J. Augustus Smith

[1] In 1911, Smith formed his own minstrel company, with which he toured the United States.

[4] The film was based on his play Louisiana,[5][6] which premiered in 1933 on Broadway, starring Smith.

[7][8] The stage production featured an all-Black cast, members of the New Negro Repertory Theater Group, founded by Smith.

[11] Smith also wrote Just Ten Days, a folk-comedy that played at parks in the Bronx.

[12] Smith and Oliver Foster had the lead roles in the theatrical production Walk Together Chillun.

Gus Smith as Forty-Four in the Federal Theatre Project production of his play Turpentine (1936)
Poster for the Federal Theatre Project production of Turpentine at the Lafayette Theatre (1936)