Mildred Boyd
Mildred Boyd (1908-1999) was an actress, a singer, and a dancer who was active in Hollywood from the 1920s through the 1950s.[1][2] Like many Black actresses of her era, she was often cast as a maid or a nurse.
Mildred Boyd | |
---|---|
Born | October 2, 1908 Kingston, Tennessee, US |
Died | October 22, 1999 (aged 91) Inglewood, California, US |
Occupation(s) | Actress, dancer, singer |
Biography
Boyd was born in Kingston, Tennessee, to Creed Boyd and Rachel Finley. The family moved to Nebraska soon after she was born. Boyd relocated to Los Angeles as a young adult, where she found work a chorus girl at Frank Sebastian's Cotton Club, a popular Black nightclub in Culver City. She was part of a group known as the Creole Cuties.[3][4]
Around the same time, she began appearing in Hollywood films, working regularly throughout the 1930s and 1940s. She appeared in more than 200 films.[5]
On Broadway, Boyd appeared in The Duchess Misbehaves (1946).[6]
Selected filmography
- Lydia Bailey (1952)
- Skirts Ahoy! (1952)
- The Harlem Globetrotters (1951)
- I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. (1951)
- The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
- Pinky (1949)
- The Doctor and the Girl (1949)
- No Time for Romance (1948)
- Sun Tan Ranch (1948)
- Force of Evil (1948)
- The Decision of Christopher Blake (1948)
- Out of the Past (1947)
- Variety Girl (1947)
- The Red Dragon (1945)
- I Love a Bandleader (1945)
- Carolina Blues (1944)
- Broadway Rhythm (1944)
- Phantom Lady (1944)
- Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
- Lady for a Night (1942)
- Irene (1940)
- Way Down South (1939)
- Double Deal (1938)
- Gang Smashers (1938)
- The Duke Is Tops (1938)
- Spirit of Youth (1938)
- The Singing Kid (1936)
- Strike Me Pink (1936)
- Murder at the Vanities (1934)
- Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
- Riley the Cop (1928)
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928)
References
- "Mildred Boyd, Los Angeles, 1940s - UCLA Library Digital Collections". digital.library.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- "Behind the Scenes with Harry". California Eagle. 27 Jan 1933. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- "Frank Sebastian's Cotton Club". The Los Angeles Times. 19 Mar 1926. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- "Frank Sebastian's Cotton Club". The Los Angeles Times. 14 May 1926. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- "Hope to beat Hollywood's hex". Jet. 1 (4): 61. November 22, 1951. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- "Mildred Boyd". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.