This is African American History Month ! Frank Alvin Silvera (July 24, 1914 – June 11, 1970) was a Jamaican-born American character actor and theatrical director. Silvera was known as the man with a thousand faces because of his ability to play a wide array of roles.[1] Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Boston, Silvera dropped out of law school in 1934 after winning his first stage role. During the 1930s and 1940s, he was active in numerous stage productions on and off Broadway and appeared in radio shows. Silvera made his film debut in 1952. Over the course of his 36-year career, he was cast in a wide variety of ethnic roles in film and television. Silvera also remained active onstage. Silvera was nominated for a Best Actor Tony Award in 1963 for his role in The Lady of the Camellias. He founded The Theatre of Being, a Los Angeles theatre for black actors, in 1965. At the time of his death he had a recurring role in the NBC Western series The High Chaparral. Silvera was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to a Spanish Jewish father and Jamaican mother.[2][3] His family emigrated to the United States when he was six-years old, settling in Boston.[4] In his youth, Silvera became interested in acting and began performing in amateur groups and at church.[1] He attended English High School of Boston. Upon graduation, Silvera studied at Boston University and Northeastern Law School Silvera left Northeastern Law School in 1934 when he was cast in Paul Greens production of Roll Sweet Chariot. He joined the New England Repertory Theatre where he appeared in productions of MacBeth, Othello, and The Emperor Jones. He also worked at Federal Theatre and with the New Hampshire Repertory Theatre. In 1940, Silvera made his Broadway debut in a small role in Big White Fog. His career was briefly interrupted when he joined the United States Navy in 1942 during World War II. Silvera was assigned to Camp Robert Smalls where he and Owen Dodson were put in charge of the entertainment. He also directed and acted in radio programs and appeared in USO shows. Silvera was honorably discharged in 1945. That same year, he joined the cast of Anna Lucasta. He also became a member of the Actors Studio.[1][5][6] In 1952, Silvera made his film debut in the western, The Cimarron Kid. Because of his light complexion, he was cast in a wide variety of ethnic roles in films and television.[3] Later that same year, he was cast as General Huerta in Viva Zapata!, which starred Marlon Brando. The role marked the first time a major motion picture studio cast a non-white actor in the role of a non-white character. Silvera portrayed the role in the stage production which opened at the Regent Theatre in New York City on February 28, 1952.[6] He appeared in two films directed by Stanley Kubrick, Fear and Desire (1953) and Killers Kiss (1955). In August 1955, he appeared on Broadway in a revival of Thornton Wilders The Skin of Our Teeth, which earned him favorable reviews. In November 1955, he portrayed John Pope, Sr., the Italian father of Ben Gazzara and Anthony Franciosas characters on Broadway in Michael V. Gazzos A Hatful of Rain (a role portrayed by Lloyd Nolan on screen). This performance was also praised by critics.[7] Silvera made guest appearances in numerous television series, mainly dramas and westerns, including Studio One in Hollywood, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bat Masterson, Thriller, Riverboat, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, The Untouchables, and Bonanza. In 1962 he portrayed the role of Dr. Koslenko in The Twilight Zone episode Person or Persons Unknown, opposite Richard Long. That same year, he played Minarii, a Polynesian man in the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlon Brando. In 1963, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as Monsieur Duval in The Lady of the Camellias. In 1964, Silvera and Vantile Whitfield founded The Theatre of Being, a Los Angeles-based theater dedicated to providing black actors with non-stereotypical roles. One of the theaters first projects was the production of The Amen Corner by the African-American writer James Baldwin. Silvera and Whitfield financed the play with their own money and donations from friends. It opened on March 4, 1964 and went on to gross $200,000 within a year. The play moved to Broadway in April 1965. Beah Richards won critical acclaim for her performance in the lead role.