The Killing of Canada Lee

In this episode, Dr. Robert Philipson interviews Mona Smith, Canada Lee's biographer,  about the rise, political assassination, and virtual erasure of this African American hero. From 1934 to 1951, Canada Lee was the most famous and revered Black actor of his day, associated -- and frequently starring -- with every landmark African American Broadway production. He broke barriers again and again by being cast in non-Black productions. Despite this, Canada Lee is virtually unknown. They discuss how his early death at the age of 45 is tied to the blacklist of the postwar Red Scare which also buried his achievements.

Host Info
Hosted by Dr. Robert Philipson
Robert is a former professor of African-American studies with a passion for jazz and art. A published author and Harlem Renaissance historian, he has produced multiple films about the intersectionality of race, music, and sexuality.

Guest Info
Mona Smith
Mona Smith is the author of Becoming Something: The Story of Canada Lee. She is a playwright, screenwriter, and former newspaper reporter. She is also a consultant to nonprofits and teaches theater and writing.

Music

“I Can’t Breathe” - H.E.R

Connect With Us:
Website: shogafilms.org
Instagram: @shogafilms
Facebook: facebook.com/shogafilms
Twitter: twitter.com/shogafilms
Sign up for our newsletter at shogafilms.org

Website: www.shogafilms.com;
Instagram: shogafilms;
Facebook: facebook.com/shogafilms;
Twitter: twitter.com/shogafilms

Transcript

Mona: My name is Mona Smith and I am the author of a social biography of the black actor and activist Canada Lee and it's called Becoming Something, the Story of Canada Lee. And when was the book published? The book was first published in 2004 and had a second publishing in 2006.

Robert: Thank you. How did you become interested in Canada Lee? 

Mona: I started out my writing career as a reporter for newspapers, and then I retrained and went back to school to become a playwright. So my interest in Canada Lee started because I was interested in writing a new play about the intersection of arts and politics at the end of World War II.

And specifically, I was interested in the fact that black men who served in World War II to fight a racist regime were coming home and facing Jim Crow and racist treatment and, in some cases, violence. So I was interested in writing a play about that. And at the time while I was a grad student, I was working a lot of day jobs.

And one of those jobs was for a jazz vocalist who had an incredible library. So while I was researching this idea about this play I happened to be reading a history book, and it was about the Red Scare and the McCarthy era. And there was a single line footnote in that book that mentioned the black actor Canada Lee whose death was one of a handful attributed to the McCarthy era entertainment blacklist.

And I had never heard of Canada Lea before, and I was interested in this idea, and I began to research Canada's life, but there was very little out there in the world. This was the 1990s. There was not really an internet yet, for those of us who were interested in research. So I spent a lot of time looking in person, in libraries, and in archives.

And I began to find out little intriguing bits of information about Canada. Canada's activism and about his life in the arts. And that really was the beginning of a journey that went on for over 10 years and ultimately led me to write first a play about Canada and then a book. 

Robert: Very good. So I think you've answered this already, but why did you decide to write his biography?

Mona: The reason I decided to write a biography about Canada was because while researching the facts of its life in order to first write a play, I struggled to find any information. And it became apparent to me that Canada's amazing contributions to the arts And to civil rights activism had essentially been erased from American history.

And I felt that this did the man's life and contributions and extraordinary disservice. And there, there was no article, no book, nothing out there that was really capturing the impact that he had on the arts and on the civil rights movement. And I was extremely fortunate. In that I was able to meet Canada's widow, Frances Lee Pearson, and she kindly not only gave me access to her files and Canada's files, but also shared a treasure trove of her memories with me about Canada and his life and their life together.

And when finally I had gathered all this information I was fortunate to be able to create a play, but a play is one hour long and it only captured a glimpse of Canada's life, and when I was offered the opportunity to write a biography, I knew it would give me the, the platform I needed to really capture all of the important things that happened in his entire life.

Robert: Please briefly describe Canada's upbringing and life up to the beginning of his boxing career. 

Mona: Canada's early years were very much typical, I would say, of African Americans who made their way to Harlem during the Great Migration. His father's family was from St. Croix. His mother's family was from the American South.

They ended up living in Harlem. And Canada was born there. His name was christened name was Leonard Lionel Cornelius Kanagata which was a mouthful. And they called the boy [00:05:00] Lee for short. He was a handful. He was always a very lively little boy. And his mother was a bit worried that he was going to get into trouble and thought she might settle him down with music training.

So at a very early age, around seven years old, she enrolled him. in the music settlement in Harlem, where he studied with J. Rosamond Johnson, who is a very well known composer and musician, known for Lift Every Voice and Sing, among other compositions. And he was a fine and demanding teacher. So we think Canada must have had quite some talent to be allowed to study with him.

And Canada Lee studied at that studio for seven years. He did a student recital at Aeolian Hall, which was a bit like Carnegie at the time. And then he gave up music and we're not sure why. He was 14. He had concentrated on violin and piano for seven years. It clearly was important to him. It's possible knowing that Canada was an ambitious.

This young man, right from the start, that he may have looked around at classical music and saw that there were very few, if any, people of color in orchestras during that time. Not so different now, sadly. So it's possible that an ambitious young man who wanted to make his mark in the world felt that music was not going to be the space to do it in.

And so he actually dropped music and ran away to the races. 

Robert: That's Right. And so he had a brief career as a jockey, brief career as a jockey. 

Mona: Canada Lee had a very brief career as a jockey. Probably the reason he chose the races was because black jockeys had a long and storied history in that sport.

And Canada told people that he dreamed of riding silks, riding in silks and wearing medals on his chest. So clearly he, he wanted to be a champion. Unfortunately about the time that Canada ran away to the racetracks jockeys of color were being literally elbowed off the track by white jockeys in the white racing establishment who really wanted to keep all of the purses for themselves.

