Alvin Childress

Acting

Alvin Childress

Born 1907-09-14 · Meridian, Mississippi, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia American actor who is best known for playing the cabdriver Amos Jones in the 1950s television comedy series Amos 'n Andy. Alvin Childress was born in Meridian, Mississippi. He was educated at Rust College, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. When he initially entered college, Childress intended to become a doctor, enrolling in typical pre-med courses. He had no thoughts of becoming involved in acting, but became involved in theater outside of classes. Childress and Rex Ingram in the Federal Theatre Project production of Haiti (1938) Childress moved to New York City and became an actor with Harlem's Lafayette Players, a troupe of stock players associated with the Lafayette Theatre. Soon, he was engaged as an actor in the Federal Theater Project, the American Negro Theater, and in all-black race film productions such as Keep Punching (1939). His greatest success on the stage was his performance as Noah in the popular comedy, Anna Lucasta, which ran for 957 performances. He also worked at Teachers College of Columbia University.[3][8] Childress also operated his own radio and record store in New York City. When he learned about casting for the Amos 'n Andy television series, Childress decided to audition for a role. He was hired a year before the show went on the air.

Acting credits

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot poster
6.8

With the help of an irreverent young sidekick, a bank robber gets his old gang back together to organise a daring new heist.

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

1974

The Day of the Locust poster
6.4

Hollywood, 1930s. Tod Hackett, a young painter who tries to make his way as an art director in the lurid world of film industry, gets infatuated with his neighbor Faye Greener, an aspiring actress who prefers the life that Homer Simpson, a lone accountant, can offer her.

The Day of the Locust

1975

Cheech & Chong's Next Movie poster
5.9

Perennially stoned Cheech and Chong tear through the city of Los Angeles, causing trouble wherever they go. After Cheech loses his job, the two pot enthusiasts head to the welfare offices where Cheech's girlfriend, Donna, works. Instead of collecting unemployment, they find themselves thrown back on the streets, searching for a way to earn new income. But when Cheech's cousin, "Red" Mendoza, arrives, things get even crazier.

Cheech & Chong's Next Movie

1980

The Main Event poster
5.3

A bankrupt entrepreneur attempts to recoup some of her losses by getting a washed-out boxer she picked up as a tax loss back into the ring — an idea her protégé isn't fond of.

The Main Event

1979

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings poster
6.1

Top baseball pitcher Bingo Long is fed up with how his Negro League team owner treats him, so he forms his own lineup, recruiting big-hitting Leon Carter and Charlie Snow, who dreams of playing in the majors. Boycotted by black teams, Long's outfit play minor league white teams, earning more attention as entertainers than as players. However, their success wins them a chance to play again in the Negro League, this time as equals.

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings

1976

High Time poster
6.4

Despite the dissapproval of his grown son and daughter, 51-year-old widdower and wealthy restauranteur Harvey Howard decides it's 'high time' to he gets his college degree. And he's in for the full ride: living in the dorms, joing a fraternity, falling in love, and even getting some studying in.

High Time

1960

Banyon poster
9.0

Miles C. Banyon is a private investigator in 1930s Los Angeles. In this TV movie—which served as the pilot episode for the short-lived TV show—Banyon's new client, a young woman, is found dead in his office...shot with his own gun.

Banyon

1971

Sister, Sister poster
7.5

Heated confrontations and revelations result when a divorcee returns with her young son to the home of her two sisters.

Sister, Sister

1982

Darktown Strutters poster
4.9

When a prominent abortion clinic owner goes missing along with a string of other black community leaders, her singing daughter and her fellow female biker gang members investigate.

Darktown Strutters

1975

Jasper and the Haunted House poster
7.0

Jasper and the Haunted House is another George Pal Puppetoon about a black boy and his troubles. This time, the scarecrow switches a sign that leads Jasper to a haunted house instead of a deacon's place where he brings a pie.

Jasper and the Haunted House

1942

Old Man poster
NR

In the South, convicts get a temporary release to help during a flood.

Old Man

1958

No artwork available
7.0

The history of the television version of "Amos and Andy" and the public outcry to cancel it.

Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy

1983

Jasper's Boobytraps poster
10.0

To get his comeuppance, Jasper sets a series boobytraps for Scarecrow.

Jasper's Boobytraps

1945

Anna Lucasta poster
6.2

The estranged family of a reformed prostitute calls her back home to get her married to an affluent acquaintance out of greed.

Anna Lucasta

1958

Jasper Goes Hunting poster
10.0

Jasper is hunting in the jungle with his friend the Scarecrow. Along the way, they run into Bugs Bunny, making a rare cameo in a non-Warner Bros. production.

Jasper Goes Hunting

1944

Senior Power poster
NR

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and North Hollywood Federal Savings and Loan team up to teach senior citizens some useful tips on avoiding purse snatcher, burglars, and armed robbers.

Senior Power

1975

Say Ah, Jasper poster
7.0

Jasper goes to the dentist.

Say Ah, Jasper

1944

Jasper's Music Lesson poster
8.0

Jasper and the scarecrow play some piano.

Jasper's Music Lesson

1943

No artwork available
9.0

Jasper receives a musical instrument in the mail and plays a few tunes with the scarecrow.

Package for Jasper

1944