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{{Short description|American actress, dancer and singer (1905–1996)}}

factoids

Smallwood, Bill. “Delightful Side”. Los Angeles Sentinel. March 6, 1947. Page 17. “Billye [sic] Yarbo and Nat Cole both birthday on the 17th.“1940 United States Federal Census Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00416; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 60-362| birth_place = Washington, DC, United States19961203mf=yes}}“Washington Death Index, 1965-2014,” database, FamilySearch familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLWM-FFV7 : 13 July 2017), Lillian M Yarbo, 12 Jun 1996, King, Washington, United States; from the Department of Health, Death Index, 1907-1960; 1965-2014, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/Collections/TitleInfo/472 : n.d.); Citing Washington State Department of Health.| death_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S.Billie Yarbough,JUST A MINUTEPUBLISHER=IBDB, 2 February 2021, and—from that point until her 1936 screen debut (at which point the stage name “Billie” would be shelved indefinitely)—as Billie Yarbo| occupation = Actress, singer, dancer| years_active = 1927–1949| spouse = }}Lillian ”Billie” YarboJohnson, Lillian. “Strictly Jive”. The Baltimore Afro-American. May 14, 1938. Page 10. (March 17, 1905 – June 12, 1996) was an American stage and screen actress, dancer, and singer.

Early life

Born Lillian Yarbough“Billy Yarbo a New Mugger”. The Pittsburgh Courier. March 10, 1928. Page 15. in Washington, DC, Billie eventually made her way to New York, as did both her mother and at least one sister—though exactly when this happened and whether they made this pilgrimage all at once or separately and at different times, remains unclear.“Billy Yarbo Makes Film As Kin Passes”. The Chicago Defender. March 22, 1941. Page 20.Rowe, Billy. “Rowe’s Notebooks”. The Pittsburgh Courier. March 20, 1943. Page 21.{{efn| There is a “Yarbough, George; fireman,” listed in the District of Columbia Directories for 1904 through 1906. Moreover, given Yarbo’s seemingly genuine aversion to publicity (thus the very real possibility that even “Yarbough” itself might be her ever so slight variation on the actual birth name), the presence of “Yarebough, Lillian D.” in the 1905 directory cannot be discounted.}}

Career

Stage

The ‘Real’ BillieBy her early 20s, Yarbo, credited prior to October 1928 as Yarbough,Multiple sources:

• “Musical Comedy: ‘Bottomland’”. The Billboard. August 13, 1927. Page 96.
• “Broadway Credits as Billie Yarbough”. Playbill.
• “Broadway Credits as Billie Yarbo”. Playbill. was a rising star, both in Harlem night spots and on the Broadway stage.Hirschfield, Al (2004). Hirschfield’s Harlem. New York: Glenn Young Books. p. 18. {{ISBN|1557835179}}. See also:
• Donner, Vyvyan. the Tidings to Broadway: A Press Agent Discusses Certain Angles of the Try-Out, and Incidentally Presents a Few Brickbats”. The New York Times. Sec. 8, p. 2.
• Dismond, Geraldyn. “Social Snapshots”. The Interstate Tattler. October 26, 1928. Page 4.
• Yates, Ted. “Better Break for Race in Pictures Forecast in ‘41; Stellar Roles Promised All; Harlem Lass Wins Plaudits”. The Phoenix Index. January 11, 1941. Page 6. Writing in The New Yorker, reviewing the Miller and Lyles musical, Keep Shufflin’, a young Charles Brackett alerted readers:

{{center|There is a Miss Billie Yarbough, who must have been designed by Covarrubias and must be seen.Brackett, Charles. “Illicit Relations and Dark Dancers”. The New Yorker. March 10, 1928. p. 33. Retrieved January 13, 2021.}} With a style sometimes likened to that of her contemporary, Josephine Baker,Field, Rowland. “Both Sides of the Curtain”. The Brooklyn Times Union. March 4, 1928. Page 103. Yarbo was embraced by audiences and critics alike, beginning in the late 1920s and continuing until her 1936 screen debut.Pulaski, Jack (as “Ibee“). “Legitimate; With Music: ‘Keep Shufflin’”. Variety. March 7, 1928. Page 52.Multiple sources:

• “Sepia Chorines Make Hit in Philly House”. The Baltimore Afro-American. September 3, 1932. Page 3.
• “Are They Married or Not”. The Baltimore Afro-American. July 20, 1935. Page 8.
• “Harlem on Parade Ends 2-Week Run”.The Chicago Defender. May 30, 1936. Page 10. As for her vocal stylings, just a few, fleeting, onscreen remnants exist (see relevant excerpt from The Family Next Door in External links). That said, Yarbo clearly did not lack for confidence, having once told trumpeter Buck Clayton, “To hell with Billie Holiday! Come down and listen to me, the real Billie.“Clayton, Buck; Elliott, Nancy Miller. Buck Clayton’s Jazz World. Wheatley, Oxon: Bayou Press, 1986. Page 81. {{ISBN|1-871478-55-3}}

Screen

Twenty-Four Sheet’ LilYarbo appeared in at least two films in 1936 and one in 1937 before receiving glowing notices—and her first onscreen credit—the following year in the otherwise indifferently received Warren William vehicle, Wives Under Suspicion.“’Wives Under Suspicion’ Is Marked by Good Acting; Lillian Yarbo Excels”. Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. July 19, 1938. Page 4.Grange, Marion. “At the Motion Picture Theaters”. The Ottawa Citizen. June 27, 1938. Page 15.“’The Rage of Paris’ and ‘Under Suspicion’—Circle”. The Indianapolis News. July 16, 1938. Page 2. For that and her equally acclaimed performance in Frank Capra’s hugely successful adaptation of Kaufman and Hart’s You Can’t Take It With You“Capra Film Easily Best of Year”. The Desert Sun. October 28, 1938. Page 8.Lusk, Norbert. “Capra Feature Acclaimed as ‘Best of the Season’”. The Los Angeles Times. September 12, 1938. Page 38. (which, by virtue of the film’s panoramic, full-cast billboard, also inspired a new nickname),“’Twenty-four Sheet Lil’”. Los Angeles Daily News. October 24, 1938. Page 8. Retrieved January 18, 2021.Poole, Edwin E.; Poole, Susan T. Collecting Movie Posters: An Illustrated Reference Guide to. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. 1997. {{ISBN|978-1-4766-0502-9}}. Yarbo was judged 1938’s best Negro comedic actress by Pittsburgh Courier film critic Earl J. Morris.Morris, Earl J. “1938 Banner Year for Negro Movie Industry”. The Pittsburgh Courier. January 21, 1939. Page 21. In 1939, she was awarded that same distinction by the short-lived Sepia Theatrical Writers Guild.ANP. “Colored Actors in Four of Year’s Ten Best Pictures”. The Pittsburgh Courier. January 21, 1939. Page 39.LaMar, Lawrence F. “News of the Theatres: First Annual Sepia Screen Poll”. The Phoenix Index. December 30, 1939. Page 7. Indeed, even prior to 1938, the then-as-yet thoroughly anonymous Yarbo—as Claire Trevor’s maid in Alfred Werker’s much-rewritten Big Town Girl“’Big Town Girl’”. Motion Picture Reviews. December 1937. p. 4.—caught the eye of one discerning reviewer.{{center|... and a Negro lassie—inexcusably omitted from the cast list [emphasis added]—renders yeoman service and considerable comedy as the “countess’ ” maid.Martin, Mildred. “’Big Town Girl’ Proves Diverting Comedy”. The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 4, 1937. Page 8. Retrieved January 11, 2021.}}Awards and critical plaudits notwithstanding, and despite the sentiments ascribed to director King Vidor as early as 1937Patton, Bernice. “The Sepia Side of Hollywood”. The Pittsburgh Courier. April 10, 1937. Page 19. “Realizing her dramatic-comedy ability, director Vidor is moving heaven and earth to give the sepia Broadway lass that certain ‘oomph’ so essential to making good for keeps. Hear tell, he went up to the wardrobe department and selected a pretty French dress, slippers to match, and the last word in accessories for her new role.” (following Yarbo’s sophomore screen turn, appearing uncredited with Barbara Stanwyck in Vidor’s Stella Dallas), she continued to be routinely cast in bit parts, primarily as a maid, cook or otherwise low-skilled worker, often uncredited, appearing in at least 50 films between 1936 and 1949.In the fall of 1943, amid an already setback-laden half-decade,Smallwood, Bill. “The Delightful Side”. The California Eagle. February 12, 1942. Page 5. a potentially career-altering opportunity—being cast in a straight dramatic role opposite Canada Lee in what might well have become the definitive screen adaptation of Richard Wright’s Native Son—failed to materialize when Orson Welles, who had directed Lee in the original Broadway production, proved unavailable.ANP. “Gossip of the Movie Lots”. The Chicago Bee. October 17, 1943. Page 15. “Billy Yarbo is moaning about the shortage of work for sepians. She recalled past years when she played long runs with Rochester, Willie Best and in individual assignments.“Calvin, Dolores. “Seein’ Stars”. The Chicago Bee. December 5, 1943. Page 17. Adding injury to insult, just weeks later, a near-fatal car crash put Yarbo out of commission for the first half of 1944.Smallwood, Bill. “The Delightful Side”. The Los Angeles Tribune. February 14, 1944. Page 15. “Billie Yarbo is still on the critical list. She has a fractured skull, badly bruised ribs, a partially paralyzed right side and impaired eyesight! But she can still smile, being the person she is. Thumbs up, Billie.“Gipson, J.T. “Candid Comments: Scannin’ the News Tickertape; Snappy Comeback”. The California Eagle. July 20, 1944. Page 12. She appeared in just one film that year, and over the next five—ending her screen career much as it had begun—averaged exactly two films a year, uncredited in all but one.

