Rex Ingram

Born near Cairo, Illinois, Rex Ingram was an American actor whose work spanned film, stage, and television. A casting director spotted him on a street corner and placed him in an uncredited role in Tarzan of the Apes (1918), and his early parts were often generic native characters. With sound, his powerful voice and presence earned him memorable roles in The Green Pastures (1936), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939), The Thief of Bagdad (1940) as the genie, The Talk of the Town (1942), and Sahara (1943). From 1929 he also worked on Broadway, appearing in more than a dozen productions, including Haiti (1938), Cabin in the Sky (1940), and St. Louis Woman (1946). He played Tee-Tot in Your Cheatin' Heart (1966) and became the first African American actor to hold a contract role on a soap opera, The Brighter Day. His later television work included single episodes of I Spy and The Bill Cosby Show.