Hello Everyone!

The Perris Valley Historical & Museum Association (PVHMA) of Perris, California has been working for over a decade to raise the necessary funds to honor one of its most treasured former residents, Hollywood film legend Clarence Muse, through the funding of his well-deserved and long overdue Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

While members and friends of PVHMA in the small community of Perris, California have managed to raise an impressive $55,000 thus far, the organization is still $30,000 short of the $85,000 fee required by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce administers the entire Walk of Fame program, owns the trademark, sets rules, accepts nominations (with peer committee selection), and collects fees from sponsors to fund stars and maintenance. PVHMA, a registered non-profit, is the sole sponsor for Clarence Muse's application to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and is proud to report that the application on behalf of Clarence Muse has been approved! The only step remaining is the payment of the $85,000 fee.

PVHMA has done a commendable job thus far, but now needs your financial support to help them reach this final goal and honor this trailblazing Hollywood pioneer.

Clarence Muse was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1889. After high school he studied law at Dickinson College of Pennsylvania. He would soon abandon his law career due to the challenges for Black Americans in the profession and begin his career as a vaudeville performer and theatre actor.

Muse was a co-founder of the pioneering Harlem based Lafayette Players in 1916 which became the most celebrated Black Acting Troupe throughout the Harlem Renaissance. He appeared in numerous leading roles including that of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde in 1917 (see below).

Muse's career in theatre prepared him to step into the emerging medium of moving pictures (film), where he became the first Black actor to "Star" in a major studio film, Hearts In Dixie in 1929. His film career would continue for another five decades, where he would appear in over 200 films, the last being The Black Stallion in 1979.

His remarkable 65 year career as an theatre and film actor included an impressive resume well into his eighties, with appearances in several films in the 1970s, including the Sidney Poitier directed Buck and the Preacher (1972), alongside Richard Pryor in Car Wash (1976), Larry Clark's "LA Rebellion" cult classic Passing Through (1977), and his last film, The Black Stallion (1979).

In addition to his importance as an actor, Clarence Muse was also a well known singer, composer and writer. He was among first Black screenwriters of a major Hollywood film, when he co-wrote Way Down South in 1939 with Langston Hughes. Beyond Hollywood, Muse was also the first African American to direct a Broadway Play, when he directed Run, Little Chillun at the Hudson Theater in New York in 1943.

Throughout his long career, Muse played a key role in advocating for Black actors and entertainers, and for the creation of roles that portrayed Black Americans with dignity. He was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973.

Clarence Muse's importance to Perris, California

Clarence Muse purchased his 160 acre ranch in Perris, California in 1934 and called it Muse-A-While Ranch. For many years, It was listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book as a safe place for accommodation for Black Travelers in "Jim Crow" Southern California. His ranch was also known as a "mecca" and gathering spot for Black writers and actors for decades.

Clarence Muse was a pillar and lifelong advocate for the Black community of Perris, and remains a revered figure to city residents today. In 2020, the City of Perris named the City's TV Studio and Information Technology Center The Clarence Muse Center. Among the many local projects and civic organizations that he participated in, he was also a founding member of the Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association, which is the sponsoring organization for his Star.

Clarence Muse died in Perris, CA in 1979, just a day before his 90th birthday and four days before the release of his final Film The Black Stallion.