Frank Silvera

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia   Frank Silvera July 24 1914 June 11 1970 was an American actor and theatrical director Silvera was born in Kingston Jamaica the son of a mixed race Jamaican mother Gertrude Bell and Spanish Jewish father Alfred Silvera His family emigrated to the United States when he was sixyears old settling in Boston Silvera became interested in acting and began performing in amateur theatrical groups and at church He graduated from English High School of Boston and then studied at Boston University followed by the Northeastern Law School Silvera left Northeastern Law School in 1934 when he was cast in Paul Greens production of Roll Sweet Chariot He next joined the New England Repertory Theatre where he appeared in productions of MacBeth Othello and The Emperor Jones He also worked at Federal Theatre and with the New Hampshire Repertory Theatre In 1940 Silvera made his Broadway debut in a small role in Big White Fog His career was interrupted in 1942 when he enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II He was assigned to Camp Robert Smalls where he and Owen Dodson were in charge of entertainment Silvera directed and acted in radio programs and appeared in USO shows Honorably discharged at the wars end in 1945 he joined the cast of Anna Lucasta and became a member of the Actors Studio In 1952 Silvera made his film debut in the western The Cimarron Kid Because of his strongly Latin appearance he was cast in a variety of ethnic roles in films and television He was cast as General Huerta in Viva Zapata which starred Marlon Brando Silvera also portrayed the role in the stage production which opened at the Regent Theatre in New York City on February 28 1952 He appeared in two films directed by Stanley Kubrick Fear and Desire 1953 and Killers Kiss 1955 Silvera made guest appearances in numerous television series mainly dramas and westerns including Studio One in Hollywood Alfred Hitchcock Presents Bat Masterson Thriller Riverboat The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters The Untouchables and Bonanza In 1962 he portrayed Dr Koslenko in The Twilight Zone episode Person or Persons Unknown opposite Richard Long That year he also played Minarii a Polynesian man in the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty again starring Marlon Brando In 1963 Silvera was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for playing Monsieur Duval in The Lady of the Camellias In 1964 Silvera and Vantile Whitfield founded the Theatre of Being a Los Angelesbased theatre dedicated to providing black actors with nonstereotypical roles One of their first projects was producing The Amen Corner by AfricanAmerican writer James Baldwin Silvera and Whitfield financed the play themselves and with donations from friends It opened on March 4 1964 and would gross 200000 within the year moving to Broadway in April 1965 Beah Richards won critical acclaim for her performance as the lead Silvera was killed on June 11 1970 after accidentally electrocuting himself while repairing a garbage disposal unit in his kitchen sink Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Silvera licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia