Zerita Mae Stepteau (1908 – June 21, 1962) was an American actress and musician, based for most of her life in Baltimore, Maryland.
Zerita Stepteau | |
|---|---|
 Zerita Stepteau, from the 1927 yearbook of Howard University | |
| Born | 1908 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Died | June 21, 1962 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Other names | Zoreta Steptoe, Zerita Steptean, Zereta Stepteau, Zerita S. Mitchell |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, musician |
Early life and education
editStepteau was born in Baltimore, the daughter of Rev. C. Harold Stepteau and Estella V. Lyons Stepteau. Her father was pastor of Metropolitan A. M. E. Church in Washington, D.C., and of Bethel A. M. E. Church in Baltimore.[1][2] She graduated from Douglass High School in 1924, and from Howard University in 1929.[3][4]
Career
editStepteau pursued a performing career,[5] as leader of the Ambrose Smith Orchestra in Baltimore in 1932,[3][6] and in the musical film, Moon Over Harlem (1939), directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. She also appeared in a comedy film, Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1942). She also wrote music and lyrics.[6][7]
Stepteau lived in Texas in the 1930s, where she was a church organist[8] and a member of the San Antonio Negro Little Theater. In 1931 she was in the company's cast for The Brat[9] and George Broadhurst's Bought and Paid For,[10] and she organized a show, Blue Review, as a benefit for an orphanage in San Antonio.[11] She wrote and directed a "brilliant revue" called Love and Chances in 1935, at the Houston College for Negroes.[12]
In 1939, she worked with the Bud Harris company as a "comedienne-pianist" in Baltimore.[13] In 1943 she played piano and solovox in a Baltimore swing ensemble, Doc Green's Band.[14]
Films
edit- Moon Over Harlem (1939)
- Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1942)
Personal life
editIn 1932, Stepteau married dentist Lewis Matthew Mitchell Jr.[15] She married again in 1942, to Lynwood Peters.[16] She died in 1962, at the age of 54, in Baltimore.[17]
References
edit- ^ "Rev. Stepteau Succumbs in San Antonio". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1932-10-08. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-02-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Anniversary Week at Bethel A.M.E." The Morning News. 1923-04-14. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-02-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Ellett, Ryan. Encyclopedia of Black Radio in the United States, 1921-1955 (McFarland & Company 2012): 12. ISBN 978-0-7864-6315-2
- ^ "In Howard Popularity Contest". Baltimore Afro-American. March 9, 1929. p. 10. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Zerita Stepteau in Professional Debut at Dawn Dance". Baltimore Afro-American. June 25, 1932. p. 11. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ a b "Couples Talent with Charm: Miss Zerita Stepteau". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1932-08-13. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-02-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1932. p. 1220.
- ^ "Bethel A.M.E. Church". San Antonio Register. March 9, 1929. p. 8. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via The Portal to Texas History.
- ^ "In 'The Brat'". San Antonio Register. p. 7. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via The Portal to Texas History.
- ^ "egroes Will Present 'Bought and Paid For'". San Antonio Express. December 17, 1931. p. 8. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Negroes Will Give Musical Comedy". San Antonio Light. April 26, 1931. p. 5. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Author and Director of Brilliant Revue: Mrs. Zerita S. Mitchell". Indianapolis Recorder. November 16, 1935. p. 13. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
- ^ "Theatre Refused to go for 'Dressed Up' Colored Acts". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1939-02-04. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-02-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Zerita Stepteau, Local Girl, Has Role in Film at Royal". Baltimore Afro-American. January 30, 1943. p. 15. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Colorful Wedding Ceremony Solemnized at Bethel Church; Popular Dentist Takes Miss Stepteau as Bride Saturday Night". San Antonio Register. p. 6. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via The Portal of Texas History.
- ^ "Untitled brief social item". Baltimore Afro-American. August 1, 1942. p. 9. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Miss Stepteau, noted musician buried Wed". Baltimore Afro-American. June 30, 1962. pp. 26, 28. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.