Louis Douglas

Louis Winston Douglas ( born May 14, 1889 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, † May 19, 1939 in New York City, New York) was an American dancer.

Life

The African-American dancer Louis Douglas came in the mid 1920s to Europe. His dances and choreographies had a big part in the success of the revue nègre, with Josephine Baker as the star alongside Douglas experienced its breakthrough. While it took Josephine Baker in Paris, Douglas remained after his successes in the German capital Berlin. Louis Douglas played in 1930 and 1931 in two German films. First, in burglars by Hanns Schwarz. In this film, even the clarinetist Sidney Bechet and saxophonist can be seen, who also belongs to the ensemble of the Revue nègre. The second film was the war film No Man's Land by Victor Trivas, where he played the lead role of the soldier Joe Smile. Playing at his side in this film Ernst Busch and Vladimir Sokoloff.

When in 1933 Adolf Hitler took power in Germany, there was Louis Douglas no more and he returned to the United States work opportunities. A sick man, he died penniless in 1939 in New York City.