Theatre Register

Kenneth Spencer

Shows · Kenneth Spencer

Actor 1913–1964 On stage 1940–1946

Kenneth Spencer (25 April 1913 – 25 February 1964), was an American operatic singer and actor. Spencer starred in a few Broadway musicals and musical films in the United States during the 1940s. Frustrated with the racial prejudice he experienced in the United States as a black man, Spencer moved to West Germany in 1950, where he had a successful singing career. He also appeared in a number of German films. His career was cut short when he died in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 304.

On stage 2 productions, 6 years

1940 John Henry 44th Street Theatre · Original · directed by Anthony Brown 7 perf.
1946 Show Boat Ziegfeld Theatre · Revival · directed by Hassard Short 418 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

In the literature3 passages

  • Original revival cast (1946) : Jan Clayton, Carol Bruce, Charles Fredericks, Kenneth Spencer, Helen Dowdy, Edwin McArthur (conductor). ‡ebooks/Block, Geoffrey/Enchanted Evenings_The Broadway Musical from 'Show Boat' to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber - Geoffrey Block.txt
  • Cast: Jan Clayton, Ralph Dumke, Carol Bruce, Charles Fredericks, Buddy Ebsen, Colette Lyons, Kenneth Spencer, Pearl Primus, Talley Beattyebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • “I can name Paul Draper, Larry Adler, Myrna Loy, Hester Sondergaard, Sono Osato, Canada Lee, Kenneth Spencer, Richard Dyer-Bennett, Burl Ives, Josh White, Lena Horne, Hazel Scott, Jose Ferrer, Uta Hagen, Pete Seeger, Orson Welles, Lillian Hellman, Bela Lugosi, Herman Shumlin, Margo and others.”ebooks/Oja, Carol J_/Bernstein Meets Broadway_ Collaborative Art in a Time of War (Broadway Legacies) - Carol J. Oja.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — actor — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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