And so after two years of getting kicked around tracks in the United States and Canada Canada came home not in silks, not with medals on his chest, but with some old leather boots and pretty empty pockets. And so he was back in Harlem, living at home again at the age of 16. 

Robert: So describe Canada's boxing career.

Mona: Canada, after having come home from the races with empty pockets, found himself with very little education. And no real way to make money. And yet he's still an ambitious kid. So he's looking around for how is he going to make his way in the world and hopefully move out of his house. He wasn't thrilled with living with mom and dad again at home.

And his mom wasn't thrilled either. So one day he's out in Harlem and he runs into an old friend from his elementary school days who was bragging about how much money he was making in the rink. And Canada thought to himself, I used to beat you up. If you're making a lot of money in the ring, I can make a lot of money in the ring.

And so he enrolled himself in a boxing program at a local church, Salem Methodist, in the basement. And within two years, he had won every amateur title and won 90 out of 100 boxing matches at the time as a lightweight boxer. He became a huge fan favorite in Harlem. Everybody knew who he was. And it's also an interesting period because this is how Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegada got his handle.

Because in one of his biggest matches when he's early in his career a famous ring announcer named Joe Humphreys was given his card to announce a fight. And it said, Canegada leads. And somehow Humphreys either fluffed it or decided on purpose that this fighter needed a better name. And so he announced him to all and sundry as in this corner, Canada Lee.

And Canada liked it. And so he kept the handle for his entire career. Canada ended up also being a pretty great professional fighter. Again, he had about a hundred documented fights according to the New York Times. He only lost 25 bouts. And though he only had a career of about three years in the ring, he made about 90, 000, and that's the equivalent of 2 million today.

So he lived the high life. He went to all the clubs. Now he's friends with Langston Hughes, the great poet. They're best pals. They're going to Broadway shows. They're listening to jazz music. He's he really had the kind of life that we think about sports figures having. Everywhere he went, people knew who he was.

And he enjoyed every minute of it. He also got married very young. And during his boxing period he married Juanita Waller. And they quickly had a son, Carl. And that was great motivation for him to fight as many fights as he possibly could. Because now he's a young man with a family.

Unfortunately, after three years in the ring, he was fighting in Madison. against a fighter called Andy Devotee. And they fought a 10 round bout, and during that fight, he received a blow to the right side of his head that ultimately detached his retina. So though he won that bout it ultimately caused him to do, to lose the sight in his right eye.

And though he tried to hide that, the boxing officials He was, eventually saw what was happening, and they forced him to retire from the ring. Fortunately, that was in the middle of the Great Depression, and Canada Lee was never one for saving money, so that 90, 000, today's 2, 000, 000 that he had earned, he had basically spent all that.

So he is now, his boxing career has come to an end, he has no money saved, he has a young family, no education. And it's the depression. He has nowhere to go. And not a clue about what to do. 

Robert: Which leads to the next question. How did Canada get into acting? 

Mona: Canada Lee got into acting a little bit like an Alice in Wonderland story.

Canada Lee's mother was very upset with her son. Because he was sitting around moping. He'd lost his boxing career. Canada Lee's mother was very He didn't want to just go to work digging ditches, he told her, and she said, Son, you're like anybody else. You just got to go out there and get a job. So she encouraged him, gave him a little bit of a kick in the backside and said, Go to the local YMCA in Harlem.

They have an Employment Bureau. They're helping people to find jobs. So listening to the remonstrations of his mother, Canada walked down a few blocks, all the way kind of wrestling with himself. He walks into the YMCA, but instead of going to the Employment Bureau, he sees a little sign on a door and it says, Enter Here.

And he thinks, I should enter here. So he walks through the door, and he is in the middle of an audition for a play. He takes a seat in the back, and you know, As a boxing champ, he'd gone to Broadway shows. He he was interested. He's just curious, so he's just sitting in the back. And then, somebody turned around, recognized him, and called him out.

Hey, that's Canada Lee, the boxer. And the director said, are you here to audition? And Canada starts to say no, and then he thinks, well, why not? So he walks up on stage, and he wins the role. Not a lick of training, never acted a day in his life, but he won the role. And that was really the start of his acting career.

That show was called Brother Moe's, and it was funded by the city of New York. And much like today, it was sort of a place for young and out of work actors to get a little bit of money and to practice their craft. And so he and a bunch of other young actors traveled around to different parks and community centers and did their show.

But the bug kind of bit him, and people were noticing him. He had a rather beautiful instrument, an incredible voice. So that was a great natural gift. And he was also a quick study, as we've seen with all the other things that he did in his life. And so he paid attention to some of the actors with more experience.

And after a summer of touring in Brother Moe's, he landed a role in The Fall. And it was Stevedore. And he ended up touring again, and by the time he finished his time on that show he had some skills.

Robert: Okay. What was the Federal Theater Project, and what opportunities did it present to black actors? 

Mona: The Federal Theater Project was a project of the Works Progress Administration during the FDR, the Roosevelt administration. And this was part of a giant scheme, really, of projects to put people back to work in the Depression so that they could support themselves and their families.

So, the Federal Theater because of that, is one of the few instances, perhaps the only instance in which we have a [00:15:00] federally funded theater in the United States. And as part of this federal theater project, the director, a woman by the name of Hallie Flanagan, made really a brave, courageous, innovative decision, and something that was greatly needed.

She said that there should be Negro units so that artists of color could also benefit from this back to work project. And one of the Negro units, in fact the flagship, was to be in Harlem. The Harlem unit was actually run, strikingly, by John Hausman, a famed producer. And Hausman picked as sort of the artistic director of the project, a little known, young, white actor named Orson Welles.

And so Hausman and Orson Welles would ultimately be the driving forces in Harlem behind the Negro Unit which again is part of the Federal Theater Project. 

