Zerita Stepteau Explained

Zerita Stepteau
Other Names:Zoreta Steptoe, Zerita Steptean, Zereta Stepteau, Zerita S. Mitchell
Birth Date:1908
Birth Place:Baltimore, Maryland
Death Date:June 21, 1962
Death Place:Baltimore, Maryland
Occupation:Actress, musician

Zerita Mae Stepteau (1908 – June 21, 1962) was an American actress and musician, based for most of her life in Baltimore, Maryland.

Early life and education

Stepteau was born in Baltimore, the daughter of Rev. C. Harold Stepteau and Estella V. Lyons Stepteau. Her father was pastor of Metropolitan A. M. E. Church in Washington, D.C., and of Bethel A. M. E. Church in Baltimore.[1] [2] She graduated from Douglass High School in 1924, and from Howard University in 1929.[3] [4]

Career

Stepteau pursued a performing career,[5] as leader of the Ambrose Smith Orchestra in Baltimore in 1932,[6] and in the musical film, Moon Over Harlem (1939), directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. She also appeared in a comedy film, Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1942). She also wrote music and lyrics.[7]

Stepteau lived in Texas in the 1930s, where she was a church organist[8] and a member of the San Antonio Negro Little Theater. In 1931 she was in the company's cast for The Brat[9] and George Broadhurst's Bought and Paid For,[10] and she organized a show, Blue Review, as a benefit for an orphanage in San Antonio.[11] She wrote and directed a "brilliant revue" called Love and Chances in 1935, at the Houston College for Negroes.[12]

In 1939, she worked with the Bud Harris company as a "comedienne-pianist" in Baltimore.[13] In 1943 she played piano and solovox in a Baltimore swing ensemble, Doc Green's Band.[14]

Films

Personal life

In 1932, Stepteau married dentist Lewis Matthew Mitchell Jr.[15] She married again in 1942, to Lynwood Peters.[16] She died in 1962, at the age of 54, in Baltimore.[17]

Notes and References

  1. News: 1932-10-08 . Rev. Stepteau Succumbs in San Antonio . 20 . The Pittsburgh Courier . 2023-02-02 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: 1923-04-14 . Anniversary Week at Bethel A.M.E. . 8 . The Morning News . 2023-02-02 . Newspapers.com.
  3. Ellett, Ryan. Encyclopedia of Black Radio in the United States, 1921-1955 (McFarland & Company 2012): 12.
  4. News: March 9, 1929 . In Howard Popularity Contest . 10 . Baltimore Afro-American . February 1, 2023 . NewspaperArchive.com.
  5. News: June 25, 1932 . Zerita Stepteau in Professional Debut at Dawn Dance . 11 . Baltimore Afro-American . February 2, 2023 . NewspaperArchive.com.
  6. News: 1932-08-13 . Couples Talent with Charm: Miss Zerita Stepteau . 16 . The Pittsburgh Courier . 2023-02-02 . Newspapers.com.
  7. Book: Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions . 1932 . Library of Congress, Copyright Office. . 1220 . en.
  8. News: March 9, 1929 . Bethel A.M.E. Church . 8 . San Antonio Register . February 1, 2023 . The Portal to Texas History.
  9. News: In 'The Brat' . 7 . San Antonio Register . February 1, 2023 . The Portal to Texas History.
  10. News: December 17, 1931 . egroes Will Present 'Bought and Paid For' . 8 . San Antonio Express . February 1, 2023 . NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. News: April 26, 1931 . Negroes Will Give Musical Comedy . 5 . San Antonio Light . February 1, 2023 . NewspaperArchive.com.
  12. News: November 16, 1935 . Author and Director of Brilliant Revue: Mrs. Zerita S. Mitchell . 13 . Indianapolis Recorder . February 1, 2023 . Hoosier State Chronicles.
  13. News: 1939-02-04 . Theatre Refused to go for 'Dressed Up' Colored Acts . 7 . The Pittsburgh Courier . 2023-02-02 . Newspapers.com.
  14. News: January 30, 1943 . Zerita Stepteau, Local Girl, Has Role in Film at Royal . 15 . Baltimore Afro-American . February 1, 2023 . NewspaperArchive.com.
  15. News: Colorful Wedding Ceremony Solemnized at Bethel Church; Popular Dentist Takes Miss Stepteau as Bride Saturday Night . 6 . San Antonio Register . February 1, 2023 . The Portal of Texas History.
  16. News: August 1, 1942 . Untitled brief social item . 9 . Baltimore Afro-American . February 1, 2023 . NewspaperArchive.com.
  17. News: June 30, 1962 . Miss Stepteau, noted musician buried Wed. . 26, 28 . Baltimore Afro-American . February 1, 2023 . NewspaperArchive.com.

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