Gordon Heath (September 20, 1918 – August 27, 1991) was an American actor and musician who narrated the animated feature filmAnimal Farm (1954) and appeared in the title role ofThe Emperor Jones (1953) andOthello (1955), both live BBC telecasts, respectively directed byAlvin Rakoff andTony Richardson. It featured several kisses between himself andRosemary Harris and is a contender for thefirst interracial kiss on television.

Heath was born inNew York City, his parents' only child. His father Cyril Gordon Heath had emigrated fromBarbados to theUS, where he met and married Hattie Hooper.^[1] Gordon Heath showed an early talent for both music and art, but opted to pursue an acting career, working on stage and radio.^[1] Joining the New York radio stationWMCA in 1945 he became the first black staff announcer employed by a major US radio station.^[1] In 1945 he appeared onBroadway to great success in the playDeep Are the Roots, written byArnaud d'Usseau and James Gow, directed byElia Kazan, and starringBarbara Bel Geddes. The play ran for 447 performances, and when it was subsequently produced inLondon'sWest End, Heath reprised his co-starring role in it.^[1] After the six-month London run, Heath decided to settle inParis, France, in 1948.^[2]

He also acted in Paris, and in 1950 in London he playedOthello on stage and later forBBC Television. He directed an English-speaking production company, the Studio Theater of Paris, for 10 years, from the 1960s.^[2]

He and his music and life partnerLee Payant operated aLeft Bank café in Paris called L'Abbaye, whose clientele includedJosephine Baker,Yves Montand,Eartha Kitt,Rita Hayworth and other celebrities of the era, and where Heath and Payant were the entertainers.^[3] Many of the duo'sfolk albums from the 1950s^[3] were recorded there and released on various international labels, includingElektra Records. Payant died on December 14, 1976.

Heath died in Paris after a lengthy illness on August 27, 1991.^[2]

• Gordon Heath and Lee Payant Sing Songs of the Abbaye ‒ Elektra (1954)
• Chants Tradionnels des Etats-Unis – Editions de la Boite à Musique LD 313 (1955)
• Gordon Heath and Lee Payant Sing Encores from the Abbaye ‒ Elektra (1955)
• Folksongs and Footnotes – Abbaye Record 1 (1956)
• An Evening at L'Abbaye – Elektra (1957)
• Abbaye Anniversary Album – Abbaye Record 2 (1959)
• Gordon Heath Sings Spirituals – Abbaye Record 3 (1961)

• Bourne, Stephen. "Heath, Gordon."Who's Who in Contemporary Gay & Lesbian History from World War II to the Present Day.Robert Aldrich and Garry Wotherspoon, eds. London and New York: Routledge, 2001. 183.
• Breman, Paul. "Obituary: Gordon Heath."The Independent (London) (September 13, 1991): 26.
• Heath, Gordon.Deep Are the Roots: Memoirs of a Black Expatriate. Amherst: TheUniversity of Massachusetts Press, 1992.
• Shipman, David. "Obituary: Gordon Heath."The Independent (London) (September 2, 1991): 21.

• Gordon Heath onlgbtq.com
• Gordon Heath atIMDb
• Illustrated Gordon Heath & Lee Payant discography

• 1918 births
• 1991 deaths
• American gay actors
• African-American LGBTQ people
• 20th-century African-American male actors
• 20th-century American male actors
• 20th-century American musicians
• 20th-century African-American musicians
• 20th-century American LGBTQ people
• American expatriates in France

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