Alice B. Russell

{{Short description|American actress (1889–1985)}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Alice B. Russell | image = Betrayal lobby card 5.JPG | caption = Russell (at left) in ''The Betrayal'' (1948) | birth_date = {{Birth date|1889|6|30|mf=y}} | birth_place = Maxton, North Carolina, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1985|1|1|1889|6|30|mf=y}} | death_place = New Rochelle, New York, U.S. | years_active = 1927–1948 | birth_name = Alice Burton Russell | other_names = A. Burton Russell | website = | spouse = {{married|Oscar Micheaux|1926}} }}

'''Alice Burton Russell''' (June 30, 1889 – January 1, 1985) was an African-American actress,<ref>{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=The Betrayal (1948)|author=T. M. P.|date=June 26, 1948|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9405EED61430E033A25755C2A9609C946993D6CF}}</ref> producer, and the wife of director Oscar Micheaux.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alice B. Russell|work=Women Film Pioneers Project|url=https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/alice-b-russell-2/|access-date=2014-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803012456/https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/alice-b-russell-2/|archive-date=2019-08-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> She appeared in several films directed by her husband.

== Biography == She was born on June 30, 1889 in Maxton, North Carolina. Her parents were M. J. Russell and Robert Russell, who was a prominent newspaper editor, publisher, and politician.<ref name="pc">{{cite news|last1=Dismond|first1=Mrs. H. Binga|date=April 3, 1926|title=New York Society|page=7|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|location=Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26063194/the_pittsburgh_courier/|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=December 8, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref name=":0">Regester, Charlene. "Emerging from the Shadows: Alice Burton Russell-African American Film Producer, Actress, and Screenwriter." 2020.''Film History'' 32 (1): 127–155.</ref> She had a sister, Julia Theresa Russell (1898–2000), who appeared in Oscar Micheaux's 1925 film ''Body and Soul''.

Russell and Micheaux married on March 20, 1926, in Montclair, New Jersey.<ref name="pc" />

She began her acting career in silent film, starring in her husband's ''The Broken Violin'' (1928). She continued to act after talkies predominated. She was mentioned often as '''A. Burton Russell''' in credits. In the 1930s, she produced three films by her husband and worked as miscellaneous crew in two films. She was also credited as a presenter for The Betrayal (1948). This would be the last film for her husband before his death and her final role as a feature film actress.

Living nearly 100 years, she died on the New Year's Day of 1985 in New Rochelle, New York. She was buried in an unmarked grave in Greenwood Cemetery in Rye, New York.<ref name=":0" /><ref>McGilligan, Patrick. ''Oscar Micheaux: The Great and Only: the Life of America's First Black Filmmaker''. Harper Collins, 2009.</ref> Her gravesite is now marked with a stone honoring her achievements in the entertainment industry.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alice B. Russell Micheaux |url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/172522196/alice-b-micheaux |website=Find a Grave |access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref>thumb|Alice B. Russell

== Filmography == '''As actress:''' * ''The Broken Violin'' (1928) * ''Wages of Sin'' (1929) *''When Men Betray'' (1929) * ''Easy Street'' (1930) *''A Daughter of the Congo'' (1930) *''Veiled Aristocrats'' (1932) *''Ten Minutes to Live'' (1932) *''The Girl from Chicago'' (1932) *''Harlem After Midnight'' (1934) * ''Murder in Harlem'' (1935) * ''God's Step Children'' (1938) *''Birthright'' (1939) * ''The Betrayal'' (1948)

'''As producer:''' * ''Darktown Revue'' (1931) * ''Murder in Harlem'' (1935) * ''Birthright'' (1939)

'''As miscellaneous crew:''' * ''Ten Minutes to Live'' (1932) * ''Swing!'' (1938)

== See also == *Oscar Micheaux

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{commons category|Alice B. Russell}} *{{IMDb name|id=0750975|name=Alice B. Russell}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20190803012456/https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/alice-b-russell-2/ Alice B. Russell] at the Women Film Pioneers Project *[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/172522196/alice-b-micheaux Alice B. Russell Micheaux] at Find a Grave *[https://scriptmag.com/history/alice-burton-russell-micheaux-breaking-barriers-on-two-fronts Alice Burton Russell Micheaux: “Breaking Barriers on Two Fronts” (''Writer's Digest'', November 17, 2021]

Category:1889 births Category:1985 deaths Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Actresses from New Rochelle, New York Category:African-American film producers Category:American film actresses Category:American silent film actresses Category:American women film producers Category:Film producers from New York (state) Category:People from Maxton, North Carolina Category:Women film pioneers