Gordon Heath

Gordon Heath was an AfricanAmerican actor and musician who narrated the animated feature film Animal Farm and appeared in the title role of The Emperor Jones and Othello , both live BBC telecasts, respectively directed by Alvin Rakoff and Tony Richardson.

Heath was born in New York City, his parents only child. His father Cyril Gordon Heath had emigrated from Barbados to the US, where he met and married Hattie Hooper. Gordon Heath showed an early talent for both music and art, but opted to pursue an acting career, working on stage and radio. Joining the New York radio station WMCA in 1945 he became the first black black staff announcer employed by a major US radio station. In 1945 he appeared on Broadway to great success in the play Deep Are the Roots, written by Arnaud dUsseau and James Gow, directed by Elia Kazan, and starring Barbara Bel Geddes. The play ran for 447 performances, and when it was subsequently produced in Londons West End, Heath reprised his costarring role in it. After the sixmonth London run, Heath decided to settle in Paris, France, in 1948.

Source: Wikipedia