Blue Washington

Edgar Hughes "Blue" Washington (12 February 1898 – 15 September 1970) was an American actor and baseball player who played in the Negro leagues for a few years as a pitcher for the Chicago American Giants and the Los Angeles White Sox, and played first baseman for the Kansas City Monarchs.[3]

Blue Washington
BornFebruary 26, 1898
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 15, 1970(1970-09-15) (aged 72)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationFilm actor
Years active1919–1961
Baseball career
First Baseman / pitcher
Batted: Unknown
Threw: Unknown
debut
1916, for the Chicago American Giants
Last appearance
1920, for the Kansas City Monarchs
Teams

He appeared in 74 films between 1919 and 1957, mostly playing small, uncredited roles as a porter, a bartender, an African native (as in King Kong (1933) and Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949), a cook, a chauffeur, a ship's crew member, a Nubian slave, and a doorman. Some of his characters had names such as "Ulambo", "Sambo" (sambo) and "Hambone". In the 1933 film Haunted Gold, he portrayed Clarence, John Wayne's comic sidekick. He had uncredited appearances in Birth of a Nation (1915) and Gone with the Wind (1939).[4]

He was given the nickname "Blue" by film director Frank Capra when both were kids. Washington's son, Kenny Washington, a standout athlete at UCLA where he was a teammate of Jackie Robinson, broke the color barrier in the National Football League in 1946.

Personal

Washington was the son of Susie Washington and had three siblings.[4] He became a boxer at age 14 with the stage name of "Kid Blue."[4] His separated from his partner Marian Lenàn when their son Kenny was two years old.[4]

Filmography
Lobby card for Kiki (1931) with Washington at upper right

References
  1. "Gee, Heeza Wiz!" Arizona Republican, Phoenix, Arizona, Saturday Morning, April 1, 1916, Page 9, Column 1
  2. "The Monarchs Play Today" The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, MO, Sunday, April 18, 1920, Page 15, Column 2
  3. Atwood 2016, p. 1.
  4. Atwood 2016, p. 24.

Sources
  • Atwood, Gretchen (September 6, 2016). Lost Champions: Four Men, Two Teams, and the Breaking of Pro Football's Color Line. New York: Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 9781620406007. OCLC 956379043.
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