Earl Cameron: An Actor’s Journey

Bermuda-born Earl Cameron was one of the first Black stars of British film and television, breaking through racial barriers in a career that began on the London stage during the Second World War and spanned more than six decades.

His breakthrough in film came with Pool of London (1951), which was among the earliest British films to feature a Black actor in a leading role and to depict an interracial romance. Earl went on to give nuanced, dignified performances that challenged the film industry’s limited and stereotypical portrayals of people of colour. He acted alongside major stars such as Sean Connery in the James Bond outing Thunderball, and, in the 1960s, appeared in cult TV series including Doctor Who and The Prisoner. After embracing the Baha’i Faith in 1963 with his wife and children, Earl put his acting career on hold to assist the Baha’i community of the Solomon Islands. On his return to the United Kingdom, his career picked up again with appearances in The Interpreter (2005), The Queen (2006) and Inception (2010), among others.
 
A few years before his passing at the age of 102, Earl dictated his memoirs to his daughter Jane Cameron-Sanders. In them, he speaks of the racial prejudice faced in his childhood years in Bermuda, crossing oceans as a merchant seaman, labouring in steamy kitchens in war-torn London and his lucky break as an actor. Incensed by the racism, religious prejudice and economic injustice he witnessed, Earl’s spiritual quest lead him to Roman Catholic churches in Italy and Buddhist temples in Thailand, only to find the answers he was looking for, practically on his own doorstep, in teachings of the Baha’i Faith.

The memoir, released by George Ronald Publisher, is titled Earl Cameron: An Actor’s Journey. It is a richly-illustrated hardback souvenir of a pioneering actor whose charm, humility and moral authority won him legions of fans.

We caught up with Jane Cameron-Sanders and Rob Weinberg, who edited Earl’s memoir, and we’re grateful to them both for what they shared with us:

Jane, can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and about your father?

Jane: My father Earl was Bermudian and my mother Audrey came from an Eastern European Jewish background. This was an unusual mix at the time and my parents encountered a good deal of prejudice in the mid-1950s and 1960s. I think this was the reason they knew the Baha’i Faith was what they had been looking for. They loved the Teachings, especially about the oneness of humanity, and my mother particularly felt this would be the right path for their children. Indeed, even their choice of school for us (a French lycée in London) reflected the fact that they wanted us to have an international upbringing.

My father’s life changed dramatically when he was invited to attend a public meeting by a Bermudian friend, which was being held at the Baha’i World Congress at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1963. He felt immediately that this was something different and couldn’t wait to tell my mother about what he had experienced. She knew instinctively this would be of great benefit to our family and I think she pretty much believed at that instant. My father was of Anglican background and dragged his feet somewhat; however, they both embraced the Faith together and began years of service and pioneering to various parts of the United Kingdom and, eventually, to the Solomon Islands.

To say that becoming Baha’is changed our lives is an understatement. Myself and my siblings are all dedicated Baha’is and this has continued down through the generations. It is something for which my parents were immensely proud: that their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all embraced the Faith.

How did this autobiography or memoir come to be? What was the process of putting it together?

Jane: My father had started dictating his memoirs to me around 2014 and it was his wish that these be published. There were several re-writes and we knew it required a good editor to improve it sufficiently for publication. I approached several editors and publishers to no avail. My father placed the Baha’i Faith central to his story and publishers didn’t appear to be particularly interested in this facet of his life, wanting more gossip about the actors with whom he’d worked. 

After his passing, it occurred to me that George Ronald Publisher would be a good home for the book and one that my father would be more than happy with. He and I were on the same page, so to speak, that the book could introduce his admirers more fully to the Baha’i Teachings.

I spoke to the team at George Ronald and they suggested Rob as an editor. He has written a number of biographical works of British Baha’is and also knew and respected my father, having interviewed him and written articles on his life, as well as an obituary for the Daily Telegraph newspaper when he passed away. It all fell into place and I am exceedingly grateful to all at George Ronald and, of course, Rob, for their loving input.

Rob, who was Earl Cameron to you and what do you see as his significance as an actor and public figure?

Rob: I first met Earl when I was around 10 years old and he would have been in his late 50s. I remember my father pointing Earl out to me at a wedding, telling me he was a famous actor, and then negotiating my way through a crowded reception to ask him for his autograph. He kindly obliged and I still have his signature in my childhood autograph book. Our paths would cross again many times over the decades. I saw Earl at countless Baha’i gatherings and, because I was also involved in the arts and media, called upon him to lend his talents – especially his beautiful, sonorous voice – to various projects. On one occasion at the Baha’i Academy for the Arts in the 1990s, I interviewed Earl in front of an audience of about 300 about his life and work. He was especially proud of The Message, about the Prophet Muhammad, in which he played the Ethiopian King who offered sanctuary to persecuted Muslims. It chimed with his strong sense of justice and compassionate nature. I also had the pleasure of interviewing him when he turned 100 and was impressed by the fact that, even at that distinguished age, Earl wanted to continue acting!