Later career

On November 13, 1948, roughly four months after finishing work on what would prove to be her final film (and roughly 13 years since last having performed onstage), Yarbo returned to live performance. Perhaps inspired by having made, roughly two months prior, “one of her rare visits to a night spot,“Gipson, J. T. “The Gipson Gossip”. The California Eagle. September 16, 1948. Page 15. Retrieved January 19, 2021. Yarbo, backed by Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy, performed at a benefit event staged at Club Congo (formerly Club Alabam)“Stars to Help Raise Funds to Send Kiddies to Camp”. The California Eagle. February 19, 1948. Page 20. Retrieved January 19, 2021. by the Alpha Phi Alpha House Campaign Committee to “provide a much-needed housing [sic] and scholarship for ‘forgotten’ students.““Margaret Baskett Will Present Top Show at Alpha House Party”. The California Eagle. November 11, 1948. Page 16. Retrieved January 19, 2021.On May 19, 1949, The California Eagle’s Gertrude Gipson reported that “C. P. Johnson on along with a six-piece combo, and Billy Yarbo, who has returned to dancing, will open at the Fairbanks in Alaska around the first.“Gipson, Gertrude. “Candid Comments”. The California Eagle. May 19, 1949. Page 16. Retrieved January 17, 2021. Whether or not this actually came to pass is unclear, but if so, it would appear to be Yarbo’s last documented public performance.Similarly unclear is the matter of whether, during that same period, Yarbo had occasion to see some very nice notices greeting her penultimate screen performance (and final credited one), portraying “a giggling, singing, four-times-married little maid“Martin, Mildred. “’Night Unto Night’ Opens on Boyd Screen”. The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 19, 1949. Paqe 18. Retrieved January 20, 2021.’Mae Tinee’. “Most Useless in This Film Is the Film Itself”. The Chicago Tribune. May 17, 1949. page 17. Retrieved January 20, 2021. in Warner Bros.’ long-shelved Night Unto Night (1949),’Brog’. “’Night Unto Night’”. Variety. April 20, 1949. p. 11. Retrieved January 20, 2021. one more instance of Yarbo being one of the few reasons to watch—precisely as had been the case in her first credited role—in an otherwise “sleep-induc[ing]“Lindeman, Edith. “Sleep Inducer Is Showing at Colonial”. The Richmond Times-Dispatch. June 8, 1949. Page 21. Retrieved January 20, 2021. picture:{{center|Other characters include one who talks like someone out of a bad play, a couple of doctors, the heroine’s sexy sister, and, fortunately, Lillian Yarbo as Josephine, the maid of all work, who provides the only bright spot in the generally murky atmosphere.}}

