Luther J. Pollard Explained

Luther J. Pollard (died 1977) was an advertising executive and businessman in the film industry in Chicago.[1] [2]

John W. Pollard was his father.[1] He was a boxer[1] and served in a "Colored" unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War.[3] Luther's brother Frederick "Fritz" Douglass Pollard played football for Brown University,[1] [4] worked for the studio, went on to coach football in the NFL and established the New York Independent News newspaper.[4]

His brother Fritz Pollard discussed their family and discrimination they faced in a 1979 interview he gave at Brown University.[5]

The 1976 documentary film The Very Last Laugh is about the Ebony Film Corporation and Pollard's filmmaking career in Chicago. It includes footage of Pollard being interviewed. William Franklin Grisham wrote and directed the film.[6] [7] Pollard said he rented the studio to Oscar Micheaux to make Within Our Gates and other of his early films after Micheaux came to Chicago from Sioux City, Iowa. Pollard said he had a sister who helped Micheaux edit the book.[7]

Notes and References

  1. News: LUTHER J. POLLARD. The New York Times . October 13, 1977. NYTimes.com.
  2. Book: Collier, Kevin Scott. Luther J. Pollard: Ebony Film Corp.. September 8, 2017. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 9781976218736. Google Books.
  3. Web site: [Civil War veteran John W. Pollard, who served under the name of Private Jackson Ridgway in the 83rd U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), in Grand Army of the Republic uniform with medal] / J.A. Wolfe, 4841 N. Clark St., Rogers Park, Chicago.]. Library of Congress.
  4. Web site: The Rise and Fall of Ebony Films – Norman Studios. 17 January 2017. 29 November 2023.
  5. Web site: Brown Digital Repository | Item | bdr:858463. repository.library.brown.edu.
  6. Web site: The Very Last Laugh, Part 1. Chicago Film Archives. 29 November 2023.
  7. Web site: Chicago Film Archives: William Franklin Grisham Collection. www.chicagofilmarchives.org.