Lee, Canada

Biography

Canada Lee (born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata; March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952) was an African American actor known for roles in the Federal Theatre Project production of Macbeth (1936), adapted and directed by Orson Welles, and the film Lifeboat (1944), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became a professional actor, appearing in the Theatre Union's revival of Stevedore (1934-1935), which toured to Chicago, Detroit and other U.S. cities after its run on Broadway. 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.