Lorenzo Tucker

Lorenzo Tucker in his prime was billed and known as "The Black Valentino," named after Rudolph Valentino, because of his tall, dark, dashing good looks, muscular built, secret charm and coolness. Tucker was one of Black Cinema's most popular leading actors, appearing in close to 20 films. He started acting at Temple University in Philadelphia where he contemplated medicine but caught the acting bug. He perfected his art by appearing in college plays and got his entry into movies from legendary film maker Oscar Micheaux. Lorenzo's prime was from the late 1920s to the end of the 1930s. He became a bona fide movie star to Black America, he was often mentioned in the leading Black newspapers. Tucker was an Oscar Micheaux discovery and appeared in many of his important films, one of the most controversial was "Veiled Aristocrats" where Lorenzo played a Negro who successfully passes as white and returns to the family to coax his sister into passing for white like him. Throughout the movie,