 Robert: So, what was the Voodoo Macbeth and what role did Canada play? 

Mona: So, in the Negro Unit in Harlem, Orson Welles was given an extraordinary amount of creative latitude.

And he did something that really had not been done before. Orson Welles made the choice that he was going to start his tenure there by doing a Shakespeare play. And the Shakespeare play he chose was the Scottish play Macbeth. Orson's great innovation with this project in making the decision to do this with all of the artists in the Negro unit in Harlem was that he set the play, the Scottish play, in Haiti. So that the rebellious, revolutionary themes in the play about the overthrow of a king were in fact set in Haiti during its own revolution. And though now we sort of take this as a matter of course, the idea of setting Shakespeare in another time and another place, Really, Orson was, if not the first, one of the first directors to make such a bold decision.

And of course, it gave him an incredible amount of, of inspiration for slight changes and adaptations to make within the course of this play, which became known in the theater world and in American theater history as Voodoo Macbeth. Because One of the changes was, instead of the witches that are so famously part of the plot of Macbeth, it was voodoo priests and priestesses.

There were dozens, scores of black artists who were hired to work on this project. And Orson Welles selected Canada Lee to play a pivotal role, and that is the role of Banquo. Banquo is the person who is murdered in the play, and that murder sets off an incredible chain of events. 

Orson Welles chose Canada Lee for the pivotal role of Banquo. The murder of Banquo is what sets off the incredible chain of events in the play that leads to. Ultimately, the deaths of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. So, Canada had the experience of being in Harlem, his hometown, and working with this amazing, charismatic, young actor, Orson Welles, and performing an all black, dramatic Shakespearean play.

And it changed his life. He later said of his experience of working with Orson, and becoming friends with Orson, that this is when he really learned what theater was all about. Up to that point, he said, it was a way for me to help put food on my table. From the time he started working with Orson, in the Voodoo Macbeth, he said, I knew it was theater was his vocation, yeah.

Robert: And this was, this was Orson's first direct experience. directorial project, right? This is before 

Mona: Voodoo Macbeth was Orson Welles first directorial project. 

Robert: Yeah. 

Mona: So, it was a, a true moment in art history in the United States. 

Robert: Yeah. When did Canada next work with John Hausman and Orson Welles? 

Mona: Voodoo Macbeth in Harlem was such a success that it brought an extraordinary amount of attention to all who were involved, but particularly for Orson Welles.

So Orson Welles went off to do a little film project in Hollywood called Citizen Kane. And Citizen Kane had a little bit of trouble getting released. So while it was in the can and waiting to go into theaters, Orson Welles came back to New York, and told Houseman that he had an idea for his next Broadway project.

Because, of course, it's Orson. He's gonna be on Broadway. Where else would he be? So he said that what he really wanted to do was to do a theatrical adaptation of Richard Wright's seminal novel on race in America, which is Native Son. And I, I think Haussmann was probably a little bit surprised. It, the novel, it was certainly controversial.

Critics, though they lauded the writing talked about how it, it explored the incredible chasm between blacks and whites in the United States. Not necessarily a person's first pick for Broadway in the 1940s, but Orson was determined. The play was written, the adaptation was created by Richard Wright and the playwright Paul Green.

And And Orson had one person and one person only in mind to play the lead role of Bigger Thomas, and that was Canada Lee. And so Canada was thrilled to set off in his greatest theatrical adventure to that point, and that was working on Broadway with Orson Welles. Describe Canada's political evolution during the Great Depression.

Canada's political evolution started during his experience with the Federal Theatre. Canada became politically aware in a way that he hadn't been up to that point in his life. First of all, the very existence of the Negro Unit and the idea that it was allowing black artists to get fair and equal treatment.

To the white artists who were also benefiting from the federal theater made him start to, to think about his people and the work that needed to be done in order to have fair and equal tre treatment in all areas of life. From housing to education to treatment in the military. So Orson Welles also Fairly early in his life became a progressive, the two of them engaged in a lot of discussions during Voodoo Macbeth.

And really Canada's evolution continued from, from those early days in the federal theater. But particularly, I think, issues became alive to him playing Bigger Thomas. Everyone wanted to talk to Canada about race. When he took on the role of Bigger Thomas. And now, his fame as the star of this controversial and critically acclaimed play he had a platform now.

His fame gave him a way to speak to reporters when they came to write profiles about him and to interview him. They began to ask him questions and he began to, And initially, he had some stumbles. Famously, his father wrote him a letter when Canada was on tour with Native Son and across the United States.

And his father cautioned him against the, the sort of dramatic and bold way that Canada was beginning to talk about race and civil rights and human rights and Jim Crow. His father said, you only just got started in this career, you know, son, be careful. But Canada was never careful. And probably the, the most alive that Canada felt to these issues was touring Native Son in the Jim Crow South.

There were theaters, particularly the instance when, when Native Son played in St. Louis. And city police were called to be positioned outside and inside the theater during that performance. And in the play, there's a moment when there are fake shots that are fired because Bigger Thomas is being pursued by the police because he has accidentally murdered a white woman.

And Orson Welles had staged it so that the shots are fired across the house. So the police are in the back shooting at Bigger, who is on stage. And this is frightening anywhere, but it was incredibly frightening in St. Louis when there were actual police in the theater. And people were crawling under their seats thinking that the shots were real and that they were actually, you know, under attack.

Including the critics who kind of ruefully wrote about this afterwards. So we have the documentation of this happening. During that period, White and black actors in the [00:25:00] play, when they're touring the Jim Crow South, they're staying in different hotels, they're treated differently, they can't eat at the same restaurants.

Of course, Canada knew this was true, but living through it you know, having grown up in Harlem, in the culture that he knew this, this changed him forever. And he talked frequently about his understanding of race in America and how that had changed profoundly as a result of his work on that play and that tour.

