[b. 1889 – d. 1979]

Born in Baltimore, Maryland. Muse was one of the first black students to graduate from the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1911. He never pursued this career, however, because of the lack of opportunities for African Americans. However, Muse requested, as Hal Erickson, writing for All Movie Biographies, stated, “…that he be addressed as Dr. Muse.”

Muse was a community activist and worked to better the careers of black actors through participating in the Black theater movement of the 1920s. Muse, who had participated in choral groups while in college, focused his attention on an acting career in the show business. He did not limit himself to movie acting however. He composed songs, wrote plays, directed movies, and made regular appearances on the weekly TV version of Casablanca.

By 1914, he married Ophelia (maiden name unknown) and they performed along the East Coast together before settling in Harlem, New York. At the Franklin Theatre, along with their partner Willard Pugh, they established the Muse and Pugh Stock Company, which was later known as the Crescent Players. Their company was briefly moved to the Crescent Theatre where the play Another Man’s Wife starred Muse and his wife. Once again, they moved their company, this time to the Lincoln Theatre. There it merged with a progressive group known as the Lincoln Players. Later they went on to join the Lafayette Players in 1916. With this new group, Muse became the leading dramatic actor and starred in many plays.

In 1920, the members of the Lafayette Players supported Muse when he became one of the founding directors of a black independent film company, the Delsarte Film Corporation, in New York City. Muse and his wife had two children together but their marriage did not last. The year 1922 marked their last performance together.

After this, Muse soon ventured to Chicago and became associated with the Royal Gardens Theatre. Here he went on to produce and direct shows from 1922 until 1929, when he accepted the invitation to Hollywood sent by the Fox Film Corporation to portray a leading character in the film, Hearts of Dixie. This was during the transition from silent films to talking films, and Hearts of Dixie was the second movie to ever have talking. Muse did not believe that these new talking movies would last which led him to ask for what would have been considered an extremely high paying weekly salary of $1,250 with a twelve-month contract, as well as round-trip tickets for his family to travel with him. His request was honored and resided in Hollywood for the remainder of his career.

Muse married Willabella Marchbanks at an undocumented time in history. Together they had one child and were divorced by 1949. His fourth and final marriage was to Irene Claire Kellman in 1954.

Muse appeared in 218 movies throughout his lifetime. Among the best well known of these movies during his fifty-year stay in Hollywood were: Broken Strings, Way Down South, and The Black Stallion. He was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973.

Similar to other African-Americans of his time, Muse had a difficult getting past the stereotypical roles of the accommodating butler-type character portrayal. He did overcome these obstacles and starred as a concert violinist in the film Broken Strings, a remake of The Jazz Singer meant primarily for all-Black audiences. Muse also did appear in non-submissive roles for mainstream films occasionally. One such role was The Invisible Ghost, in 1941, when Muse portrayed an opinionated butler. He is quoted as harshly speaking to a white female servant, voicing aloud, “You old fool!” This was a significant moment for the Black community. It captured the struggle of changing times when Blacks were fighting for their equality and gaining momentum.

Muse was also a composer of plays and musicals, albeit known more widely as an actor. He starred in and coauthored the script, screenplay, and songs for Way Down South, a Bobby Breen musical, with Langston Hughes in 1939. He also composed what became Louis Armstrong’s theme song, “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South.” This song was co-written with the René brothers from New Orleans, who would become popular in the age of R&B music.

In the later years of his life, Muse lived in Perris Valley, California. He attended the city council meetings and demanded that his concerns be addressed. The concerns Muse brought to attention included the community arts and senior-citizen issues. His high-esteem shows in his motto that is quoted from writer Joe Vargo for the Press-Enterprise, “In my entire life, I have never met a man or a woman with enough intelligence to insult me.”

When Muse was in his early 70’s, he began the Perris Arts Festival, which continues to this day. Children were important to Muse and he began this festival as an opportunity for them to perform in the arts and music. Resident of Perris Valley Virniecia Davis was quoted by Joe Vargo for the Press-Enterprise, saying, “He made you realize that you can accomplish goals and that the impossible is not impossible. He seemed to be everywhere in the community. He really loved kids and wanted them to succeed.” She was a Perris High School student when had she met Muse, and he had encouraged her to continue on with her education.

On September 22, 1979, at his ranch in Riverside County, Muse suffered a stroke and was admitted into the Community Hospital of Perris Valley. Muse died at the age of 90 on Saturday, October 13, 1979 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Shortly after his death, his last film, The Black Stallion, was released.

Most might be more familiar with him when he got older:
http://www.aaregistry.com/eimage/ClarenceEMuse.gif

The Ghost Walks: A Chronological History of Blacks in Show Business, 1865-1910.
Henry T Sampson