[8] For the remainder of the 1960s, Silvera continued his career in film and guest starring roles on television. In 1965, he appeared as Gaspar, one of the Biblical Magi in the epic film The Greatest Story Ever Told, In 1966, re-teamed with Marlon Brando for a third time in the Western The Appaloosa. The following year, he portrayed Nick Sorello in The St. Valentines Day Massacre, followed by guest roles on Dundee and the Culhane and The Wild Wild West. He also appeared as a Mexican bandit in the 1967 Martin Ritt-directed Western classic, Hombre, based on the Elmore Leonard novel. In 1969, Silvera had a supporting role as Goatherd in Che!, and as Lobero in the Zapata Western Guns of the Magnificent Seven.[citation needed] Also in 1969, Silvera was hired as the first guest director at Fresno State College (FSC) with plans which included staging a production of The Tea Concession by Henry J. Kemp-Blair, which reversed the racial positions of black and white in a drama about South Africa.[9] He was forced to resign less than two weeks later, caught in the middle of administrative shakeups and the aborted hiring of Marvin X in the Black Studies department. With this upheaval it seemed to blacks and browns that Silvera was part of the package, part of the hardline takeover (at FSC). There was such a sense of despair and betrayal...they took it out on me, Silvera said to David Hale, theater writer for The Fresno Bee, soon after his departure. It seemed to me they thought I was the agent to smooth things over while the establishment hatched up something else dirty.[10] At the time of his death, he had a recurring role on the NBC western series The High Chaparral as the Mexican squire, Don Sebastian Montoya. His final film, Valdez Is Coming, was released posthumously, in 1971. Silvera married actress Anna Lillian Quarles in 1942. They met while appearing in a stage production of Stevedore. Quarles was the sister of historian and educator Benjamin Arthur Quarles. They had two children, Frank, Jr. and Linda, before divorcing in 1963. On June 11, 1970, Silvera was electrocuted while attempting to repair the garbage disposal unit in his kitchen sink.[4][12] Silvera was buried with military honors at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. In 1973, Silvera and his efforts to support African-American actors and playwrights were honored with the co-founding of the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop Foundation, Inc. The organization still sponsors promising African-American playwrights. In 2005, the workshop was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg. Film Year Title Role Notes 1952 The Cimarron Kid Stacey Marshall 1952 The Fighter Paulino 1952 Viva Zapata! Victoriano Huerta 1952 The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima Council Administrator Arturo dos Santos 1953 White Mane Narrator 1953 Fear and Desire Sgt. Mac 1954 The Lonely Night The Narrator 1955 Death Tide Eric Paulsen 1955 Killers Kiss Vincent Rapallo 1956 Crowded Paradise Papa Diaz 1959 Crime and Punishment U.S.A. Porter 1960 Heller in Pink Tights Santis 1960 The Mountain Road Col. Kwan 1960 Key Witness Det. Rafael Torno 1962 Mutiny on the Bounty Minarii 1963 Toys in the Attic Henry Simpson 1963 Lonnie Paco 1965 The Greatest Story Ever Told Caspar 1966 The Appaloosa Ramos 1967 Hombre Mexican bandit 1967 The St. Valentines Day Massacre Nick Sorello 1968 The Stalking Moon Major 1968 Up Tight! Kyle 1969 Che! Goatherd 1969 Guns of the Magnificent Seven Lobero 1971 Valdez Is Coming Diego Released posthumously Television Year Title Role Notes 1951-1957 Studio One in Hollywood Various roles 2 episodes 1954 The Marriage Mr. Ramon Episode #1.1 1955 Producers Showcase Judge Episode: The Skin of Our Teeth 1957 The Seven Lively Arts John Episode: The World of Nick Adams 1958 Wanted: Dead or Alive Sheriff Will Echert Episode: Sheriff At Red Rock 1958 Playhouse 90 Nick Serrello Episode: Seven Against the Wall 1958 Perry Mason Jonathan Hyett Episode: The Case of the Fancy Figures 1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mr. Roderiguez Episode: A Personal Matter 1959 Dick Powells Zane Grey Theater Ysidro Episode: Trouble at Tres Cruces 1959 Decoy Andrew Garcia Episode: Across the World 1959 Bat Masterson Grasia Episode: The Romany Knives 1959 The Lineup Papa Vanetti Episode: My Son is a Stranger 1959 The Man From Blackhawk Kiczek Episode: The Gypsy Story 1960 Johnny Ringo Bevinetto Episode: Shoot the Moon 1960 The Law and Mr. Jones Garcia Episode: Music to Hurt By 1960 Thriller Cesare Romano/Charlie Roman Episode: The Guilty Men 1960 Hong Kong Kivori Episode: Freebooter 1960 The Rebel Cota Episode: Deathwatch 1960 Riverboat Colonel Ashley Episode: Devil in Skirts 1960 The Untouchables Dino Patrone Episode: A Seat on the Fence 1961-1964 Bonanza Various roles 2 episodes 1962 The Twilight Zone Dr. Koslenko Episode: Person or Persons Unknown 1962 The New Breed John Hernandez Episode: My Brothers Keeper 1962 The Beachcomber Various roles 2 episodes 1962 The Dick Powell Show Episode: Borderline 1963 The Defenders Ballin Episode: The Last Illusion 1963 