Robert: We're not going to get to this, but I need to say this now. Yes. His experience with apartheid in South Africa. 

Mona: Yes. 

Robert: At the end of his life. 

Mona: Yes. 

Robert: Just like, was an incredible, you know, Deepening of that understanding of the chasm. 

Mona: A hundred percent. 

Robert: This is not going to be part of the film. 

Mona: Yes, understood. 

Robert: But, 

Mona: yes. Thank you for that. 

Robert: Yeah. 

Mona: It's so true. 

Robert: Yeah. What was Canada's first role in the movie? How did he face up to the racism that he found on set? 

Mona: Canada's first major role in a Hollywood film was in Lifeboat. It was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. And Canada, who had been waiting for an opportunity and waiting for a call from Hollywood was so excited when this call finally came through and it was Alfred Hitchcock who already had, as you can imagine, quite a reputation.

So he was delighted and excited and then he got the script. And the role that he had been offered was Joe the Steward. Now to understand this, you have to understand that a steward on a merchant marine ship was essentially a servant like role. So, in this picture that is about eight people who are traveling on a freighter during the Second World War, only to be attacked by a German U boat, torpedoed, and sunk, the eight people who end up on the lifeboat of the title include Joe the steward.

And everyone else in the lifeboat is white, including the last person who's pulled out of the water. Who turns out to be Gus, the captain of the U boat that sunk their ship. So, Canada is reading through the script, and he's reading all the lines by everybody else who gets saved in the lifeboat. And, he is the only person who's saying, yes sir, and no sir, and there's clearly menial language.

And he felt disappointed, angry, and demeaned. So, he essentially called up Hitchcock's creative team and said, Look, I really want to work with Hitchcock and I really would love to be in this movie but I can't do this. This is demeaning to me and to my people and to all people of color. So, there was talk, and the idea was that the script would have changes, and the dialect that Canada referred to as nigger dialect had to go.

And promises were made, and as a result, Canada agreed to do the film, and he went out to Hollywood. And the minute he got on set, it was abundantly clear that the script really hadn't changed all that much. So, the entire shoot was really Canada battling for his character and for himself. And he had a lot of support on the set.

I want to make it clear, for example, Tula Labankhet was a great friend and supporter. So there were actors on set who really did advocate for Canada and who were great friends to him. But there was an artist on the set who Canada told friends and colleagues that a particular actor demeaned him.

Robert: You can say his name. 

Mona: Walter Slezak was the actor that Canada said said made demeaning remarks, racial slurs and who intimated that he liked the old days when black people knew their place. And essentially knew that they were there to serve their betters. And John Hodiak, who was another actor in that movie said, you know, I don't know how you're standing this, Canada.

How are you tolerating this? And Canada said later, you know, of course I wanted to punch him in the nose. But he said he wanted to be perceived as someone who fought for their rights without punching anybody. And who could stand up for himself. And he did. He ultimately was able to get rid of the dialect, the demeaning moments in the film.

Some would say that tokenism is still present, and I think we certainly look at the film today and can [00:30:00] see that while Canada probably did his best there are still some very difficult moments. To watch in that film, and the treatment of Joe, the steward. But one of the things Canada was most proud of is there's a moment when there is a service for a child, a baby that is, has died.

 And in that moment, Canada says the 23rd Psalm. And while it had been written in complete dialect, 

Robert: No, I didn't know that. 

Mona: Canada in that scene, Canada speaks the 23rd Psalm, and though the whole thing had been written with that 23rd Psalm in dialect, Canada refused and said it in standard English, and I think it stands as one of the more moving moments in that film.

It's a set piece. It is. One of the other important things, I think, to note about that film, and it was noted by black critics at the time, was that at the end, Joe the Steward is the only character that refuses to devolve into mob violence. All of the other survivors on the, on the boat take part in the murder of the German U boat captain, and Joe the Steward won't have anything to do with it.

So there are definitely still some redeeming moments and ultimately, Canada walked away from the film feeling like he did the best he could given the circumstances. 

Robert: Talk about John Steinbeck. 

Mona: John, yes. Great. 

Four lifeboats. John Steinbeck initially was signed on to write the script, and of course he was already a noted American novelist.

And Steinbeck did write the initial versions of the script. However, there were disagreements about treatment of the characters, and Steinbeck ultimately would leave the project, and it was finished by And when the film came out, Steinbeck's name was still listed as the person who wrote it.

Robert: Over his objections. 

Mona: Over his objections. And he in fact publicly wrote a letter and demanded that his name be removed from the film. And largely his objections centered on the character of Joe the Steward and the treatment of that character. So Steinbeck himself had reservations about how that project turned out.

Robert: Yep. They didn't take his name off it though. 

Mona: No, they did not. They did not. 

Robert: Hollywood. What were some of the acting firsts achieved by Act Canada in his career? 

Mona: Canada had some amazing firsts that he achieved during his career. Of course, We have talked about on Broadway, his appearance in Native Son which certainly was a landmark role and production by any measure when it comes to the handling of the issues of race in the American theater.

Canada also was one of the first black stars to be in a in a, in a Shakespeare play. That was a play that involved actors of both races. And that was his appearance in Tempest. That was also not without its controversy because he was cast in the role of Caliban. Who is a monster in Shakespeare's play.

And so there were people friends of his, critics columnists, black newspapers and some white newspapers who questioned Canada's choice to accept the role of Caliban. But it was a production with eminent actors and director and ultimately Canada felt it was important to be a black actor and to be in an integrated Broadway production of Shakespeare.

He also He played in a classic play called The Duchess of Malfi, a Jacobian drama. And he played the role of a white character in Whiteface. That was a very unusual and perhaps unique circumstance, but it gave him the opportunity, again, to be in a major role in a Broadway play in a classic.

