Rupert Crosse was an American television and film actor. Crosse was the first African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 to be nominated for a Best Supporting Actor

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...

 Academy Award for his role in the 1969 adaptation of William Faulkner

William Faulkner

William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...

's The Reivers

The Reivers

The Reivers, published in 1962, is the last novel by the American author William Faulkner. The bestselling novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1963. Faulkner previously won this award for his book A Fable, making him one of only three authors to be awarded it more than once...

.

Early life and career

Born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Crosse was raised by his grandparents in Nevis

Nevis

Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...

 after the death of his father. He returned to the United States to serve in the Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 for two years before entering Bloomfield College

Bloomfield College

Bloomfield College is a four-year private liberal arts college located in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Bloomfield College is chartered by the State of New Jersey and accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools...

. Crosse later worked at Brooklyn College

Brooklyn College

Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...

 as a counselor.
After studying acting under John Cassavetes

John Cassavetes

John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...

, Crosse appeared in two of Cassavetes' films: Shadows (for which he won a Venice Film Festival

Venice Film Festival

The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...

 Award) and Too Late Blues

Too Late Blues

Too Late Blues is a 1962 John Cassavetes film that stars Bobby Darin, Stella Stevens, Vince Edwards, Seymour Cassel, and Everette Chambers. It is the story of jazz musician "Ghost" Wakefield , and his relationship between both his fellow band members and his love interest, Jess, a beautiful...

(1962). During the 1960s, Crosse made guest appearances in television before landing the role of Ned McCaslin in 1969 film The Reivers

The Reivers (film)

The Reivers is a 1969 film directed by Mark Rydell based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name...

, opposite Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen

Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...

. His last onscreen role was in the short-lived sitcom The Partners

The Partners

The Partners is an American sitcom that aired on September 18, 1971 through September 8, 1972 on NBC.-Synopsis:The program featured Don Adams and Rupert Crosse as bumbling detectives...

, alongside Don Adams

Don Adams

Don Adams was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart in the television situation comedy Get Smart , which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart...

.

Death

Originally cast as Mullhall in The Last Detail

The Last Detail

The Last Detail is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby with a screenplay adapted by Robert Towne from a novel of the same name by Daryl Ponicsan. The film became known for its frequent use of profanity.-Plot:...

(1973), Crosse died of lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

 in Nevis

Nevis

Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...

 before shooting could begin.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1959	Shadows	Rupert
1961	Too Late Blues Too Late Blues Too Late Blues is a 1962 John Cassavetes film that stars Bobby Darin, Stella Stevens, Vince Edwards, Seymour Cassel, and Everette Chambers. It is the story of jazz musician "Ghost" Wakefield , and his relationship between both his fellow band members and his love interest, Jess, a beautiful...	Baby Jackson
1963	Twilight of Honor Twilight of Honor Twilight of Honor is a 1963 film starring Richard Chamberlain, Nick Adams, Claude Rains, and featuring Joey Heatherton and Linda Evans in their film debuts. Twilight of Honor is a courtroom drama based on Al Dewlen's novel, with a screenplay by Henry Denker...	Jailer's assistant	Uncredited
1964	Marnie Marnie (film) Marnie is a 1964 psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the novel of the same name by Winston Graham. The film stars Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery. The original film score was composed by Bernard Herrmann.-Plot:...	Office worker	Uncredited
1965	Ride in the Whirlwind Ride in the Whirlwind Ride in the Whirlwind is a 1965 western directed by Monte Hellman, starring Jack Nicholson, Millie Perkins, and Harry Dean Stanton. Nicholson also wrote and produced the film.- Plot :...	Indian Joe
	Wild Seed	Hobo	Alternative title: Fargo
1967	Waterhole #3	Prince
1969	The Reivers The Reivers (film) The Reivers is a 1969 film directed by Mark Rydell based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name...	Ned McCaslin	Nominated: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Johnny Staccato Johnny Staccato Johnny Staccato is an American private detective series which ran for 27 episodes on NBC from September 10, 1959 through March 24, 1960.-Synopsis:...	Redtop	1 episode
1961	Rawhide Rawhide (TV series) Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...		1 episode
	Have Gun – Will Travel	Aaron Gibbs	1 episode
1962	The Dick Powell Show The Dick Powell Show The Dick Powell Show is an American anthology series that ran on NBC from 1961- 1963, primarily sponsored by the Reynolds Metals Company. It was hosted by longtime film star Dick Powell until his death from lymphatic cancer on January 2, 1963, then by a series of guest hosts until the series ended...		1 episode
1963	Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...	Dr. Paul Mackey	1 episode
	The Great Adventure The Great Adventure (TV series) The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964 television season. The series, hosted each week by Van Heflin, and featuring theme music by Richard Rodgers, presented each week a one-hour dramatization of the lives of famous Americans and important...	William Still	1 episode
1963–1964	Ben Casey Ben Casey Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...	George	2 episodes
1964–1966	The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...	General Molte Nobuk Corporal Remy	2 episodes
1965	The Wackiest Ship in the Army The Wackiest Ship in the Army (TV series) The Wackiest Ship in the Army is an American comedy series that aired for one season on NBC between September 19, 1965, and April 17, 1966. Produced by Harry Ackerman and Herbert Hirschman, the series is loosely based on the 1960 film starring Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson.-Synopsis:The series is...		1 episode
1966	Dr. Kildare	George Parker	2 episodes
	That Girl That Girl That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...	Police officer	1 episode
	Daktari Daktari Daktari is an American children's drama series that aired on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The series, an Ivan Tors Films Production in association with MGM Television, stars Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian at the fictional Wameru Study Centre for Animal Behaviour in East...	Kukuia	1 episode
	Run for Your Life Run for Your Life (TV series) Run for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.-Synopsis:Gazzara plays lawyer...	Hotel Clerk	1 episode
	The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy-fi TV series that aired on NBC for one season from September 16, 1966 to April 11, 1967. The series was a spin-off from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and used the same theme music composed by Jerry Goldsmith, which was rearranged into a slightly different,...	Tchelba	1 episode
1967	CBS Playhouse	Funeral director	1 episode
	I Spy	Chester	1 episode
	Cowboy in Africa Cowboy in Africa Cowboy in Africa is an ABC television series produced in 1967-1968 by Ivan Tors and starring Chuck Connors. A 1966 television pilot turned into a movie and released to cinemas starring Hugh O'Brian as Jim Sinclair was called Africa - Texas Style.-Plot:...	Jama	1 episode
	The Monkees The Monkees (TV series) The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...	Thursday	1 episode
1968	Felony Squad Felony Squad Felony Squad is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966 to January 31, 1969, a span encompassing seventy-three episodes.-Overview:...	Ray Hawkins	1 episode
1970	Bonanza Bonanza Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...	Davis	1 episode
	Storefront Lawyers	Johnson	1 episode
	Bracken's World Bracken's World Bracken's World is an American drama series broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1969 to December 25, 1970. The series was created and produced by Dorothy Kingsley.-Synopsis:...	Freddy Webster, Sr.	1 episode
1971	Confessions of a Top Crime Buster	Detective George Robinson	Television movie
1971–1972	The Partners The Partners The Partners is an American sitcom that aired on September 18, 1971 through September 8, 1972 on NBC.-Synopsis:The program featured Don Adams and Rupert Crosse as bumbling detectives...	Detective George Robinson	20 episodes

External links