Charles Sidney Gilpin (1878 - 1930)

Born 20 Nov 1878 in Richmond, Virginia, United States

Died 6 May 1930 at age 51 in Eldridge Park, New Jersey, United States

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Biography

Charles Gilpin is Notable.

Charles Gilpin was awarded the Spingarn Medal for outstanding achievement by an African American.

Charles Sidney Gilpin, an actor, singer, and vaudevillian dancer, was the most successful African American stage performer in the early 20th Century. ^[1]

A Richmond, Virginia, native, Gilpin attended St. Francis School, a Catholic institution for colored children, until age 12, and served as a printer’s assistant at the Richmond Planet (c. 1890-1893). Gilpin married three times. His first wife was Florence Howard (married c. 1897). He met his second wife, Lillian Wood, when he was with the Lafayette Players. His third wife was Alma Benjamin Gilpin.^[1]

In 1920, Charles S. Gilpin landed the title role in Eugene O’Neill's newest play “The Emperor Jones”. O'Neill cast the Black actor in the lead —instead of a white actor in black-face — and then fired him for having changed the script during performances to avoid repeating the racial slur that the playwright favored.^[2]

Gilpin’s work was recognized when in 1921 he was named by the Drama League of New York as one of the 10 best artists who had made valuable contributions to American Theatre. He received the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Spingarn Medal. in 1921 and was honored by a formal dinner at the White House hosted by President Warren G. Harding. ^[1]

Charles Gilpin died at age 52 in Eldridge Park, New Jersey.^[1]

A distant cousin, theater artist Adrienne Pender, researched Charles Gilpin, rescuing his memory from obscurity. As a result, a play and movie (“The Black Emperor of Broadway” ) featuring the problematic relationship between Gilpin and O'Neill were released in 2020. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Hill, Anthony. CHARLES SIDNEY GILPIN (1878-1930). Black Past. Online. October 27, 2007. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/gilpin-charles-sidney-1878-1930/ Accessed 2/27/2022
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Mandell, Jonathan. "The Black Emperor of Broadway. Charles Gilpin, Eugene O’Neill’s Great Forgotten Actor." New York Theater, Online. September 15, 2020, https://newyorktheater.me/2020/09/15/the-black-emperor-of-broadway-charles-gilpin-eugene-oneills-great-forgotten-actor/ Accessed 2/27/2022

• "Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X5JT-17F : 28 January 2020), Gilpin, 1878.
• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC5D-MTN : 15 July 2017), Charlie Gilpen in household of Peter Gilpen, Richmond, Henrico, Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district ED 94, sheet 439C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,372.
• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ1D-9Z3 : accessed 6 August 2020), Charles Gilkin in household of Ida Hitchens, Manhattan Assembly District 19, New York, New York, United States; citing ED 1352, sheet 8B, line 92, family 215, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1221; FHL microfilm 1,821,221.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #10421258

See also:

• Wikipedia: Charles Sidney Gilpin
• Wikidata: Item Q5082503, en:Wikipedia