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African-American movie actor and producer Noble Johnson was born on April 18, 1881, in Marshall, Missouri. His family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, when Noble was very young, and it was there that he met Lon Chaney at school. They became friends as children, and later got re-acquainted when both were making movies in Hollywood and became friends all over again (surprisingly, they never made any movies together).

Johnson was built like a bull, standing 6'2" at 215 pounds. His impressive physique and handsome features made him in demand as a character actor and bit player. In the silent era he essayed a wide variety of characters of different races in a plethora of films, primarily serials, westerns and adventure movies. While Johnson was cast as blacks in many films, he also played Native American and Latino parts and "exotic" characters such as Arabians or even a devil in hell in Dante's Inferno (1924) (the old black and white orthochromatic film stock of the early days was less discriminating about a person's color, as were B+W stocks in general, permitting some African-American actors a break, as their "color" was washed out or less obvious when photographed in B+W. As late as the early 1960s, there were very few African-American members of the Screen Actors Guild, since there was a lack of opportunity for them as black performers were confined mostly to race films until the 1960s). In all his roles, Johnson lived up to his Christian name: his was a noble and dignified presence that exhibited great power and substance.

Johnson also was an entrepreneur. In 1916 he founded his own studio to produce what would be called "race films", movies made for the African-American audience, which was ignored by the "mainstream" film industry. The Lincoln Motion Picture Co., which was in existence until 1921, was an all-black company, the first to produce movies portraying African-Americans as real people instead of as racist caricatures (Johnson was followed into the race film business by Oscar Micheaux and others). Johnson, who served as president of the company and was its primary asset as a star actor, helped support the studio by acting in other companies' productions such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916), and using the money he made in those films to invest in Lincoln.

Lincoln's first picture was The Realization of a Negro's Ambition (1916). For four years Johnson managed to keep Lincoln a going concern, primarily due to his extraordinary commitment to African-American filmmaking. However, he reluctantly resigned as president in 1920, as he no longer could continue his double business life, maintaining a demanding career in Hollywood films while trying to run a studio.

In the 1920s Johnson was a very busy character actor, appearing in such top-notch films as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) with Rudolph Valentino, Cecil B. DeMille's original The Ten Commandments (1923) andThe Thief of Bagdad (1924). He made the transition to sound, appearing in the 1930 version of Moby Dick (1930) as Queequeg to John Barrymore's Captain Ahab. He was also the tribal leader on Skull Island in the classic King Kong (1933) (and its sequel, Son of Kong (1933)) and appeared in Frank Capra's classic Lost Horizon (1937) as one of theporters. One of his last films was John Ford's classic She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), in which he played Native American Chief Red Shirt. He retired from the movie industry in 1950.

Johnson died on January 9, 1978, in Yucaipa (San Bernardino), California, at age 96. He is buried in the Garden of Peace at Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, California.

Lorenzo Brino was born on 21 September 1998 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for 7th Heaven (1996). He died on 9 March 2020 in Yucaipa, California, USA.

Winnie Chandler was born on 3 March 1900 in Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for Fireside Theatre (1949), Wagon Train (1957) and Death Valley Days (1952). She died on 7 May 1983 in Yucaipa, California, USA.

Charles Joseph Stone was born on 21 January 1913 in Burrton, Kansas, USA. He was a writer, known for Gunsmoke (1955). He died on 29 November 2003 in Yucaipa, California, USA.

Lynn Dollar was born on 14 August 1924 in Selfridge, North Dakota, USA. She was an actress, known for The Key to Murder (1956), The Phil Silvers Show (1955) and Report to New York (1959). She was married to Richard Herbert Hedin, Jack Zoltan Gardy (Zoltan Robert Goldberger) and Douglas Rodgers. She died on 22 July 1985 in Yucaipa, California, USA.

Carlos Rivero was born on 27 January 1901 in Sherman, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Sea Hunt (1958), Because of You (1952) and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966). He died on 14 June 1991 in Yucaipa, California, USA.

Joe Helgeson was born on 10 July 1917 in Fargo, North Dakota, USA. He was an actor, known for Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949), Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop (1953) and Suspicion (1957). He died on 27 December 1996 in Yucaipa, California USA.

Educated at Wayne University, he wrote short stories and television and radio scripts and plays. He also authored the novel "The Circle on the Plain" and the play "Next Case". Joining ASCAP in 1957, he wrote songs for films and records in collaboration with his brother Les and Karl Suessdorf. His song compositions include "Shooting Star", "Calypso Boogie", "A Gun Is My True Love", "Black Sheep", "Destination Honeymoon", and "Memories of Maine".

Stan Malotte was born on 16 May 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for A Bullet for Joey (1955), Waterfront (1954) and The Ford Television Theatre (1952). He died on 26 October 1991 in Dunlap Acres, Yucaipa, California, USA.

Johnny Strong was born on 14 August 1920 in Jamestown, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Fear (1946) and Let's Go Stepping (1945). He died on 6 January 1992 in Yucaipa, California, USA.

Kenneth Anspach was born on 8 April 1910 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 22 July 1997 in Yucaipa, California, USA.

Claire Cramer was born on 18 March 1902 in California, USA. Claire is known for Teenage Millionaire (1961), Never Steal Anything Small (1959) and Sex Kittens Go to College (1960). Claire died on 19 December 1981 in Yucaipa, California, USA.

Bert S. Hodges was born on 21 September 1895 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Bert S. is known for Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men (1933) and Air Tonic (1933). Bert S. was married to Marjorie Cecilia Francis. Bert S. died on 2 September 1970 in Yucaipa, California, USA.