Actor. Born in Puerto Rico, Juano Hernandez was one of the first Afro-Latin Americans to become a major star in the United States and one of the first "new style" black screen actors, who neither sang nor danced but played regular characters. Son of a Puerto Rican seaman, he was self-educated and spent much of his childhood in Brazil singing on the streets to raise money for food. He became an actor after having been a circus performer and vaudeville performer. He worked in the chorus of the 1927 stage production of the musical "Show Boat" and also worked as a radio and theatre actor. Juano Hernández broke through as a screen actor in Intruder in the Dust (1949). The film earned him a Golden Globe Award for "New Star of the Year". After getting a number of solid roles in The Mark of the Hawk (1958), Something of Value (1957), Ransom! (1956), Trial (1955), The Breaking Point (1950), and Young Man with a Horn (1950), he was obliged to accept lesser roles in most of the films he made from the late 1950s on. He continued acting until shortly before his death, working in both films and on television. American film historian Donald Bogle considers Hernandez's early success in films during the early 20th century to have been an event that paved the way for the high visibility and success of black actor and Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier. Hernández died in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico from a brain hemorrhage.
Actor. Born in Puerto Rico, Juano Hernandez was one of the first Afro-Latin Americans to become a major star in the United States and one of the first "new style" black screen actors, who neither sang nor danced but played regular characters. Son of a Puerto Rican seaman, he was self-educated and spent much of his childhood in Brazil singing on the streets to raise money for food. He became an actor after having been a circus performer and vaudeville performer. He worked in the chorus of the 1927 stage production of the musical "Show Boat" and also worked as a radio and theatre actor. Juano Hernández broke through as a screen actor in Intruder in the Dust (1949). The film earned him a Golden Globe Award for "New Star of the Year". After getting a number of solid roles in The Mark of the Hawk (1958), Something of Value (1957), Ransom! (1956), Trial (1955), The Breaking Point (1950), and Young Man with a Horn (1950), he was obliged to accept lesser roles in most of the films he made from the late 1950s on. He continued acting until shortly before his death, working in both films and on television. American film historian Donald Bogle considers Hernandez's early success in films during the early 20th century to have been an event that paved the way for the high visibility and success of black actor and Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier. Hernández died in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico from a brain hemorrhage.
Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni
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