Personal life

In 2006, NYU Professor of Media Studies Cathrine Kellison, speaking on the DVD commentary track of You Can’t Take It With You (1938), briefly addressed Yarbo’s known history: “Now Lillian Yarbo, here... she’s... it’s troubling how little information there is about her as a person. She was in probably 40, 50 films. Many of them, her name was not listed; she was uncredited.” Kellison, who would die in 2009 with online newspaper archives still slim, did not live long enough to learn of Yarbo’s illustrious pre-Hollywood heyday.Yet taking into account the full scope of her career, it is curious that the close press coverage of YarboSmallwood, Bill. “Coastin’”. The People’s Voice. February 13, 1943. Page 26. “Billie Yarbo will step off the 20th Century Ltd. any morning now. The Super Chief’s out from LA to see her ailing sis in NY. Her current turn before Columbia’s cameras is being rushed so she may make the trip minus being harried or hurried. Billie’s topnotch folks, and we love her.” Retrieved January 31, 2021. halted in the fall of 1949. After over two decades, it could be surmised that this was requested by Yarbo herself. One reason why she might have desired less attention appeared in a 1928 interview which, despite its condescending tone, portrays Yarbo as someone who did not aspire to fame and who—somewhat akin to her celebrated not-quite-namesakeBainbridge, John. “The Braveness to Be Herself: In Private Affairs or in Public, Garbo Ignores the Opinions of Others”. Life. February 7, 1955. Pages 112-113. Retrieved January 31, 2021.—genuinely valued her privacy.“Billie Yarbo; She Didn’t Want None”. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 6, 1928. Page 69.{{efn|Tone notwithstanding, the Daily Eagle portrait is lent credence by the person Yarbo cites to exemplify fame’s dire consequences: her fellow Washingtonian and possible role model, the then-recently deceased Florence Mills, whose tragic, premature death had been the subject of nationwide headlines roughly four months prior to Yarbo earning her first glowing Broadway reviews.“Blood Transfusion Failed to Save Florence Mills”. The Baltimore Afro-American. November 5, 1927. Retrieved January 27, 2021.}}Having finally secured that privacy, and adroitly handled her finances,Gipson, J.T. “Candid Comments; Billie in real estate”. The California Eagle. November 18, 1943. Page 10. Retrieved January 31, 2021.Morris, Earl. “Grand Town, Day and Night: Billie building up her economy for reconversion”. The California Eagle. October 12, 1944. Page 12. Retrieved January 31, 2021. Yarbo appears to have spent the remainder of her life in relative comfort in Seattle, Washington,Shedwin, Danny. “ERI Promo excerpt” (three-paragraph reminiscence w/ a number of later-life Yarbo quotes). MediaFire. where she died on June 12, 1996.

