Smoki Whitfield

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Smoki Whitfield
Born
Robert Jordan Whitfield

August 3, 1918
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
DiedNovember 11, 1967 (aged 49)
Los Angeles, California, USA
EducationUniversity of Oregon
OccupationActor
SpouseEileen Jackson

Smoki Whitfield (born Robert Whitfield, and sometimes credited as Jordan Whitfield) was an African American actor, comedian, and musician.[1][2][3]

Biography

Smoki was born in Pittsburgh to John Whitfield and Effie Walker. He attended the University of Oregon, where he was a star athlete and made appearances in school plays.[4][5][6][7]

In the 1940s he began a career as a character actor in Hollywood. He appeared in a third of the 12 Bomba, the Jungle Boy films. Over the next few decades, he amassed more than 50 on-screen credits. In the 1950s, he worked as a manager and MC at a number of Hawaiian nightclubs.[8][9] He later worked at the Top Banana Club in North Hollywood.[10]

Whitfield died in 1967 of a heart attack in North Hollywood after a lengthy illness.[11] He was survived by his wife Eileen Jackson and two sons.[11]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ "Whitfield to Play in 'The Swamp Fox'". Courier-Post. 29 May 1959. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "Whitfield Dies". The Independent. 16 Nov 1967. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Actor's Services Set". Dayton Daily News. 14 Nov 1967. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "Fabulous Entertainment at the Pearl City Tavern". The Honolulu Advertiser. 28 Nov 1955. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "Scene". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. 20 Apr 1950. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ ""Noah" to Be Next U-O Production". The Eugene Guard. 28 Nov 1938. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "OSC Ringsters Take Victory from Ducks". Corvallis Gazette-Times. 29 Jan 1938. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Late Date". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 12 Jul 1956. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "Honolulu Newsstand". The Honolulu Advertiser. 20 May 1957. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Honolulu Newsstand". The Honolulu Advertiser. 13 Nov 1964. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ a b "Disney Actor's Rites Pending". Valley Times. 13 Nov 1967. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)