Earl Cameron
Earlston Jewett Cameron, CBE (8 August 1917 – 3 July 2020), known as Earl Cameron, was a Bermudian actor who lived and worked in the United Kingdom. After appearing on London's West End stage, he became one of the first black stars in the British film industry.
Earl Cameron CBE | |
|---|---|
Earl Cameron (aged 100) in 2017 | |
| Born | Earlston Jewitt Cameron 8 August 1917 Pembroke, Bermuda |
| Died | 3 July 2020 (aged 102) Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1941-2017 |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 6 |
With his appearance in 1951's Pool of London, Cameron became one of the first black actors to take up a starring role in a British film after Paul Robeson, Nina Mae McKinney and Elisabeth Welch in the 1930s.
According to Screenonline, "Earl Cameron brought a breath of fresh air to the British film industry's stuffy depictions of race relations. Often cast as a sensitive outsider, Cameron gave his characters a grace and moral authority that often surpassed the films' compromised liberal agendas."
He starred alongside Sean Connery in Thunderball (1965). He made appearances in many 1960s British science fiction programmes, including Doctor Who, where he was reportedly one of the first black actors to play an astronaut on television, The Prisoner, and The Andromeda Breakthrough. His film appearances continued until 2013, when he was 96.