Juano Hernández

Juano Hernández
Juano Hernández in Intruder in the Dust (1949)
Born	Juano G. Hernández (1896-07-19)July 19, 1896 San Juan, Puerto Rico
Died	July 17, 1970(1970-07-17) (aged 73) San Juan, Puerto Rico
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1927 –1970

Juano Hernández (July 19, 1896 – July 17, 1970) was an Afro-Puerto Rican stage and film actor who was a pioneer in the African American film industry. He made his silent debut in The Life of General Villa, and talking picture debut in an Oscar Micheaux film, The Girl from Chicago, which was directed at black audiences. Hernández also performed in a series of dramatic roles in mainstream Hollywood movies. His participation in the film Intruder in the Dust (1949) earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for "New Star of the Year." Later in life he returned to Puerto Rico, where he intended to make a film based on the life of Sixto Escobar.

Hernández (birth name: Juan G. Hernández) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican father and a Brazilian mother. With no formal education, he worked as a sailor and settled in Rio de Janeiro. He was hired by a circus and became an entertainer, making his first appearance as an acrobat in Rio de Janeiro in 1922. He later lived in the Caribbean and made his living as a professional boxer, fighting under the name Kid Curley.

In New York City, he worked in vaudeville and minstrel shows, sang in a church choir and was a radio script writer. During his spare time he perfected his diction by studying Shakespeare thus, enabling himself to work in radio. He co-starred in radio's first all-black soap opera We Love and Learn. He also participated in the following radio shows: Mandrake the Magician (opposite Raymond Edward Johnson and Jessica Tandy), The Shadow, Tennessee Jed, and Against the Storm. He became a household name after his participation in The Cavalcade of America, a series which promoted American history and inventiveness. He appeared in the Broadway shows Strange Fruit and Set My People Free. His Broadway debut was in the chorus of the 1927 musical production Showboat.