[5][6] Stewart also was a veteran of Broadway shows, having created a comedic character he called "Nicodemus" and playing that role in Swingin' the Dream and Louisiana Purchase, as well as in the film Go West, Young Man.

[10] Other acting credits include the 1936 movie Go West Young Man, the voice of Specks Crow in Disney's 1941 animated film Dumbo, the voice of Br'er Bear in the 1946 Disney film Song of the South[11][12] and Willy-Willy on the television series Ramar of the Jungle.

)[18] Soon Gosden and Correll were back on the telephone, this time offering Stewart the role of Lightnin' on the television show.

[19] Stewart accepted the role with one idea in mind: to make enough money to be able to open his own theater where African Americans would not be typecast as maids and porters.

[27] He and his wife, Edna Stewart, also founded Los Angeles's Ebony Showcase Theatre,[28] which provided a venue for numerous performers of all races, including Al Freeman Jr., Yuki Shimoda, William Schallert, Tom Ewell, John Amos, Nichelle Nichols, Isabel Sanford, B.

[31][32] Because CBS believed Nick Stewart's work with his theater was impairing his ability to perform on Amos 'n' Andy, he was notified that his contract would not be renewed; this was shortly before the decision to take the show off the air.

[8] In 1973, Nick and Edna Stewart were honored by Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley and the California Museum of Science and Industry's advisory board for their work with the Ebony Showcase theatre.

[35] One of the issues which led to the theatre's financial problems was a Los Angeles law requiring all older brick buildings to meet current earthquake standards.

[39] Stewart died of natural causes at his son's home in Los Angeles, California, on December 18, 2000, at age 90, a week after attending the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Performing Arts Center named for Los Angeles politician Nate Holden which was built on the site where the Ebony Showcase stood.