Fred Toones

Fred "Snowflake" Toones (b. January 5, 1906, North Carolina, d. February 13, 1962, Los Angeles, California) was an African-American film actor of the early sound era. There is still debate over the exact year of his birth, which some sources cite as 1905.

"Snowflake" (the patently racist nickname he was best known by) appeared in over 200 films between 1928 and 1951, although the majority of his roles were uncredited. Toones was a prime example of racial stereotyping in the Hollywood film industry of his time. His standard characterization in the 1930s and 1940s was that of a middle-aged "colored" man with a high-pitched voice who worked as a redcap, bootblack, or janitor.

Toones acted in films such as Hawk of the Wilderness (1938) and Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) with Bruce Bennett and in many "B" westerns such as The Lawless Nineties (1936) with John Wayne. He also appeared in dozens of two-reelers such as Woman Haters (1934) with the Three Stooges. In the early 1940s, Fred Toones worked extensively in the comedies of Preston Sturges.

Between 1936 and 1947, Toones worked under contract for Republic Pictures, appearing in about 40 of its films, but his typecasting in menial and subservient roles meant that his efforts even there were more often than not uncredited. In the autobiography of film director William Witney, he reveals that Toones also ran the shoeshine stand at Republic Studios.

Filmography

*http://movies.aol.com/celebrity/fred-snowflake-toones/71345/main

External links

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* [http://www.b-westerns.com/villan23.htm Fred 'Snowflake' Toones at B-Westerns.com]