Sir Lancelot
Biography
Sir Lancelot was a Trinidadian calypso singer and actor, born Lancelot Victor Edward Pinard in Cumuto in 1902, who helped popularize calypso in North America. He went to New York to study medicine but turned to singing after hearing Roland Hayes, and in 1940 made his debut under his stage name at the Village Vanguard, where he became a regular and was regarded as the city's leading calypsonian. A minor singing part in Two Yanks in Trinidad led to more than 15 films, among them I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Ghost Ship (1943), The Curse of the Cat People (1944), Zombies on Broadway (1945), Brute Force (1947) and Romance on the High Seas (1948). He wrote the score for Tarzan and the Mermaids, recorded for Apollo Records, and made his last film appearance in The Buccaneer (1958). Harry Belafonte called him a major influence and an inspiration. He died in 2001.
98years old at death
- Born Cumuto
- Died Anaheim
- Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
- Lancelot Victor Edward Pinard (birth name)Also credited as Sir Lancelot Pinard and Lancelot Pinard
Movie Career
- Films
- 7
- Career span
- 15 years1943 to 1958
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A change of course
Sir Lancelot gave up his medical education after hearing a concert by African-American tenor Roland Hayes, then studied singing and music and soon performed classical works before turning to calypso.
First role
Sir Lancelot made his debut under that name in 1940 at New York City's Village Vanguard nightclub, after bandleader Gerald Clark asked him to record calypso songs.
Big break
After performing in Los Angeles, Lancelot got a small singing part in the Columbia Pictures film Two Yanks in Trinidad, released in 1942. Hattie McDaniel's Oscar-winning turn in Gone with the Wind two years earlier made his appearance possible.
Beyond film
Sherwood Schwartz drew on Sir Lancelot's musical style when writing the original theme song for the television program Gilligan's Island, and he nearly had Sir Lancelot sing it.
Sir Lancelot movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Three actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
James Bell's page
Edith Barrett's page
Darby Jones's page
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.