Dorothy Black was an actress, born in Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

. Educated at St Andrew's School in Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

 and also the Central School of Speech and Drama

Central School of Speech and Drama

The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...

 in London.

She started her career appearing in Outward Bound

Outward Bound

Outward Bound is an international, non-profit, independent, outdoor educationorganization with approximately 40 schools around the world and 200,000 participants per year...

, The Farmer's Wife

The Farmer's Wife

The Farmer’s Wife is a silent film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.It was based on a play of the same name by British novelist, poet and playwright Eden Phillpotts, best known for a series of novels based on Dartmoor, in Devon.-Synopsis:...

, The Trojan Women

The Trojan Women

The Trojan Women is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athenians earlier in 415 BC , the same year...

and the Constant Nymph. Rep at Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 with her first London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 performance in the Blue Comet at the Royal Court. Other West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 plays have included Dear Brutus, Six Characters in Search of an Author

Six Characters in Search of an Author

Six Characters in Search of an Author is a play by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello.The play is a satirical tragicomedy. It was first performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, to a very mixed reception, with shouts from the audience of "Manicomio!" .Subsequently the play enjoyed a much...

and The Brontes.

Her filmography includes The Night has Eyes

The Night Has Eyes

The Night Has Eyes is a 1942 British thriller film directed by Leslie Arliss and starring James Mason, Wilfrid Lawson and Mary Clare. Two young teachers travel to the Yorkshire Moors where their friend disappeared a year before...

(1942) Imitation of Life

Imitation of Life (1934 film)

Imitation of Life is a 1934 American drama film directed by John M. Stahl. The screenplay by William Hurlbut, based on Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel of the same name, was augmented by eight additional uncredited writers, including Preston Sturges and Finley Peter Dunne...

(1934) The Admiral's Secret

The Admiral's Secret

The Admiral's Secret is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Guy Newall and starring Edmund Gwenn, James Raglan, Hope Davy and Dorothy Black. It was based on a play by Cyril Campion and filmed at Twickenham Studios. A gang of Spanish criminals search for a trove of stolen gems hidden by a retired...

(1933) Captivation (1931) Her Reputation

Her Reputation

Her Reputation is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Sidney Morgan and starring Iris Hoey, Frank Cellier, Lillian Hall-Davis and Malcolm Tearle. It was based on the play Passing Brompton Road by Jevan Brandon-Thomas...

(1931).

Black has worked with Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...

, James Mason

James Mason

James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...

, Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....

, Ned Sparks

Ned Sparks

Ned Sparks was a Canadian character actor. Sparks was well known for his deadpan expression and deep, gravelly voice.-Early life and career:...

, Warren William

Warren William

Warren William was a Broadway and Hollywood actor, popular during the early 1930s, who was later nicknamed the "king of Pre-Code". He was born Warren William Krech in Aitkin, Minnesota to parents Freeman E. and Frances Krech. He had a certain physical resemblance to John Barrymore. He attended the...

, Edmund Gwenn

Edmund Gwenn

Edmund Gwenn was an English theatre and film actor.-Background:Born Edmund John Kellaway in Wandsworth, London , and educated at St. Olave's School and later at King's College London, Gwenn began his acting career in the theatre in 1895...

, Louise Beavers

Louise Beavers

Louise Beavers was an African-American film and television actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films from the 1920s to the 1930s, most often in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Beavers was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American...

 and Alan Hale

Alan Hale, Sr.

Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...

.

Black appeared in many TV appearances since the early BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 broadcasts at Alexandra Palace

Alexandra Palace

Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...

.

External links

• Profile of Dorothy Black