Paul Robeson was one of the most impressive human specimens of the 20th century – statuesque, courageous, polymorphously talented to a ridiculous degree.He was a two-time All-America football star at Rutgers (as well as lettering in three other sports). And he was a Phi Beta Kappa and class valedictorian. Earned a law degree from Columbia University, then became a world-class concert vocalist and stage actor. And he was a political activist on a global scale. (Unfortunately, some of that activism was on behalf of Stalin.)
I have savored Robeson’s singing for years. (If you don’t own any recordings of “Water Boy” or “Scandalize My Name” or “No More Auction Block,” you really ought to do something about that.)
But I had never heard him recite Shakespeare till a few weeks ago.
Paul Robeson famously portrayed Othello on the London stage in the 1930s, and on Broadway in the 1940s. Drama critic Lewis Nichols raved about Robeson’s acting in a 1943 New York Times review:
“He looks the part. He is a huge man, taller by inches than anyone on the stage.... His voice, when he is the general giving orders to stop the street brawl, reverberated through the house; when he is the lover of Desdemona, he is soft. His final speech about being a man ‘who loved not wisely but too well’ is magnificent.”Would you like to hear that magnificent speech? I’ve got it streaming on my Vox audio stash. Just click here.
(You will notice that Mr. Robeson changes Shakespeare’s famous line; he makes it “... loved full wisely but too well.” Which doesn’t quite make sense. I don’t know why he changed it. If there’s a story behind that, and you know what it is, please let me know.)
This track is from the CD “Paul Robeson Live at Carnegie Hall,” recorded on May 9, 1958. The album is downloadable from iTunes.
Now here’s a bonus for all you lovers of fine acting. I’m streaming another version of that same speech from “Othello,” this time by William Marshall.He will always be remembered as “Blacula,” but the cat was classically trained. Click here to check him out.
William Marshall also had a roll on Pee Wee's Playhouse.
ReplyDelete^ The King of Cartoons! I had forgotten!
ReplyDeleteLet the cartoon begin!
ReplyDeleteFrom Shakespeare to blaxploitation to kiddie show... Something a little bittersweet about that.
ReplyDeleteReminds me, I have got to buckle down and transcribe my Laurence Fishburne interview tape from the early '90s. Fishburne, you'll recall, was also on "Pee Wee's Playhouse." Matter fact, that's where he met a young aspiring filmmaker by the name of... John Singleton.
I remember when Laurence was Larry back in his Cornbread, Earl and Me days. :-) He seems like someone who'd have a little Shakespeare under his thespian belt.
ReplyDelete^ Indeed, Larry played Othello opposite Kenneth Branagh's Iago in the 1995 movie version.
ReplyDeleteI saw Avery Brooks play Othello onstage in the early '90s. My interview with Mr. Brooks is another one I need to transcribe. And, interestingly, I also saw Avery Brooks perform a one-man show as... Paul Robeson!
Everything is connected...
From Shakespeare to blaxploitation to kiddie show... Something a little bittersweet about that.
ReplyDeleteAt least it was a subversive kiddie show at times.
Man, did I love me some Avery Brooks when he played Hawk!
ReplyDeleteI saw William Marshall perform his one-man Paul Robeson show in Chicago in 1989. It was a small theater and I was in the front row. I couldn't concentrate on his performance because I couldn't remember where I knew his face from. It was driving me crazy!
ReplyDeleteI didn't want to disturb his performance by fidgeting with the Playbill to read his bio, but I couldn't help myself. "Where did I know him from!?!" When I read his bio, I practically screamed out, "He's King Cartoon!" Yes, I'm shamefully low brow.
BTW, S. Epatha Merkeson was the mail carrier on Pee Wee too. Paul Rubens hired a lot of talented folks.