And so There are some very interesting pictures that survive to this day of the makeup artist applying white face to Canada, whose skin was extremely dark, so it's a profound and I would say somewhat disturbing image to, to look at. Another first that Canada, Canada was very proud of was he was the first black producer of a drama on Broadway, and that was on Whitman Avenue.

And it dealt with sort of redlining and segregation in housing. Discrimination in housing. And that very nearly, again, cost him every cent that [00:35:00] he had at the time. He had a very hard time selling tickets. People were reluctant to come to this kind of a drama. And he poured his all into it.

In fact, there's a, a very interesting picture in the New York Public Library's Performing Arts Library of a horse cart that went out with giant sign boards encouraging people to, you know, support Canada and come to this play. 

Robert: How  Did Canada become involved with the film Body and Soul?

Mona: Canada became involved in the film Body and Soul because he knew Robert Rawson. Robert Rawson was the director and creative force behind the project. 

Canada Lee became involved in the film Body and Soul because of his relationship with the Jewish film director, Robert Rawson. Canada and Robert had met when Canada was in Hollywood making Lifeboat, and Robert had told him at the time that he kind of had in mind a boxing picture.

They both shared a love of the sport. And clearly Rawson was thinking about his next project. So they talked a little, and Canada was hopeful, but he didn't hear from Mr. Rawson for a year, and then another year, and, you know, time was going by, and Canada was doing other projects, including on Whitman Avenue.

But, there came a point when Robert Rawson did take his project to Enterprise Films, and got a green light. And he did ultimately give Canada a call. And Canada couldn't believe it. Later he said, you know, in all those years, in between the initial conversation we had, you know, Robert Rawson met all kinds of people, and he could have asked anybody.

But he remembered me, and he asked me. And Canada was extremely excited because it allowed him the opportunity to, [work]with someone he very much respected and liked. And also to combine two great passions, boxing and film and acting. 

Robert: So it was Robert Rawson who, who tapped Canada for the role?

Mona: It was Robert Rawson who tapped Canada.

And it really allowed kind of a great gathering of people who all worked on this film over at Enterprise Studios. For one thing Robert Rawson had, oh, oh, sorry, there's a bug. This is going to drive me crazy. There, I'm going to start over. Canada was extremely excited about the opportunity not only to work with Robert Rawson, but Robert Rawson had assembled this amazing group of people, some of whom Canada knew from his time in Hollywood, and some he knew of, and was He was delighted to get the opportunity to meet them in person, and that included a number of Hollywood artists who were Jewish artists, who worked on a multitude of projects with which he was familiar, and who were political progressives, and he had met also because of his political activism in California.

So one of these was, of course, the great John Garfield, the actor, and another was a Polanski. Who was the scriptwriter chosen for the project. So really some of Canada's great memories, most powerful memories ended up being his work with these individuals and his collaboration.

Robert: Excellent answer, thank you. What role did Canada play in Body and Soul? 

Mona: Okay. So, in the film Body and Soul, Candida plays a black boxer named Ben. And Ben is friends with Charlie, who is who is played by John Garfield. 

Robert: A Jewish prize fighter. 

Mona: Yes. Canada plays Ben, who becomes a friend and also trainer to a Jewish boxer named Charlie, and that's played by John Garfield.

So, these two men are really at the heart of the film Body and Soul. And the story of the film really is about It's about the fact that Charlie comes under the influence of kind of an evil white boxing promoter. And he begins to slide  into kind of dissipation. He drinks. He he's asked to take a fall.

Meaning to throw a fight and to lose it just so other people can make money on their bets. And then who is distraught at what he sees happening to his friend really tries to essentially do battle with this evil promoter. And as a result, there is an incredibly moving scene where Ben is in a, in a ring, and he's been taunted and made fun of by this promoter.

And he is He is punching almost at shadows and really he's, he's fighting, you know, these incredible injustices. And while he's, he's punching at shadows, he collapses and ultimately dies. John Garfield, his character, Charlie, feels guilty. He's already been carrying a terrible weight because while, while Ben was still a practicing boxer in the ring He and Charlie had a fight.

Ben should never have been in the ring because, in fact, he had a potentially life threatening injury. But he was desperate for money. And so Charlie and Ben ended up in the ring and Ben nearly died. And Charlie had had no idea the risk that Ben was taking, and that is ultimately what forged their friendship and caused Charlie to hire Ben on as a trainer.

And so, you know, they, they forged this incredible friendship on the film. Which both actors, I think, worked pretty hard to to depict their friendship as a friendship between equals. And that was a, a very different kind of relationship to see on film at that time. 

Robert: Right. And I think it actually was banned from screening in, in the film.

Mona: Director Robert Rawson warned both actors, Garfield and Canada Lee that there was a very good chance that this film would not be seen in many, if any, theaters in the south because of the fact that it depicted Ben as an equal to Charlie in the film. That the black boxer and the white boxer These two friends would be depicted in a, in an equal way.

Robert: And cinematically they were filmed on the same level, whereas usually the white actor would be above the black actor. 

Mona: So one of, one of the reasons Body and Soul makes every list of top 10 boxing films ever made in Hollywood. Is in part because of a great script, the strong performances by Garfield and Canada Lee, but also the cinematography by the wonderful James Wang Hao.

And he actually fill, filmed the boxing scenes, some of them on roller skates. And part of what happens as a result of his fascinating and kind of expert and innovative cinematography Is the fact that these two boxers are always seen on an equal plane, as equals. There is no demeaning of Canada's character by making him appear smaller, shorter, farther away.

James Wong Howell was right in the action. And you, you feel like you're in the ring with them. 

Robert: Yeah. 

Mona: Which is also brilliant. 

Robert: And even outside, I mean there's a really remarkable scene where Canada the Canada, where Ben questions Charlie directly. 