Stage work

Partial listing of stage work (as Billie Yarbo, except where otherwise noted):WEB, Billie Yarbo,www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/billie-yarbo-65828, IBDB, 2 February 2021, {| class=“wikitable sortable“|+! style="width:90px;” class=“unsortable“| Opening date! style="width:90px;” class=“unsortable“| Closing date! Title! class=“unsortable” | Role! class=“unsortable” | Theatre! class=“unsortable” | NotesBottomland BOTTOMLANDPUBLISHER=IBDBPrincess Theatre (New York City, 1913–1955)>Princess Theatre James P. Johnson#Composer>Keep Shufflin’ KEEP SHUFFLIN’>URL=HTTP://WWW.IBDB.COM/PRODUCTION.PHP?ID=1903ACCESS-DATE=2 FEBRUARY 2021, Yarbo (as Billie Yarbough) Daly’s 63rd Street Theatre Eye-catching caricatures by Al Hirschfeld, and by Vyvyan Donner in The New York Times, plus brief but enthusiastic mentions in The New Yorker, Variety.Follies of ParisAmerica’s Leading Colored Theatre, The Lafayette; Next Week, Beginning Monday, July 9: ‘Follies of Paris’”America’s Leading Colored Theatre, The Lafayette; Now Playing, Up to Sunday, July 15: ‘Follies of Paris’. The New York Age. July 7, 1928. Page 5. Retrieved 22 February 2021.>Lafayette Theatre (Harlem)>Lafayette Theatre Just a Minute {{IBDB name>10739}}. Retrieved 2 February 2021. Mandy Ambassador Theatre (New York City) >|Fast Life “At The Alhambra Theatre: Next Week, Starting Monday”. The New York Age. March 8, 1930. Retrieved February 2, 2021.“At The Alhambra”. The New York Age. Mar 15, 1930. Retrieved 2 February 2021. >The Harlem Alhambra>The Alhambra Happy Feet “At The Alhambra Theatre”. The New York Age. May 24, 1930. Retrieved February 2, 2021.“At The Alhambra”. The New York Age. May 31, 1930. Retrieved 2 February 2021. >The Harlem Alhambra>The Alhambra Blackbirds of 1930 Norton, Richard C. (2002). “1930-1931 Season”. A Chronology of American Musical Theater. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 628. {{ISBN>0-19-508888-3}}. Performer, “(That) Lindy Hop” (as Billy Yarbo) Royale Theatre Dave Peyton>Dave Peyton and His Regal Theatre Orchestra “Peyton Presents Cyclonic Symphony & Jazz Treat at The Gibson: Peyton’s Band Panics Them At Gibson’s Prominent Guests, Brilliant Acts and Packed House Mark Opening”. The Philadelphia Tribune. March 19, 1931. p. 7. N/A Dunbar Theatre (Philadelphia), Philadelphia >The Philadelphia Tribune (see first entry in #Further_reading>Further reading).Flying Colors (musical)>Flying Colors FLYING COLORS>URL=HTTPS://WWW.IBDB.COM/BROADWAY-PRODUCTION/FLYING-COLORS-11624ACCESS-DATE=2 FEBRUARY 2021, Performer, “Louisiana Hayride”; Performer, “Butlers” Imperial Theatre Jimmy Lunceford>Jimmy Lunceford and his Band “Lincoln Theatre: Beg. Sat., Oct. 7; One Week Only, Jimmie Lunceford and His Band”. Philadelphia Tribune. October 5, 1933. Retrieved 2 February 2021.“Amusements - - - At the Theatres: Lincoln”. Philadelphia Tribune. October 19, 1933. p. 12. Retrieved 2 February 2021. N/A Dunbar Theatre (Philadelphia), Philadelphia >|Harlem on Parade “Harlem on Parade Ends 2-Week Run”. The Chicago Defender. May 30, 1936. Retrieved 2 February 2021. >Main Street (Los Angeles)#Theaters on Main Street>Follies Theatre, Los Angeles

