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Rupert Crosse
Crosse (center) with Bill Cosby and Beah Richards on The Bill Cosby Show, 1970
Born	(1927-11-29)November 29, 1927 New York City, U.S.
Died	March 5, 1973(1973-03-05) (aged 45) Nevis, British West Indies
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Bloomfield College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959–1972
Spouse	Chris Calloway ​(m. 1970⁠–⁠1973)​
Children	1
Relatives	Cab Calloway (father-in-law)

Rupert Crosse (November 29, 1927 – March 5, 1973) was an American television and film actor noted as the first African American to receive a nomination for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award — for his role in the 1969 adaptation of William Faulkner's The Reivers.

Background

Born Robert A. Crosse, Jr. in New York City, Crosse was raised by his grandparents in Nevis after the death of his father. He returned to the United States to serve in the Army for two years before entering Bloomfield College. Crosse later worked at Brooklyn College as a counselor.

In 1970, Crosse married singer Chris Calloway, daughter of Cab Calloway. They had one son, Rupert Osaze Dia Crosse, who was nine months old at the time of Crosse's death. Their son died in 2002 from a heart condition brought on by prior drug abuse. Calloway died of breast cancer in August 2008.

Crosse died March 5, 1973, of lung cancer in Nevis.

Career

After studying acting under John Cassavetes, Crosse appeared in two of Cassavetes' films: Shadows (for which he won a Venice Film Festival Award) and Too Late Blues (1962).

A life member of The Actors Studio, Crosse made numerous guest appearances on television in the decade prior to landing the role of Ned McCaslin in the 1969 film The Reivers, directed by and starring fellow Studio members Mark Rydell and Steve McQueen, respectively. His last onscreen role was in the sitcom The Partners, alongside Don Adams. Shortly before his death, Crosse was cast as Mulhall in The Last Detail (1973), withdrawing from the role after learning he suffered from terminal cancer. He was replaced by Otis Young.

Filmography

References

1. Obituary Variety, March 28, 1973
2. Mapp, Edward (2008). African Americans and the Oscar: Decades Of Struggle and Achievement (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8108-6106-0.
3. "Sexy Chris and 'Daddy'". The Afro American. 1979-03-10. p. 11. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
4. Foster, Catherine (2009-11-09). "In Cab Calloway's family, one intrepid woman inspires another". boston.com. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
5. Weideman, Paul (2008-08-08). "Chris Calloway, 1945-2008: Jazz diva gracious in battle with cancer". santafenewmexican.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
6. ^ "Television's Rupert Crosse Dies of Cancer In Jamaica". Jet. 44 (1). Johnson Publishing Company: 59. 1973-03-29. ISSN 0021-5996.
7. Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
8. "Rupert Crosse Gets Role On New Show". Waycross Journal-Herald. 1971-07-12. p. P3. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
9. Mapp, Edward (2008). African Americans and the Oscar: Decades Of Struggle and Achievement (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-8108-6106-0.

External links

• Rupert Crosse at IMDb

This article about a United States film and television actor born in the 1940s is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• 1927 births
• 1973 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• Male actors from New York City
• American male film actors
• American people of Saint Kitts and Nevis descent
• Deaths from lung cancer
• United States Army soldiers
• American male television actors
• Bloomfield College alumni
• 20th-century African-American male actors
• American screen actor, 1940s birth stubs