Canada Lee (March 3, 1907 - May 9, 1952) autographed vintage 1940s photo signed in blue steel-tip fountain pen and inscribed To Johnny Meyers Jr. With God-speed good- luck Sincerely Canada Lee. A fantastic handsome portrait of the boxer/actor dated on the backside 4/18/44 at 37 years of age. This signature has been authenticated by JSA James Spence authentication Certification Number: CH74413 and will come with the matching cert card you see in the scans. This photo has corner creasing but the inside image is very fine. Canada Lee was an American professional boxer and actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became an actor in the Federal Theatre Project, including the 1936 production of Macbeth adapted and directed by Orson Welles. Lee later starred in Welle's original Broadway production of Native Son (1941). A champion of civil rights in the 1930s and 1940s, Lee was blacklisted and died shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He advanced the African-American tradition in theatre pioneered by such actors as Paul Robeson. Lee was the father of actor Carl Lee. Credits include Lifeboat (1944), Cry, the Beloved Country (1951), Body and Soul (1947), Keep Punching (1939), The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1950), and Lost Boundaries (1949). This photo will come in a clear hard top load for display. Buy with confidence we have been selling autographs since 1992.