Nick Stewart
Biography: Horace Winfred "Nick" Stewart (March 15, 1910 – December 18, 2000) also billed as Nick O'Demus was an American television and film actor. Stewart was known for his role as Lightnin' (Willie Jefferson) on TV's The Amos 'n' Andy Show. Nick Stewart was born on March 15, 1910, in Harlem, New York City, to Joseph (March 15, 1888 – July 1976) and Eva Stewart, who were recent immigrants from Barbados, British West Indies. He began his show business career as a dancer at the Cotton Club and Hoofers Club. Stewart also was a veteran of Broadway shows, having created a comedic character he called "Nicodemus" and playing that role in Swingin' the Dream and Louisiana Purchase, as well as in the film Go West, Young Man. Stewart also performed comedy as a cast member of the Rudy Vallée radio show in 1941. Other acting credits include the 1936 movie Go West Young Man, the voice of Br'er Bear in the 1946 Disney movie Song of the South, and Willy-Willy on the television series Ramar of the Jungle. Also in 1954, Stewart had an important role in The Reign of Amelika Joe presented by Fireside Theatre. He also won a comedy role in White Christmas (1954). He was originally offered the role of Calhoun the lawyer, which he turned down. (After his refusal, it went to Johnny Lee, who had the role on radio since 1949.) Soon Gosden and Correll were back on the telephone, this time offering Stewart the role of Lightnin' on the television show. Stewart accepted the role with one idea in mind: to make enough money to be able to open his theater where African Americans would not be typecast as maids and porters. In the 1960s, he would have small roles in Mister Ed and the classic comedy film, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) as the Migrant Truck Driver who is forced off of the road. In 1987, Doris McMillon devoted an entire week of her nightly talk show, On the Line, to a discussion of the documentary Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy, and the issues surrounding the shows. Stewart was one of the participants, discussing the show and his role in it. He also had a role in the movie Carmen Jones. Stewart's final acting role would be returning to Disney to reprise the voice role of Br'er Bear for the theme park attraction Splash Mountain, which is based on the animated segments of Song of the South. He was the only actor to return and voice his character from the aforementioned movie. In an interview with author Jim Korkis, he was asked about whether or not his role of Br'er Bear was degrading. He replied, "Disney treated us like Kings." He went on to say that the money he earned from Song of the South was donated to a theatre for African-American actors to play roles other than maids and butlers, and was doing the same with the money from reprising his role for the Disneyland attraction.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: March 15, 1910
Deathday: December 18, 2000
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Known For
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963-11-07
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Overview: A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.
Genres: Action Adventure Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1963-11-07
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Song of the South
1946-11-12
Song of the South
Overview: Uncle Remus draws upon his tales of Br'er Rabbit to help little Johnny deal with his confusion over his parents' separation as well as his new life on the plantation.
Genres: Family Animation
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-11-12
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Behind Green Lights
1946-02-15
Behind Green Lights
Overview: An unscrupulous private investigator with a penchant for blackmail is found dead in a car and the leading suspect is Janet Bradley, the daughter of a mayoral candidate. With the election just weeks away, shady and ruthless individuals muscle the medical officer into switching the corpse with another body. Lieutenant Sam Carson, one of the few good apples in the bunch must find a way to get to the bottom of it all.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-02-15
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Delightfully Dangerous
1945-03-31
Delightfully Dangerous
Overview: Young Sherry Williams dreams of having a singing career, and she idolizes her older sister Josephine, who has gone to New York to perform on the stage. When Sherry is distraught just before performing at her school, a visiting Broadway producer encourages her by telling her positive things about her sister. Soon afterwards, Sherry decides to make a surprise trip to New York to visit Josephine - but what she finds there is not at all what she expected
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-03-31
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Go West Young Man
1936-11-18
Go West Young Man
Overview: Mavis Arden is a sensational movie star. Her following spans the world and her personal appearance tours prove her popularity. On her way home from one such appearance, Arden's car breaks down. She orders her publicity man to find her a place to stay, suspicious that he planned the break down to keep her away from a man. However, she soon finds herself mooning over an attractive repairman in town and listening to his ideas about inventing equipment for film.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-11-18
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Flame of the Islands
1955-12-04
Flame of the Islands
Overview: A café singer buys a gambling casino and several men fall in love with her.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-12-04
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My Son, The Hero
1943-04-05
My Son, The Hero
Overview: Learning that his long-unseen son is soon to arrive for a visit, a small-time con-man enlists the help of his cronies to help him pretend to be a wealthy and important businessman. Comedy.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-04-05
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International Crime
1938-04-23
International Crime
Overview: The second and final Grand National Pictures film to feature The Shadow, played again by Rod La Rocque. In this version, Lamont Cranston is an amateur detective and host of a radio show with his assistant Phoebe (not Margo) Lane. Cabbie Moe Shrevnitz and Commissioner Weston also appear.
Genres: Mystery Crime Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-04-23
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Gildersleeve's Ghost
1944-06-01
Gildersleeve's Ghost
Overview: Gildersleeve, running for office, is aided by two ghosts and hindered by a mad scientist and an invisible woman.
