2013 Essays

Alice B. Russell

Morgan, Kyna

Alice B. Russell, the second wife of Oscar Micheaux, played a large part in the professional life of her husband, starring in several of his films as well as helping to administer the Micheaux Film Company. There are several conflicting dates for her birth, ranging from 1889 to 1899. Patrick McGilligan believes that the date, June 30, 1889 recorded on the 1900 US Census, is the most reliable one (223). Her acting work began in 1928 with the Broken Violin, and she continued working in various capacities until Micheaux’s last film, The Betrayal, in 1948.