Mona: Yes. 

Robert: Says, you've been, you've been told to take the fall in this championship fight, haven't you? Charlie doesn't answer him directly, but he indicates, you know, through the silence, that in fact this is the case. And you can see the look of disappointment on Ben's face. Right. You know, which was unique.

A unique dynamic in Hollywood at that point. There was never an interaction where a black man was disappointed with the action of the white man and allowed to express it. 

So, how is Ben a continuation of and a break with the racial hierarchy as depicted in Hollywood?

Mona: So, Canada Lee's character, Ben, could be considered a continuation of stereotyping in Hollywood in the sense that he could be seen as as a sort of faithful servant figure. He is, of course, Charlie's trainer. And he is in a supportive but less important role as a friend, but he is not also a champion. He is a trainer.

He is not a champion. as highly placed in the boxing world as the John Garfield character, Charlie, is a champ. And Ben is the trainer. Ben is advising that he is not in control of what happens to Charlie and Charlie's career. So that notion of the faithful servant one could could see that as being part of who Ben is.

However, I would say that Ben breaks with practices of stereotyping in Hollywood because of the fact that they are positioned as friends. They have conversations where they speak to each other and listen to each other and react with each other as friends with mutual respect. Even when Charlie is not listening to Ben.

He, we know that he sees ultimately that Ben was right, Ben was right about the promoter, Ben was right to call him out on the idea of cheating and drinking too much and not respecting the people in his life, including his family. So, I think there's a reason why Rawson knew that this film was likely to be banned in And that speaks to the fact that Garfield's character and Canada Lee's character were positioned as equals and that that would run afoul of censorship and Jim Crow practices.

Robert: Would you agree that the 1947 film represented an apogee of the Hollywood Left? 

Mona: I certainly think that Body and Soul is part of a body of work produced by Hollywood during that time that represented. The ideals, and to some degree the goals, of the Hollywood left. Everyone who worked on Body and Soul, really everyone that I can think of, was a political progressive.

Some of them were members of the Communist Party, a fair number of socialists, certainly progressives in working for civil and human rights in all areas. So While I might not term Body and Soul the apogee of filmmaking by the left, it has to be viewed as a critical work for people at the time who were striving for the goals of, of the left, of progressive Hollywood.

Robert: And how would you characterize those goals? 

Mona: The Hollywood left was active in In many areas and that I include Canada Lee among these progressives. So for example they were working for equal treatment for artists of every color and religion and political stripe. These were people who were going to the studios and demanding That we eliminate demeaning stereotypes of blacks, of Jewish people, of Chinese people, of women to some degree.

I think this was incredibly important because it also informed starting, starting with the notion of having a free and fair studio system. Then we begin to look at issues outside the studio. And now you have actors, artists, directors, technicians, writers, working together also to make films about important subjects that are speaking to the world around them.

To prejudices, biases, unfair practices. It wasn't just their world inside the studio, but they wanted Hollywood to make films that meant something, that contributed to political discussion about what we wanted this America to look like, be like, behave like. And you have a, a core group on the Hollywood left who really were asking America to live up to its democratic principles.

And I, I think when they were at their finest this was the importance of the members of the, the Hollywood left. They understood the power of that films could have in leading that kind of discourse in the United States. 

Robert: Huh. Which takes us right to the blacklist. What brought down the Hollywood Left?

Briefly, we'll cover that at greater length in other  interviews, but what brought down the Hollywood Left? 

Mona: The, the disaster that befell the Hollywood Left That was really the House Un American Activities Committee and the general attack that not only that committee, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation and also right wing media sort of forged against progressives.

In Hollywood and in the entertainment industry. The politicians of that time, the media moguls of that time, and, you know, certain leaders in our government saw the power that Hollywood could have, and they didn't want Hollywood in control of messaging. So, ultimately Also, we, we had the nation, and particularly the right, who were caught up in a fear of communism.

Robert: The Red Scare. 

Mona: And this was the time of, you know, our second great Red Scare in this country. And this fear of communists, this idea that they were hiding under every bed, and that we were in great danger charged up. elected officials, it charged up the media, it charged up the American public. So, ultimately progressives in every field, but, of course, very noticeably and famously in Hollywood, and epitomized by the Hollywood Ten.

This ultimately led to their downfall because people in power and the general public Let their fear of communism run away from them and led to this ultimately the fall of the progressives and the Hollywood left. 

The, the people in power in this country allowed their fear of communism. to run away with them, and ultimately that would lead to the fall of the progressive left in Hollywood. 

Robert: Okay, good. Who is Ed Sullivan, and what was his relationship with Canada?

Mona: Ed Sullivan is known to many of us as the long time host of the Ed Sullivan Show on television. But Ed Sullivan actually started out as a journalist. When he was young, he was a sports reporter. And because he was a sports reporter based in New York he knew Canada Lee as a boxer in Canada's original boxing days.

When Canada's boxing career ended due to his loss of sight Ed. inability to continue in the ring. He thought about all kinds of different ways that he could have a job, and briefly, he started a swing band. He picked up the violin again, which he had put down as a teenager. He started a swing band, and Ed Sullivan saw that Canada was trying to make a go of it and playing some pretty obscure clubs in Harlem.

And Ed at that time had moved away from career in sports and was writing an entertainment column. These days we look at Ed as an influencer. So he could help make a career, and he gave Canada Lee's band and Canada a plug in his entertainment column, which briefly helped Canada and his band. And when Canada went on to make a career as an actor, Ed was continuing his career as a as an entertainment columnist, and in fact he was syndicated, so even more of an influencer, because now Ed had a national audience.

And Ed was quite good to, to Canada, and often lifted up his performances, and generally in a very positive light. And we have a sense from some of Canada's papers that the two of them really did consider each other friends. The The great betrayal, then, for Canada was when Canada's name ultimately was named, and he was branded a communist.

