boasts about roughing it on his (fictitious) Nevada ranch. Meanwhile, singer Joan Cameron, whom Jack's fallen for and offended, is maneuvered by her sisters to the same Nevada town. Jack's losing battle to prove his manhood to Joan means broad slapstick burlesque of Western cliches.
Castle on the Hudson
Alexander '8 Ball' Hamilton (uncredited)
A hardened crook behind bars comes up against a reform-minded warden.
Congo Maisie
Varnai
Maisie gets lost in a jungle in Africa and the jungle of romance. The African jungle has snakes, crocodiles and witch doctors. The romantic jungle has a dedicated doctor with an un-dedicated wife and an embittered doctor who is dedicated to no one.
Gone with the Wind
Carpetbagger's Friend (uncredited)
The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.
Tell No Tales
Slab Griffin (uncredited)
A newspaper editor turns a kidnapping into the banner headlines and exclusive story that could save his publication.
6,000 Enemies
Willie (uncredited)
A tough prosecutor who has sent dozens of criminals to prison finds himself framed on a bribery charge and winds up in prison himself.
Jesse James
Pinkie
After railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.
Pacific Liner
Professor - Black Stoker (uncredited)
An outbreak of cholera threatens a luxury liner in this surprisingly low-budget melodrama from RKO. En route from Shanghai to San Francisco, chief engineer Crusher McKay (Victor McLaglen) and shipboard doctor Tony Craig (Chester Morris) become rivals for the attention of nurse Ann Grayson (Wendy Barrie). A Chinese stowaway, meanwhile, infects the stokehold with cholera and it is left to Crusher to keep the engines at full throttle until reaching harbor. But morale sinks to an all-time low when Crusher himself is stricken and the overworked men threaten with mutiny. Tony attempts to keep the stokers in check but the situation is growing more dangerous by the minute when a heroic Crusher rises from his sickbed. Leaving their previous petty squabbles behind, Tony and Crusher manage to guide the ship safely to harbor, where the doc and Ann rekindle their romance.
Daughter of Shanghai
Sam Blike
A Chinese-American woman tries to expose an illegal alien smuggling ring.
They Gave Him a Gun
Roustabout (uncredited)
With no other prospects, a World War I veteran puts the skills they taught him in the War to use.
White Hunter
Abdi
Safari guide Capt. Clark Rutledge is hired by the man Michael Varek who was responsible for his father's death...
The Prisoner of Shark Island
Buck
After healing the leg of the murderer John Wilkes Booth, responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, perpetrated on April 14, 1865, during a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington; Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, considered part of the atrocious conspiracy, is sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the sinister Shark Island Prison.
King for a Day
Mr. Brown
A talented tap dancer who can't get an audition uses his prowess at playing craps to gain ownership of a musical show, making himself the star.