U.S. #4464

Oscar Micheaux

Black Heritage Series

Issue Date: June 22, 2010

City: New York, NY

Birth Of Oscar Micheaux

Author, director, and producer Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was born on January 2, 1884, in Metropolis, Illinois.

Micheaux was born on a farm, but his parents moved the family to a nearby city to give their children a better education. This was short-lived, however, as money troubles sent them back to the farm. Micheaux became restless and frequently got himself in trouble. As a result, his father sent him back to the city to do marketing.

Micheaux enjoyed his marketing work in the city – it allowed him to meet lots of people and develop social skills that would help in his later career. Micheaux moved to Chicago when he was 17 and worked a series of jobs in stockyards and steel mills. He eventually realized he wanted to be his own boss so he started his own business – a shoeshine stand in a barbershop. Micheaux then got a job as a Pullman porter for a railroad. He greatly enjoyed this job – he got to travel the country, meet lots of people, and make enough money to save a substantial amount.

After leaving his railroad job, Micheaux went to South Dakota and worked as a homesteader. The time he spent there provided ample inspiration for his subsequent books and movies. During this time, Micheaux also started submitting articles to local newspapers. He discovered his love of writing and decided to commit his time to that. He published his first book anonymously in 1913. It was largely based on his life as a homesteader.

In 1918, a movie studio showed interest in making Micheaux’s novel, The Homesteader, into a movie. The deal fell through because they didn’t want to give him direct involvement in the film. So Micheaux decided to start his own enterprise – the Micheaux Film & Book Company. He immediately set to adapting The Homesteader for film and it was generally well-received. The success of that film launched his career as a filmmaker.