Alice B. Russell
{{Short description|American actress (1889–1985)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alice B. Russell
| image = Betrayal lobby card 5.JPG
| caption = Russell (at left) in The Betrayal (1948)
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1889|6|30|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Maxton, North Carolina, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1985|1|1|1889|6|30|mf=y}}
| death_place = New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
| birthname = Alice Burton Russell
| othername = A. Burton Russell
| homepage =
| spouse = {{married| Oscar Micheaux|1926}} (died 1951)
}}
Alice Burton Russell (June 30, 1889 – January 1, 1985) was an African-American actress,{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=The Betrayal (1948)|author=T. M. P.|date=June 26, 1948|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9405EED61430E033A25755C2A9609C946993D6CF}} producer, and the wife of director Oscar Micheaux.{{cite web|title=Alice B. Russell|work=Women Film Pioneers Project|url=https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/alice-b-russell-2/|access-date=2014-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803012456/https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/alice-b-russell-2/|archive-date=2019-08-03|url-status=dead}} She appeared in several films directed by her husband.
Biography
She was born on June 30, 1889 in Maxton, North Carolina. Her parents were M. J. Russell and Robert Russell, who was a prominent newspaper editor, publisher, and politician.{{cite news|last1=Dismond|first1=Mrs. H. Binga|date=April 3, 1926|title=New York Society|page=7|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|location=Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26063194/the_pittsburgh_courier/|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=December 8, 2018}} {{Open access}}Regester, Charlene. "Emerging from the Shadows: Alice Burton Russell-African American Film Producer, Actress, and Screenwriter." 2020.Film History 32 (1): 127–155.
Russell and Micheaux married on March 20, 1926, in Montclair, New Jersey.
She began her acting career in silent film, starring in her husband's The Broken Violin (1928). She continued to act after talkies predominated. She was mentioned often as A. Burton Russell in credits. In the 1930s, she produced three films by her husband and worked as miscellaneous crew in two films. She was also credited as a presenter for The Betrayal (1948). This would be the last film for her husband before his death and her final role as a feature film actress.
Living nearly 100 years, she died on the New Year's Day of 1985 in New Rochelle, New York. She was buried in an unmarked grave in Greenwood Cemetery in Rye, New York.McGilligan, Patrick. Oscar Micheaux: The Great and Only: the Life of America's First Black Filmmaker. Harper Collins, 2009. Her gravesite is now marked with a stone honoring her achievements in the entertainment industry.{{cite web |title=Alice B. Russell Micheaux |url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/172522196/alice-b-micheaux |website=Find a Grave |access-date=9 November 2022}}File:Betrayal lobby card 5 (cropped).JPG
Filmography
As actress:
- The Broken Violin (1928)
- Wages of Sin (1929)
- When Men Betray (1929)
- Easy Street (1930)
- A Daughter of the Congo (1930)
- Veiled Aristocrats (1932)
- Ten Minutes to Live (1932)
- The Girl from Chicago (1932)
- Harlem After Midnight (1934)
- Murder in Harlem (1935)
- God's Step Children (1938)
- Birthright (1939)
- The Betrayal (1948)
As producer:
As miscellaneous crew:
See also
References
External links
{{commons category|Alice B. Russell}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0750975|name=Alice B. Russell}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20190803012456/https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/alice-b-russell-2/ Alice B. Russell] at the Women Film Pioneers Project
- [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/172522196/alice-b-micheaux Alice B. Russell Micheaux] at Find a Grave
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Category:20th-century African-American actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from New Rochelle, New York
Category:African-American film producers
Category:American film actresses
Category:American silent film actresses
Category:American women film producers
Category:Film producers from New York (state)
Category:People from Maxton, North Carolina
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