It didn't happen in front of the House Un American Activities Committee as it did so often when names were named. In Canada's case, His name was named, and he was branded a communist during an almost forgotten espionage trial of a government girl named Judith Copland, who was accused of passing her Russian paramour [00:55:00] secrets.

Again, this is the time of the Red Scare, a fear of communists. During her trial, her notes paramour were exposed as evidence. And in the long list of people that she claimed were communists, Canada's name was among them. And as a result, once Canada's name was named, Ed Sullivan, whose politics had shifted from left and progressive, towards the right, again, another person who let his fear of communism and the public spirit of the time, get away from him.

He took what came out at that trial at face value, and he too named Canada's name to a national audience. Canada wrote to Ed, begging him, pleading with him. He says in his letter to Ed Sullivan, we were friends. How could you believe? And Canada states in that letter, very powerfully, his case, that he is a patriot.

He believes in the Constitution, and that all he's doing is asking America to live up to its democratic principles. And he believes that he should be considered more of a patriot because of that. But Ed refused to answer him, and it ended what had been a decades long friendship. And Canada considered it a painful betrayal.

By someone he had clearly once considered a friend.

Robert: What was the Committee for the First Amendment? 

Mona: The Committee for the First Amendment was organized initially by a group of Hollywood stars and, and prominent figures of the time. And it was organized around the idea of combating the entertainment blacklist. and ultimately also to support the Hollywood Ten.

There was additionally a sort of Broadway wing of the committee, and this Broadway wing one of the great leaders was John Garfield, the Jewish actor that Canada had become so close to when they made the film Body and Soul together. So, when John Garfield heard about the West Coast Hollywood Centered Committee and everything they were doing to fight the entertainment blacklist and to support the Hollywood Ten he sent a mimeographed letter to a whole bunch of his acquaintances in the New York area, including Canada.

They started having meetings. Canada was there. They were talking. John Garfield found out that the Hollywood CFA had chartered a plane And that they were going to fly to Washington, D. C. to support the Hollywood Ten as they faced the House Un American Activities Committee. And John Garfield said, we're going to charter a plane also.

And so the New York wing also did. Garfield was on the plane, so was Canada, so were other actors, including Uta Hagen and some other names. 

Robert: Humphrey Bogart. 

Mona: Humphrey Bogart was in the West Coast. 

Robert: Mm hmm. 

Mona: Yes, definitely. Along with Lauren Bacall. 

Robert: Mm hmm. 

Mona: So there were some pretty big names, you know, who were coming on these planes to D.C. and press conferences were held and John Garfield read a prepared statement where, you know, he essentially called out the House Un American Activities Committee. Canada was at his side. So ultimately, however, the CFA began to kind of fade away. And And when you, when you sort of study the documents and the records and the interviews of the time, it does appear that there was some embarrassment over some of what happened when the Hollywood Ten spoke to the House Un American Activities Committee.

There were some antics I think is the term often used, that they couldn't get behind. Some disrespect and so ultimately the, the Committee for the First Amendment, both the West Coast and the New York centered groups sort of began to fade into the limelight, especially when the public perception Americans all across the country couldn't really find themselves able to get behind what was happening and what the Hollywood Ten was saying or at least some members of the Hollywood Ten.

There came this kind of sea change, a shift in opinion and then. And the CFA sort of fizzled out. 

Robert: So describe how the blacklist choked off Canada's career. 

Mona: Canada's career was essentially ended by the entertainment blacklist. Once Canada's name was named as a part of this espionage trial, and named again by Ed Sullivan.

Once your name was named, then That everyone in radio and film and nascent television which was in its very early days at the time you couldn't get a contract, you couldn't get cast you were a pariah. You know, your name was, was tarred. And for Canada he had projects in the works, both in radio and in film, and they would just disappear.

And when he would go up for parts where he knew he was previously under consideration, suddenly no one had him under consideration anymore. And this was true of many artists. But in Canada's case, for a black artist where opportunities were already limited very quickly, Canada lost all income. He lost all opportunity.

He couldn't get a job, as he said you know, sort of singing for donut money. I mean, nobody was listening to Canada anymore. And he continued, despite the fact of knowing that this had to do with his progressive politics and his civil rights activism and his human rights activism he just refused to stop speaking out against injustice he, he, he couldn't stop.

And there were times when his widow, Frances she would beg him, you know, don't put yourself through this. You know, we need to rethink what we're doing. We have to be able to survive as a, as a couple. We have to pay rent. And it was it was not something that he was ever going to be able to do.

So there were, there were ways at the time when some artists were working with the authorities to rehabilitate their names often by naming other people's names, and Canada refused. He was not going to change who he was, he was not going to change his practice, and he was not going to name any names or get anyone else in trouble.

Francis once said that two people who she thought were likely FBI agents came to the door of their apartment and told Canada that if he would speak out against his friend Paul Robeson and others and call them communists, that his career could be resuscitated and he tossed them out. He, he would have nothing to do with it.

Would like to, if it's all right, though, to say that in addition to losing all of the work that he would have had in the entertainment business in the United States. His opportunities to go overseas, as some progressives and people of color did at the time, and found work in London and in other places where their progressive politics and their race didn't matter.

Canada was unable to go to Europe and work once his passport was seized. So essentially he was trapped in a country in which he could not work. And that really ended everything for him. 

Robert: Can you think of one or two instances of Canada declaring sympathy for or an alliance with the Jews?

Mona: Canada was sympathetic to and a collaborator with many prominent Jewish activists of the time, particularly during his time in Hollywood. For example he belonged to many groups and gave many speeches. For the creation of the Jewish State of Israel following World War ii. Interestingly, Canada seems to have been possibly a very early proponent of a peaceful Stu two state solution because he also spoke out against the treatment of Palestinians by the British government at the end of World War ii.

