Oscar Micheaux | |
---|---|
Born | Oscar Devereaux Micheaux January 2, 1884 Metropolis, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | March 25, 1951 | (aged 67)
Occupation(s) | Director, author |
Spouse | Orlean McCracken
(m. 1910, divorced) |
Awards |
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Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (US: /mɪˈʃoʊ/ ; (January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and controlled by black filmmakers,[1] Micheaux is regarded as the first major African-American feature filmmaker, a prominent producer of race films, and has been described as "the most successful African-American filmmaker of the first half of the 20th century".[2] He produced both silent films and sound films.