Genres: Fantasy Comedy Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-06-01
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Three Little Girls in Blue
1946-09-03
Three Little Girls in Blue
Overview: Three sisters go to Atlantic City with hopes of finding rich husbands.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-09-03
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Shine
1942-06-01
Shine
Overview: Louis Armstrong performs with Nicodemus on this Soundie from 1942.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-06-01
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Wall Street Cowboy
1939-08-06
Wall Street Cowboy
Overview: When his ranch falls on hard times, Cowboy Roy Roger has trouble making his mortgage payment and he takes his song and dance to Wall Street to try to raise cash fast.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-08-06
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Stormy Weather
1943-07-21
Stormy Weather
Overview: The relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early 1900s.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-07-21
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Tarzan's Fight for Life
1958-08-15
Tarzan's Fight for Life
Overview: Dr. Sturdy is trying to establish a modern hospital in the jungle. His efforts are strongly opposed by Futa, the witch doctor, and Ramo, a native warrior.
Genres: Action Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1958-08-15
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False Faces
1943-05-28
False Faces
Overview: A district attorney sets out to vindicate his son who's been accused of murdering a nightclub singer.
Genres: Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-05-28
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Mind Your Own Business
1936-12-18
Mind Your Own Business
Overview: Nature reporter Orville Shanks retreats to the woods for material for his "Our Wild Friends" column and to volunteer for his favorite cause, the Boy Scouts. When Orville's editor, Crane, orders him to spice up his column, Orville's wife Melba writes a gossip column using animals as metaphors for people. Crane loves Melba's article and gives Orville a raise, and the column becomes a hit.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-12-18
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Dakota
1945-12-15
Dakota
Overview: In 1871, professional gambler John Devlin elopes with Sandra "Sandy" Poli, daughter of Marko Poli, an immigrant who has risen to railroad tycoon. Sandy, knowing that the railroad is to be extended into Dakota, plans to use their $20,000 nest egg to buy land options to sell to the railroad at a profit. On the stage trip to Ft. Abercrombie, their fellow passengers are Jim Bender and Bigtree Collins, who practically own the town of Fargo and Devlin is aware that they are prepared to protect the little empire... trying to drive out the farmers by burning their property, destroying their wheat, and blaming the devastation on the Indians. Continuing their journey north on the river aboard the "River Bird', Sandy and John meet Captain Bounce, an irascible old seafarer. Two of Bendender's henchmen, Slagin and Carp, board the boat and relieve John of his $20,000 at gunpoint. Captain Bounce, chasing the robber's dinghy..
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-12-15
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Night Train to Memphis
1946-07-12
Night Train to Memphis
Overview: A mountain community is thrown into turmoil as the townspeople debate the advantages and disadvantages of having a railroad.
Genres: Action Music Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-07-12
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Robin Hood of the Pecos
1941-01-14
Robin Hood of the Pecos
Overview: Robin Hood of the Pecos is a 1941 American film starring Roy Rogers and directed by Joseph Kane. Following the Civil War, the South still faced many dangers not the least of which were the armies of carpetbaggers that descended on impoverished towns, intent on making a fast greenback at the expense of the local populace.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-01-14
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She Wouldn't Say Yes
1945-11-29
She Wouldn't Say Yes
Overview: Susan Lane is a gifted psychiatrist, grounded in self-control. Before returning by train to her practice in Chicago, she spends time back East with war veterans, building their self-esteem, but frowning on the impulsive, as represented by a favorite comic strip called "The Nixie." She bumps into Michael Kent, an officer and the comic strip's author. He likes her instantly and she dislikes him. He's headed to the Pacific, sees her on the train, gets off in Chicago, and with her father's help, pursues her and hatches a plan to marry her. Meanwhile, she has her own plan to get rid of him with the help of a blond patient. Will the Nixie get into her psyche?
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-11-29
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Hoosier Holiday
1943-09-13
Hoosier Holiday
Overview: During World War II three brothers go to enlist in the Air Force, but since they're farmers they're told they're needed at home more than in the service. Determined to join up, they enlist the aid of a pretty young girl whose father is head of the local draft board.
Genres: Music Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-09-13
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Silver Streak
1976-12-03
Silver Streak
Overview: A somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a murdered man thrown from the train. When he can find no one who will believe him, he starts doing some investigating of his own. But all that accomplishes is to get the killer after him.
Genres: Comedy Crime Romance Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-12-03
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Carmen Jones
1954-10-28
Carmen Jones
Overview: At a parachute factory during WWII, vixen Carmen Jones seduces an engaged soldier to avoid imprisonment.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-10-28
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Cabin in the Sky
1943-03-24
Cabin in the Sky
Overview: When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove that he deserves to be in heaven. He awakens, remembering nothing and struggles to do right by his devout wife, Petunia, while an angel known as the General and the devil's son, Lucifer Jr., fight for his soul.
Genres: Music Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-03-24
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Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
1945-10-05
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
Overview: When two bumbling barbers act as agents for a talented but unknown singer, they stage a phony murder in order to get him a plum role.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-10-05
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Who Killed Cock Robin?
1935-06-25
Who Killed Cock Robin?
Overview: A robin is shot so the woodland community holds a trial to investigate.
Genres: Family Animation Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-06-25
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The Meanest Man in the World
1943-02-12
The Meanest Man in the World
Overview: Compassionate small-town lawyer Richard Clarke moves to New York City to seek his fortune, but is unsuccessful until he takes a friend's advice and tries to convince the world he's a ruthless heel. Suddenly he's the most popular lawyer in town -- but he could lose his fiancée.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-02-12
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Dumbo
1941-10-31
Dumbo
Overview: Dumbo is a baby elephant born with over-sized ears and a supreme lack of confidence. But thanks to his even more diminutive buddy Timothy the Mouse, the pint-sized pachyderm learns to surmount all obstacles.
Genres: Animation Family
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-10-31
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