Earlston Jewitt Cameron, CBE (8 August 1917 â€" 3 July 2020) was a
Bermudian actor who lived and worked in the United Kingdom. Along with
Cy Grant, he was one of the first black actors to break the "colour
bar" in the United Kingdom. With his appearance in 1951's Pool of
London, Cameron became one of the first black actors to take up a
starring role in a British film after Paul Robeson, Nina Mae McKinney
and Elisabeth Welch in the 1930s.According to Screenonline, "Earl
Cameron brought a breath of fresh air to the British film industry's
stuffy depictions of race relations. Often cast as a sensitive
outsider, Cameron gave his characters a grace and moral authority that
often surpassed the films' compromised liberal agendas." He also had
appearances in many 1960s British science fiction programmes,
including Doctor Who, The Prisoner, and The Andromeda
Breakthrough.Cameron was born in Pembroke, Bermuda, and grew up on
Princess Street, Hamilton. His father was a stonemason who died in
1922, after which Cameron's mother took on various jobs to support the
family. As a young man, Cameron joined the British Merchant Navy: "I
was working on a ship, going from Bermuda to New York and back. I
always had a great desire to travel as a kid, and so I transferred to
another ship called the Eastern Prince sailing to South America. On
our second trip, the war started. ...the British Admiralty sent for
the ship, and that brought me to London." In an interview, he summed
up what happened next by saying: "I arrived in London on 29 October
1939. I got involved with a young lady and you know the rest. The ship
left without me, and the girl walked out too."
Bermudian actor who lived and worked in the United Kingdom. Along with
Cy Grant, he was one of the first black actors to break the "colour
bar" in the United Kingdom. With his appearance in 1951's Pool of
London, Cameron became one of the first black actors to take up a
starring role in a British film after Paul Robeson, Nina Mae McKinney
and Elisabeth Welch in the 1930s.According to Screenonline, "Earl
Cameron brought a breath of fresh air to the British film industry's
stuffy depictions of race relations. Often cast as a sensitive
outsider, Cameron gave his characters a grace and moral authority that
often surpassed the films' compromised liberal agendas." He also had
appearances in many 1960s British science fiction programmes,
including Doctor Who, The Prisoner, and The Andromeda
Breakthrough.Cameron was born in Pembroke, Bermuda, and grew up on
Princess Street, Hamilton. His father was a stonemason who died in
1922, after which Cameron's mother took on various jobs to support the
family. As a young man, Cameron joined the British Merchant Navy: "I
was working on a ship, going from Bermuda to New York and back. I
always had a great desire to travel as a kid, and so I transferred to
another ship called the Eastern Prince sailing to South America. On
our second trip, the war started. ...the British Admiralty sent for
the ship, and that brought me to London." In an interview, he summed
up what happened next by saying: "I arrived in London on 29 October
1939. I got involved with a young lady and you know the rest. The ship
left without me, and the girl walked out too."
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