Arneaux, J. A.

(1855-?)

   The son of a white Frenchman and a black woman, J. A. Arneaux was educated in America and Paris, where he worked for a time as a newspaperman. While employed as a singer and dancer for Tony Pastor, Arneaux established the As-tor Place Company of Colored Tragedians in 1884, an all-AFRicAN American company devoted to productions of classics, particularly Shakespeare. Although established in New York, Arneaux's troupe toured to Philadelphia and Providence, Rhode Island. As an actor, Arneaux was the logical successor of Ira Aldridge and was praised as Macbeth, Iago, and particularly in his favorite role, Richard III, in which he was favorably compared to major actors of both races.