Canada Lee
| Canada Lee | |
|---|---|
Canada Lee in Body and Soul (1947)
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| Born |
Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata March 3, 1907 Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 1952 (aged 45) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | heart attack |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Lionel Canegata |
| Years active | 1926–1952 |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Relatives | Carl Lee (son), Jacqueline Muriel Canageta Lee Brown-Irvin (daughter) |
| Website | canadalee |
Canada Lee (born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata, March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952) was an American actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became an actor in the Federal Theatre Project, most notably in a 1936 production of Macbeth adapted and directed by Orson Welles. Lee later starred in Welles's original Broadway production of Native Son (1941). A champion of civil rights in the 1930s and 1940s, Lee was blacklisted and died shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He furthered the African-American tradition in theatre pioneered by such actors as Paul Robeson. Lee was the father of actor Carl Lee.
Canada Lee was born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata on March 3, 1907, in the San Juan Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. His father, James Cornelius Lionel Canegata, was born on the Caribbean island of St. Croix, and as a youth had migrated to New York, where he married Lydia Whaley Gasden. Raised by his parents in Harlem, Lee had an aptitude for music, and at age seven he began studying violin and piano with J. Rosamond Johnson at the Music School Settlement for Colored People. He made his concert debut at age 11, performing a student recital at Aeolian Hall. But after seven years of music studies, without explanation, he put away his violin and ran away from home. In 1921, aged 14, Lee went to Saratoga Springs, New York, and began a two-year career as a jockey.
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