Filmography

{{div col|colwidth=40em}}

• Rainbow on the River (1936) – Seline (uncredited)
• Stella Dallas (1937) – Gladys (uncredited)
• Big Town Girl (1937) – Scarlett (uncredited)
• Wives Under Suspicion (1938) – Creola
• Penrod’s Double Trouble (1938) – Mrs. Washington (uncredited)
• You Can’t Take It With You (1938) – Rheba
• Up the River (1938) – Black Prisoner (uncredited)
• There’s That Woman Again (1938) – Ladies Room Attendant (uncredited)
• Kentucky (1938) – Magnolia (uncredited)
• Persons in Hiding (1939) – Beauty Parlor Maid
• Cafe Society (1939) – Mattie Harriett (uncredited)
• Society Lawyer (1939) – Sadie – Judy’s Maid (uncredited)
• The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) – Mary – Claire’s Maid (uncredited)
• The Family Next Door (1939) – Blossom
• Boy Friend (1939) – Delphinie (uncredited)
• The Jones Family in Hollywood (1939) – Maid (uncredited)
• The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939) – Maid (uncredited)
• Way Down South (1939) – Janie
• Destry Rides Again (1939) – Clara
• Honeymoon Deferred (1940) – Janet’s Maid (uncredited)
• Lillian Russell (1940) – Maid (uncredited)
• Lucky Cisco Kid (1940) – Queenie (uncredited)
• They Drive By Night (1940) – Chloe (uncredited)
• The Return of Frank James (1940) – Eleanor’s Maid (uncredited)
• Sandy Gets Her Man (1940) – Hattie, the Maid (uncredited)
• Meet the Missus (1940) – Maid (uncredited)
• Buy Me That Town (1941) – Nancy
• International Lady (1941) – Prissy (uncredited)
• Henry Aldrich for President (1941) – Lucinda
• Moon Over Her Shoulder (1941) – Juline, the Maid (uncredited)
• Wild Bill Hickok Rides (1942) – Daisy – Belle’s Maid
• The Great Man’s Lady (1942) – Mandy
• Footlight Serenade (1942) – Estelle’s Maid (uncredited)
• Between Us Girls (1942) – Phoebe, the Maid
• Presenting Lily Mars (1942) – Rosa – Isobel’s Maid (uncredited)
• Redhead from Manhattan (1943) – Polly (uncredited)
• Swing Shift Maisie (1943) – Myrtlee
• Whistling in Brooklyn (1943) – Maid (uncredited)
• Music for Millions (1944) – Jessie (uncredited)
• The Naughty Nineties (1945) – Effie – Bonita’s Cook (uncredited)
• Saratoga Trunk (1945) – Hotel Maid (uncredited)
• The Sailor Takes a Wife (1945) – Mary – Freddie’s Cook (uncredited)
• Faithful in My Fashion (1946) – Celia (uncredited)
• No Leave, No Love (1946) – Maid (uncredited)
• The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946) – Jeannie, Elaine’s maid (uncredited)
• My Brother Talks to Horses (1947) – Psyche
• A Date with Judy (1948) – Nightingale (uncredited)
• Night Unto Night (1949) – Josephine (uncredited)
• Look for the Silver Lining (1949) – Violet (uncredited)

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Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

• Wood, Joe. “Theatres: Charms and Some More Charms; Billie Yarbo and her Dashing Gibsonettes...”. The Philadelphia Tribune. March 26, 1931. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
• “Where Are the Chorus Girls of Yester-Year?”. The Baltimore Afro-American. July 6, 1935.
• Parsons, Louella. “News and Gossip of Hollywood: Magic in a Name”. The Lexington Herald. May 3, 1938. Page 3.
• “Lillian Yarbo Ascends Film Ladder”.The California Eagle. November 2, 1939. Page 6.
• TYP. “Lillian Yarbo Featured in Republic’s ‘Meet the Missus’”. The New York Age. November 9, 1940. Page 4.
• Morris, Earl J. “Grand Town, Day and Night”. The Pittsburgh Courier. March 22, 1941. Page 27.
• “HarlemBroadwayHollywood: The Most Consistent Source of Propaganda that shows the Negro in a derogatory light is Hollywood”. New York Amsterdam News. June 6, 1942. Page 17. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
• “Actor’s Relief Committee Presents a Holiday Costume Benefit Ball”. Los Angeles Tribune. November 22, 1943. Page 20.

External links

• {{IMDb name|0946361}}
• {{IBDB name|65828}}
• Hungarian dance (from You Can’t Take It With You) on YouTube
• From The Family Next Door (1939): Yarbo and Ruth Donnelly, followed by Yarbo’s impromptu rendition of Adamson & McHugh’s “That Foolish Feeling” on YouTube

{{Authority control}}