I was always struck by Earl’s friendliness and humility, despite the admiration and accolades he received as a pioneering Black actor. He consistently refused roles that demeaned Black characters and, through his work and longevity in the industry, helped open doors for subsequent generations of actors. In 2009, he was awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by HM Queen Elizabeth II as well as recognition from the British Film Institute. When he learned of the honour from the Queen, he thought it was a mistake!

He often gave the impression of seeing himself as just being a “jobbing actor” – not drawing attention to the historic significance of his career. He was never bitter about the racism he faced though. Despite his natural shyness, Earl had an unusual combination of determination and genuine self-effacement.

Behind the scenes of Thunderball, a James Bond film starring Sean Connery. Image courtesy of George Ronald Publishing.

Behind the scenes photo from The Queen. Image courtesy of George Ronald Publishing.

A film still of The Interpreter. Image courtesy of George Ronald Publishing.

Pool of London film still. Image courtesy of George Ronald Publishing.

Emergency Call film still. Image courtesy of George Ronald Publishing.

Dr Who episode still. Image courtesy of George Ronald Publishing.

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What was the process like to edit the book?

Rob: It was a very satisfying and enjoyable experience although it required quite a lot of extra research. As Jane has said, Earl dictated his memoirs to her but when I came to look at the typescript, it appeared that often memories came back to Earl of events in a different order from which they actually happened. So it was necessary to find out when he appeared in various plays, films and television shows to try to get his memories into the right order. 

Sometimes he would say something in his memoir just as a passing remark, such as “I then did an episode of Doctor Who” and then say no more about it. So I went through everything I could find in print and online where Earl was interviewed about his life and career and then drew on these interviews to elaborate more about some of these key roles. Sometimes he spoke differently of roles and events in interviews than he did in his memoirs, or even mentioned things that he’d left out of his memoir entirely, so I had to make a choice about which version to use or what to add to provide a bigger picture. Hopefully, this gives us a much fuller and richer story than he originally dictated but I was careful to try to always preserve his own authentic voice and not add anything of my own.

I also made the point of watching as many of his films and TV shows as are available on DVD or online to be able to see him in action and to get a better sense of his remarkable achievements. It was also nice to select all the photographs from Jane’s collection and elsewhere to make this book a fitting souvenir of a great man and his career.

A final element we added to the book was a selection of tributes we solicited from actors and personalities he had worked with, as well as family members, in order to honour him further and pay tribute to the kind of man he was from those who knew him best.

What an invaluable gift to have this book in print! Jane, are there parts of it that you particularly cherish?

Jane: I particularly love the story of how my parents became Baha’is and, of course, how my father became an actor, which was something he never trained for or imagined he could be. He broke the colour bar and was respected by his peers, the British Film Institute and others, and that is something we all continue to be proud about.

What was something you learned while working on this project?

Jane: I learned that it takes great dedication to bring a book to print! I think Rob told me there were at least 11 versions in the end. I am inordinately grateful to Rob for his incredible editing.

Rob: For my part, I realise more fully perhaps that we largely think we know actors from their roles and the things they do that put them in the public eye–and we are obsessed with celebrity without really ever knowing the real people off-screen. Earl was first and foremost a Baha’i; acting was a job to him, albeit one he cared about. So while it’s wonderful to discover more about his career and the legendary names he worked with–and there are some hilarious and illuminating stories in there–I think what comes through more, and is even more inspiring, is his account of his spiritual search and its fulfilment, which is why we chose to call it An Actor’s Journey. 

What do you hope readers will take away with them after reading Earl Cameron: An Actor’s Journey?

Jane: I sincerely hope that readers will develop an awareness of some of the challenges my father faced during his career and how he faced them all with a cheerfulness, optimism and nobility that won him admirers around the world. For me, I suppose what this book is really about is how precious our days are on this earth, how opportunities need to be taken when they present themselves, and how doing the right thing may not bring global fame and wealth, but they will offer a fulfilled, purposeful and significant life of service to humanity, which has rippled through Earl’s descendents and those who have followed in his footsteps.

First and foremost, this book is about how life-changing and precious our days on this earth are and how an invitation by a schoolfriend in Bermuda to a centenary at the Royal Albert Hall can change your life–for the better. 

Thank you both for taking the time to tell us about Earl Cameron’s memoirs.

You can purchase Earl Cameron: An Actor’s Journey from a variety of book retailers including Bahaibooks.com.au in Australia and directly from George Ronald Publisher.

Heartfelt thanks to Rob for helping us with this interview!

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.