The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters The Indian, Speaks to the Wind Episode: The Day of the Taboo Man 1964 The Great Adventure Gambi Episode: The Pirate and the Patriot 1964 Channing Episode: Memory of a Firing Squad 1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Alejandro Episode: The Life Work of Juan Diaz 1964 Mr. Novak Andy Towner Episode: Boy Under Glass 1964-1965 Kraft Suspense Theatre Various roles 2 episodes 1965 Profiles in Courage Episode: Hamilton Fish 1965 Daniel Boone Marcel Bouvier Episode: Daughter of the Devil 1965 Rawhide Pajarito Episode: El Hombre Bravo 1965 Gunsmoke John Drago Episode: Death Watch 1966 I Spy Munoz Episode: Crusade to Limbo 1966 The Rat Patrol Arab Leader Episode: The Chain of Death Raid 1966 Run for Your Life Esteban Episode: The Shock of Recognition 1967 Dundee and the Culhane Luis Montoya Episode: The Vasquez Brief 1967 The Wild Wild West El Sordo Episode: The Night of Jack ODiamonds 1967-1970 The High Chaparral Don Sebastian Montoya 14 episodes 1968 The Young Loner Carlos Television film 1968-1971 The Wonderful World of Disney Carlos 4 episodes 1969 Marcus Welby, M.D. Nick Eugenides Episode: The Vrahnas Demon 1970 The Flying Nun Thomas Sebastien Martinez Episode: No Tears for Mrs. Thomas 1970 Hawaii Five-O Frank Kuakua Episode: Paniolo 1971 The Boy from Dead Mans Bayou Television film Aired posthumously 1976 Perilous Voyage Gen. Salazar Television film Aired posthumously. Frank Silvera, was a very close friend to Mr&Mrs. Chauncey E. Spencer Sr and Family ! He read the Pray For Brother Hood at is Day Vue.....it was written by: MR. Chauncey E. Spencer Sr. Prayer For Brotherhood By Chauncey E. Spencer 1940 Presented by Chauncey E. Spencer at the United States Air Force Conference of Chaplains held in 1953 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Almighty God: Some of us are confused....You have said, Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest....Lord....I come. Its been nearly two hundred years since men who wanted to be free fought for and died for American Democracy?.nearly one hundred years ago our fathers were freed....a freedom that wasnt free. Lord....You saw the horrors of the Chicago, Washington, and St. Louis riots....youve heard all of the abuse and have seen all of the intimidation directed against some of your people throughout the world. Lord we know that the hate technique is used to confuse the real issue....used to blame national or international ills on innocent scapegoats, and to gain followers through a common hate....hate them for their color....their nationality....their religion....their politics....for any reason or not....just hate them. Hate means power to those that are ruthless for selfish motives. Lord, we are so ashamed....some of our people are guilty of joining these techniques against Democracy....smite them not, dear God....they are our brothers and we are our brothers Keepers. Help us to nurture them into a great realm of truth, understanding and brotherly love. Lord, I come now because they came to me?.freedom is shadowed....the democracies of the world are threatened....trouble lurks....equality, unity, and freedom are foremost in great minds....yet there are those who maintain concerted efforts to keep some brothers bowed down unto fear as in the assault law decision of the Yanceville, North Carolina Court....the bombing of the home of the late Harry T. Moore family, Mims, Florida....the current attempt to keep some children conditioned as inferior Americans by maintaining segregated school systems.... Lord, what shall we do?....Yes, Lord, I know there were no lynchings in the United States during 1952....there is integration within our armed forces....Americans in increasing numbers are being employed on the basis of merit and qualifications within industrial and defense programs....and too, Lord....Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, Every Kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. Well stand and well support democracy, throughout the world; we always have. We only beg of thee, dear God, that you stand with us and lead all of us as American Citizens of equal rights, with no exceptions.... Strengthen us as stalwart Americans in unity through our Churches, whatever our choice may be and to support the United Nations in establishing there are no superior or inferior peoples anywhere in the world and there can be and will be equality, peace, happiness, unity, and security among all mankind on this earth in the preservation of human rights, regardless of race, creed, color, or nationality.... AMEN. Respectfully,....Mr. Chauncey E. Spencer II ( Son ).......Detroit, Michigan.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 16:34:12 +0000
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