Edric connor biography of mahatma

Edric Esclus Connor (2 August – 13 October ) was a Caribbean singer, folklorist and actor who was born in Trinidad. He was a performer of calypso in the United Kingdom, where he migrated in and chiefly lived and worked for the rest of his life until he died following a stroke in London, at the age of

Career

Edric Esclus Connor was born in in Mayaro, Trinidad.

He settled in Britain in , making his debut on BBC Radio two weeks later, in Calling the West Indies. In he was responsible for bringing the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra – TASPO – to the Festival of Britain. In , he recorded the first Manchester United Football Club song, "The Manchester United Calypso". That same year, he and his wife Pearl, whom he had married in , set up the Edric Connor Agency, representing black actors, dancers, writers and musicians, which eventually, in the s, she ran under the name of the Afro-Asian-Caribbean Agency.

Biography of mahatma gandhi Filmography [ edit ]. Edric Connor. Download as PDF Printable version. Connor's acting for television included roles in the espionage series Danger Man US: Secret Agent : as the character Thompson in "Deadline" , the final episode of the original series, which featured an almost entirely black cast , and as opposition leader Dr Manudu in the series 2 episode entitled "The Galloping Major" first aired on 3 November

In , they set up the Negro Theatre Workshop, one of the UK's first black theatre groups.

Connor appeared on stage at London's Prince's Theatre in in Summer Song, the life told through the music of Antonín Dvořák, in which Connor was "given two of the show's most memorable moments in 'Deep Blue Evening' and 'Cotton Tail'." In he became the first black actor to perform for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, playing Gower in Pericles, having been recommended for the role by Paul Robeson.

Connor acted in a total of 18 films, including his role as Daggoo in Moby Dick ().

Connor co-starred with Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum, and Jack Lemmon in the film Fire Down Below (), directed by Robert Parrish, playing the character Jimmy Jean, who was the third man on the "boat-for-hire" along with Mitchum and Lemmon.

In , with his band "The Caribbeans" (subsequently called The Southlanders) Connor recorded, according to the AllMusic website, a "groundbreaking LP of Jamaican folk music" entitled Songs from Jamaica.

This included the song "Day Dah Light", which portrayed the hard life of Caribbean field workers. The song was later recorded by Jamaican folk singer Louise Bennett in , and was rewritten in by Irving Burgie and William Attaway. The version performed by Harry Belafonte became known as "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)", reaching number five on the Billboard charts in ,

Connor's acting for television included roles in the espionage series Danger Man (US: Secret Agent): as the character Thompson in "Deadline" (, the final episode of the original series, which featured an almost entirely black cast), and as opposition leader Dr Manudu in the series 2 episode entitled "The Galloping Major" (first aired on 3 November ).

Connor directed the "Caribbean Carnival" event held in London's St Pancras Town Hall at the end of January , organised by fellow Trinidadian Claudia Jones, and televised by the BBC.

He appeared on the BBC programme Desert Island Discs on 13 April , when one of his choices was "Deep Blue Evening", from the show Summer Song, a track on which he was a soloist.

Legacy

His daughter Geraldine Connor (–) – herself a singer and ethnomusicologist – was instrumental in bringing to light her father's autobiography, Horizons: The Life and Times of Edric Connor –, which was written in the mids and only finally published in In , Geraldine accepted an award on behalf of the Connor family from the British Association of Steelbands, in celebration of her family’s contribution to the Promotion of Steelband Music, Caribbean Art, Culture and Heritage throughout the United Kingdom.

The actor briefly turned to directing in with the film Carnival Fantastique. In , Connor and his wife Pearl , whom he had married in , [ 3 ] set up the Edric Connor Agency, representing black actors, dancers, writers and musicians, which eventually, in the s, she ran under the name of the Afro-Asian-Caribbean Agency. Career [ edit ]. The Vikings.

The Edric and Pearl Connor Papers, –, were donated to the Alma Jordan Library at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, and additional material on them is housed in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

A prestigious annual award named after him, the Edric Connor Inspiration Award, is made annually in his honour in the Screen Nation Film and Television Awards.

It was won by Joseph Marcell in and in by Sir Trevor MacDonald OBE, other previous winners including Moira Stuart (), Mona Hammond () and Lenny Henry (). In the award was posthumously given to Felix Dexter.

His name is also associated with the "Edric Connor Trailblazer Award", of which a notable winner in was Rudolph Walker (who, coincidentally, in , like Connor before him also played Gower in Shakespeare's Pericles).

Selected filmography

• Cry, the Beloved Country () – John Kumalo
• West of Zanzibar () – Ushingo
• Moby Dick () – Daggoo
• Fire Down Below () – Jimmy Jean
• Seven Thunders () – Abou
• The Vikings () – Sandpiper
• Virgin Island (US: Our Virgin Island, ) – Captain Jason
• The Roots of Heaven () – Waitari
• King of Kings () – Balthazar
• 4 for Texas () – Prince George
• Only When I Larf () – Awana
• Nobody Runs Forever () – Julius (final film role)

Selected discography

Edric Connor and the Caribbeans

• Songs From Jamaica (Argo Records, )

Edric Connor and the Southlanders

• Songs from Trinidad (Argo, )
• Calypso ()

Edric Connor with Ken Jones and His Music

• "Manchester United Calypso" / "Yorumba Highlife" (Oriole, )

Bibliography

• The Edric Connor Collection of West Indian Spiritual and Folk Tunes, arranged for voice and piano, Boosey & Hawkes,
• Horizons: The Life and Times of Edric Connor –, an autobiography; with foreword by George Lamming and introduction by Bridget Brereton and Gordon Rohlehr (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, ).