Reginald Fenderson

{{Short description|American actor (1911–1986)}}

Reginald Hartley Fenderson (December 28, 1911 – August 16, 1986) was an American actor in theatrical productions and films in the United States. He appeared in various films with African American casts in the 1930s and 1940s.

Reginald Fenderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 28, 1911.{{cite web |title=Reginald Hartley Fenderson |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/18422485:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=7c23f5b7e61fa53930e1717fc8185674&_phsrc=Dqh5346&_phstart=successSource |publisher=U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947 |access-date=26 February 2023}} His father, Alfonso Fenderson, was the original actor who portrayed Moses in the play, The Green Pastures.{{cite news |title="Moses" of Play Dies in Virginia |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38435156/the-evening-sun/ |accessdate=1 November 2020 |work=The Evening Sun |date=12 October 1934 |page=7}}

Reginald Fenderson was an actor on the stage version and road tour of Green Pastures, playing the characters Joshua and the magician for at least five years. He played a feature role in the 1939 film Reform School,{{cite news |title=Movie World Awaits 'Reform School' Premiere |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/202062397 |accessdate=27 October 2020 |work=The Pittsburgh Courier |date=22 April 1939 |page=21 |id={{ProQuest|202062397}} |language=English}} as an inmate named Freddie Gordon. The newspaper The Washington Afro-American stated that Fenderson "[handled] the role Freddie Gordon with admirable restraint, and is never guilty of melodramatics in a part that easily lends itself to over-portrayal."{{cite news |last1=Dodson |first1=Nell |title=Million Dollar Pictures Scores Dramatic Hit With "Reform School" |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/531249052 |accessdate=27 October 2020 |work=The Washington Afro-American |date=6 May 1939 |page=11|id={{ProQuest|531249052}} }}

Fenderson married Ella J. in 1933. They filed for divorce in 1938.{{cite news |title=Former Green Pastures Star Seeks Divorce |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/492614904 |accessdate=27 October 2020 |work=The Chicago Defender (National Edition) |date=18 June 1938 |page=2|id={{ProQuest|492614904}} }}

Fenderson served as a Private in the United States Army. Around 1943, he transferred to the Special Service Division and was later discharged.{{cite news |title=Singing Star in Huachuca - Players Production |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62354092/the-new-york-age/ |accessdate=1 November 2020 |work=The New York Age |date=23 October 1943 |page=12}} While in the army, he performed in one-act plays as part of the Huachuca Players, Fort Huachuca Little Theatre Group.{{cite news |title=Melodrama Staged by Little Theatre Group |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62354550/melodrama-staged-by-little-theatre-group/ |accessdate=1 November 2020 |work=The New York Age |date=23 October 1943 |page=12}}

Fenderson died in San Dimas, California on August 16, 1986, at the age of 74.{{cite book |last1=Sampson |first1=Henry T. |title=Blacks in Black and White: A Source Book on Black Films |date=1995 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |pages=520 |isbn=9780810826052 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4n1ZAAAAMAAJ&q=Reginald+Fenderson+1986 |access-date=26 February 2023}}{{cite book |last1=Wearing |first1=J. P. |title=The London Stage 1940–1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel |date=22 August 2014 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |pages=570 |isbn=9780810893061 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mreCBAAAQBAJ&dq=Reginald+Fenderson+1911+1968&pg=PA570 |access-date=26 February 2023}}{{cite web |title=Reginald H. Fenderson |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/4365297:2441?tid=&pid=&queryId=7c23f5b7e61fa53930e1717fc8185674&_phsrc=Dqh5347&_phstart=successSource |publisher=U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850–2010 |access-date=26 February 2023}}