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Jamaican-born American stage actor and theatrical manager (1844-1906) who was best known for his portrayal of Mephistopheles in his own production of Faust, which he performed from 1885 to 1906. He was the father of actress Adrienne Morrison, and grandfather of Constance, Barbara, and Joan Bennett. Before his stage career, Morris was the first black Jewish officer to serve during the Civil War. When the war first began, he enlisted in the 1st Louisiana Native Guard, the first official black military regiment in the Confederacy, with other free blacks. When the Louisiana State Legislature banned people of color from serving in the Confederate Army, the regiment was disbanded. Morris and other former 1st Louisiana Native Guard joined the Union in September 1862, where Morris became the first black Jewish officer in the Union Army. AQS from Lewis Morrison on an off-white 7.75 x 5 sheet, signed in bold black ink, “Lewis Morrison,” who adds above: “Fame's loudest blast – upon the sea of time – leaves but a dying Echo.” In fine condition, with a slight stain.
Morrison was born in Jamaica in 1844 to a British-Jewish father and a black and Hispanic mother. He came to Louisiana as a boy, and as a young man, he enlisted in the first free Black Confederate regiment in the south, the Louisiana Native Guard, where he rose in rank to lieutenant. After the capture of New Orleans, Morrison and the regiment defected to the Union army—the first all-Black regiment to fight for the northern cause. Lewis Morrison participated in a number of battles for the North, including the Battle of Port Hudson, and rose to the rank of brevet captain. After the war, the light-skinned Morrison, concealing his origins, became an actor and played in support of Edwin Booth and other stars of the day. By the 1880s, he had emerged as a star performer in his own right and led a touring company that played at major American venues for more than two decades, winning acclaim for his portrayal of Mephistopheles in Faust and other roles. He died at the age of 61 in 1906.
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