Gary Simmons’ “Ghost Reels” drawing installation will be on view in The Drawing Center stairwell through January 2018. According to Simmons, the work reflects “the memories of actors that have been blurred in the history of Hollywood film . . . a kind of silence in both voice and visibility.” Here we explore the contributions of African American actors of the early 20th century. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ethel Waters, born Ethel Howard in 1896, rose to stardom as a jazz, pop, and blues singer. Born into a difficult childhood, Waters became a maid in a Philadelphia hotel in her teens. During this period, she gained her first singing gig after impressing fellow revelers at a nightclub so much she was offered a job as a vocalist at the Baltimore Lincoln Theater. She gained fame by favoring more pop-inspired ballads than many of her contemporaries, and in the 1920s starred in a number of Broadway musicals, including Cabin in the Sky. Her warm, lilting voice and countless musical hits l...