Which I think we've all seen that the. This set up a virtually untenable situation that is resonating with all of us to this day. Canada's second wife, Frances was Jewish and was extraordinarily active. 

Robert: I didn't know that. 

Mona: Yes. So Frances definitely brought Canada in to her work.

She was a person who worked for Canada. The democratic party and for Jewish causes and so Canada frequently at Francis's invitation and instigation was speaking out at different temples and synagogues ACLU dinners that honored, you know, prominent Jewish activists and lawyers and people who were fighting for progressive causes at the time.

And all of this work with the ACLU. Jewish organizations [01:05:00] and work alongside Jewish activists is all documented in Canada's secret House and American Activities file and his FBI files, which I had the opportunity to review all of the hundreds of little tiny three by five cards and notations which are in the Library of Congress.

Robert: Hmm. How did I miss the fact that Francis was Jewish? 

Mona: Yes, yes. 

Robert: Wow. 

Mona: Yes. 

Robert: Okay. 

Mona: They had quite a marriage. 

Robert: Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, that's a whole other, that's a whole other documentary. Indeed. When did Canada become sick and how did his disease progress? 

Mona: Canada Lee was making his final film. Which was Cry the Beloved Country.

It was shot in South Africa during the time of apartheid. And Canada Lee had suffered for some time from high blood pressure. And he was on the only available medications at that time. Digitalis was one of them. And it, the medication he was taking was unable to control his high blood pressure.

Nowadays we would recognize that the stress of filming in apartheid South Africa with the status of indentured servant to the white director likely contributed to the progressively high blood pressure that he was experiencing. And And during the filming and post production period, Canada actually ended up having to have surgery, which was unusual at the time.

The sympathetic nerve was cut to, again, try to control his high blood pressure. Canada was in recovery for a time after the making of that film. But the filmmakers, it was London Studios who were behind the, the making of this film, Cry the Beloved Country. They really wanted Canada to do, to do a promotional tour for Cry the Beloved Country in the United States.

Frances was very much against this because she wanted to stay in Europe while they were in Europe overseas far away from the McCarthy era blacklist. Her hope was that Canada would be well, recover, and they would stay in Europe and he might be able to find work there. But Canada so believed in the importance of Cry the Beloved Country, and he so wanted to talk about what he observed in country about the practices of apartheid, that he insisted that he had to go on this promotional tour.

 And when he entered the United States, that is when his passport was seized by the State Department, and he would never get it back. So ultimately, Francis joined him. They lived in New York City again in Greenwich Village. Canada's blood pressure continued to be high, and what no one realized was that his kidneys were being damaged.

Likely as as a result of this incredible and sustained high blood pressure. So while they're living in this tiny little apartment in poverty again, unable to work, Canada's last project was, Langston Hughes said let's do a show at the Village Vanguard. It'll be a one person show, I'll, I'll write it for you.

And that way you'll get a little money. Because they could do a gate split at the Vanguard. Vanguard would get half of the gate. Canada would get the other half. So, Langston wrote this show. And Canada was doing it at the Vanguard. And he was getting sicker and sicker. And ultimately would collapse. They brought doctors in.

The doctors told Francis, not Canada, but Francis, that his kidneys had completely failed. And she asked how much time he had. Thinking, you know, months, they said maybe weeks. So, she made the decision that Canada would not be told. But she contacted his family and closest friends. He stayed in their apartment.

Langston came virtually every day. Other friends came, family came, everybody would come and sit with him a while. Eventually he slipped into a coma. And he would ultimately die in Francis arms in May of 1952.

Robert: Why do you feel this great man and pioneer of the black theater was so quickly forgotten and thoroughly erased?

Mona: I think Canada Sorry, this is hard to talk about. 

Robert: It is hard.

Mona: I think that Canada Lee was erased from American history because he refused to stay inside the stereotype that America wrote for him. We liked Canada as long as he was a musician and an athlete and an uncomplicated star. And the minute that Canada Lee started asking for America to live up to its democratic principles, then he made us uncomfortable.

And when he was falsely accused of being a traitor to this country, we very quickly erased him. We erased his accomplishments. We erased all of the work that he tried to do for his people and for all people to seek justice and equal rights. We erased his work to, when he tried to tell us about the dangers of apartheid.

We erased Canada's eloquent voice. Because we didn't want to hear him and what he had to say. And I think Canada's great contributions to, to the arts to sports, and to civil and human rights deserve to be recognized. And I know that I'm maybe not the right person who should have written his story.

But at the time, I was the only person. And I just hope somebody else will care about his story enough to keep telling it. I'm sorry. 

Robert: No, no, that's beautiful. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Is there anything else you'd care to add?

Mona: I think one thing I'd just like people to remember about Canada is how much he loved his life and how grateful he was for all of the incredible opportunities he had. All the amazing people he worked with. Like John Garfield, like Robert Rossin, like Orson Welles. He loved the opportunity to work on some amazing films.

To stand on American stages to tell important stories. He was really proud of what he contributed to American life. For And I hope one day that others will be that proud of what he contributed. 

Robert: Mona will bring him back. We'll bring him back. . 

Mona: I didn't think I was going to get that upset. .

Robert: It's sad story.

Mona: I've just been telling it since the nineties. . Just hope. I hope the story can go farther. 

Robert: I think it will. I think it will. I think we can I think we can call, bring this to an end. 

Mona: Yeah, I don't look good when I'm crying. 

Robert: No, it's very moving. It's very moving. 

Mona: Well, I'm grateful for the opportunity.He really does have a great story. And Body and Soul was an amazing film. 

Robert: True. 

Mona: So, I love the idea of the project. Can't wait to see what happens. 

Robert: Okay.