Fred Toones
Encyclopedia
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
– February 13, 1962, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) was an African-American film actor comedian of the early sound era. There is still debate over the exact year of his birth, which some sources cite as 1905.
Career
Because of the sheer number of movies he appeared in, Toones is one of the most prolific character faces in B-Westerns and cliffhangersCliffhanger (film)
Cliffhanger is a 1993 American action film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow. Stallone plays a mountain climber, who becomes embroiled in a failed heist set in a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains...
. He appeared in over 200 films between 1928 and 1951; and between 1936 and 1947, Toones worked under contract for Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
, appearing in about 40 of its films.
His standard characterization was that of a middle-aged "colored" man with a high-pitched voice and childlike demeanor. Like ‘Curly’ Howard
Curly Howard
Jerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz , better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and vaudevillian. He is best known as a member of the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges, along with his older brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard, and actor Larry Fine...
and Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister
Tom Lister, Jr.
-World Wrestling Federation :Lister appeared in the 1989 wrestling movie No Holds Barred, which was financed by the World Wrestling Federation and starred Hulk Hogan. Lister's role was Zeus, a brutal monster heel....
, who followed the tradition of using an antonymous nickname as both their professional name and character name, "Snowflake" was the distinct stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Toones was best known by, and he used this name as his credit as early as his third film, 1931’s Shanghaied Love. Likewise, in Shanghaied Love and over 35 other films, “Snowflake” was also Toones’ character name.
Toones acted in films such as Mississippi (1935), Hawk of the Wilderness
Hawk of the Wilderness
Hawk of the Wilderness is a Republic Movie serial based on the Kioga novel of the same name by pulp writer William L. Chester.Kioga is very similar to the character of Tarzan, whom Herman Brix had also played on film in the 1935, Edgar Rice Burroughs produced serial The New Adventures of...
(1938) and Daredevils of the Red Circle
Daredevils of the Red Circle
Daredevils of the Red Circle is a 12-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Charles Quigley, David Sharpe, Herman Brix and Charles Middleton. It was directed by William Witney and John English and is often considered one of the better serials produced by Republic...
(1939) with Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name, Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
and in many "B" westerns such as The Lawless Nineties
The Lawless Nineties
The Lawless Nineties is a 1936 American western film directed by Joseph Kane. The 55 minute film starred John Wayne, and Lane Chandler as federal agents in Wyoming...
(1936) with John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
. He also appeared in dozens of two-reelers such as Columbia's Woman Haters
Woman Haters
Woman Haters is the first short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
(1934) with the Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
, and had a bit role in Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
's classic feature Way Out West
Way Out West (1937 film)
Way Out West is a Laurel and Hardy comedy film released in 1937. It was directed by James W. Horne, produced by Stan Laurel and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-Plot:...
(1937). Toones is also a familiar face in four Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
comedies: 20th century (1934), Remember the Night
Remember the Night
Remember the Night is a 1940 American romantic comedy/drama Christmas film directed by Mitchell Leisen, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray...
(1940), Christmas in July
Christmas in July
Christmas in July refers to Christmas-themed celebrations held in July.In the northern hemisphere some people throw parties during July that mimic Christmas celebrations, bringing the atmosphere of Christmas but with warmer temperatures. Parties may include Santa Claus, ice cream and other cold...
(1940) and The Palm Beach Story
The Palm Beach Story
The Palm Beach Story is a 1942 romantic screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor and Rudy Vallée. Victor Young contributed the lively musical score, including a fast-paced variation of William Tell Overture for the...
(1942).
Toones first appeared as a porter
Porter (railroad)
A porter is a railway employee assigned to assist passengers aboard a passenger train or to handle their baggage; it may be used particularly to refer to employees assigned to assisting passengers in the sleeping cars....
in 1932 in The Hurricane Express
The Hurricane Express
The Hurricane Express is a 12-chapter Mascot Pictures film serial that stars John Wayne as airplane pilot Larry Baker, who goes after a mystery villain named "The Wrecker," the man responsible for a train crash that killed his father.-Cast:...
, and was usually typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
as a porter – appearing in over 50 films in such a role. He also played a variety of other service-oriented or domestic worker
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
roles such as stable grooms, janitors, elevator operators, valets, cooks, bellhops, doormen, butlers, and bartenders. Like Robert Dudley
Robert Dudley (actor)
Robert Dudley , born Robert Y. Dudley in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a dentist turned film character actor who, in his 35-year career, appeared in over 115 films.-Career:...
, Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
, Franklin Pangborn
Franklin Pangborn
Franklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
, Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro was a Mexican leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol" after the death of Rudolph Valentino...
, Nat Pendleton
Nat Pendleton
Nathaniel Greene "Nat" Pendleton was an American Olympic wrestler and film actor.-Early life:Pendleton was born in Davenport, Iowa to Adelaide E. and Nathaniel G. Pendleton. He studied at Columbia University where he began his wrestling career. He was twice Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling...
and others, Toones is a prime example of racial and social stereotyping in the Hollywood film industry.
Toones played a bootblack or shoeshine man
Shoeshiner
Shoeshiner or boot polisher is a profession in which a person polishes shoes with shoe polish. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job is traditionally that of a male child. In the leather fetish communities, they are often called bootblacks...
in at least six of his movies, and in film director William Witney
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the movie serials he co-directed with John English for Republic Pictures such as Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion and Drums of Fu Manchu.He directed many Westerns during his career,...
's autobiography, Witney reveals that in addition to playing bit parts, Toones actually ran the shoeshine stand at Republic Studios.
His being cast in only comedic bit parts and small non-supporting roles
Bit part
A bit part is a supporting acting role with at least one line of dialogue . In British television, bit parts are referred to as under sixes...
meant that his efforts were more often than not uncredited (of 210 films where he made an appearance, he was credited in 73 of them), as was the norm for bit players in Hollywood at the time. For example, Robert Dudley
Robert Dudley (actor)
Robert Dudley , born Robert Y. Dudley in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a dentist turned film character actor who, in his 35-year career, appeared in over 115 films.-Career:...
(who appeared in two movies with Toones: The Palm Beach Story and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
) made 93 films between 1930 and 1951 – many times playing a millionaire, doctor, judge, scientist, minister or lawman - but was credited in only eight of them. In contrast, character actor Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit was the stage name of American comedian and film actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry....
made only 53 films (one-quarter as many as Toones) playing the same kind of parts as Toones, but received credit in nearly every one of them.
See also
- Willie BestWillie BestWilliam "Willie" Best sometimes known as Sleep n' Eat was an American television and film actor....
(billed in five films as "Sleep 'n' Eat") - Stepin FetchitStepin FetchitStepin Fetchit was the stage name of American comedian and film actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry....
- Mantan MorelandMantan MorelandMantan Moreland was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s.-Career:Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Moreland began acting by the time he was an adolescent, reportedly running away to join the circus...
- BlackfaceBlackfaceBlackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
- Uncle TomUncle TomUncle Tom is a derogatory term for a person who perceives themselves to be of low status, and is excessively subservient to perceived authority figures; particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people....
- Jar Jar Binks