Lillian Cumber

Lillian Cumber (née Victoria Lillian Fisher, April 1, 1920 - ?) was an African American columnist, gospel music group booking agent, and an agent for actors in Hollywood.[1] She represented African American actors.[2] She was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1974.

Cumber worked as a secretary for Walter L. Gordon and then was a newspaper columnist for 25 years.[3] She worked with Art Rupe, booking gospel performers at Herald Attractions.[4] After six years together she left in 1956 after a disagreement.[5] and founded the Lil Cumber Attraction Agency for African American actors. She was the first African American woman to represent actors in the film industry.[3] In 1958, Jet reported she closed her booking agency to enter UCLA Law School.[6] Also in 1958, she was engaged to marry drug store chain owner Ed Fisher.[7]

She helped cast Horace Jackson's film Living Between Two Worlds.[8] Marla Gibbs described meeting with her.[9]

It took her five years to get a license from the Screen Actors Guild.[10] Her clients included Eddie Cole.[11]

Additional resources

References
  1. "Lillian Cumber First To Get Booking License For Sepia Movie Actors". The Carolina Times. March 1, 1958. p. 14.
  2. "Fewer Negroes in Comedy Roles". Simpson's Leader-Times. October 21, 1964. p. 17 – via newspapers.com.
  3. "African American actors, Los Angeles, 1940s - UCLA Library Digital Collections". digital.library.ucla.edu.
  4. "Lillian Cumber Sets Up Major Booking Operation". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 20, 1952. p. 19 – via Google Books.
  5. Vera, Billy (December 10, 2019). Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story. BMG Books. ISBN 9781947026377 – via Google Books.
  6. "New York Beat". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. September 18, 1958. p. 64 – via Google Books.
  7. "New York Beat". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. November 6, 1958. p. 64 – via Google Books.
  8. "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com.
  9. "'The Jeffersons' Star Marla Gibbs Reflects on Early Hollywood Start". Outsider. February 15, 2022.
  10. "New York Beat". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. March 13, 1958. p. 64 – via Google Books.
  11. "New York Beat". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. November 24, 1960. p. 64 – via Google Books.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.