Leigh Whipper

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Leigh Rollin Whipper October 29 1876 July 26 1975 was an American actor on the stage and in motion pictures He was the first African American to join the Actors Equity Association and one of the founders of the Negro Actors Guild of America He is best known for creating the role of Crooks in the original Broadway production of Of Mice and Men which he reprised in the 1939 film version Educated at Howard University Law School he left in 1895 and never practiced as a lawyer Without any dramatic training he made his first Broadway appearance in Georgia Minstrels His first film role was in the 1920 silent film The Symbol of the Unconquered During the Second World War Whipper was a member of the steering committee of Negro Division the Hollywood Victory Committee