Daniel L. Haynes


Daniel L. Haynes was an American stage and film actor and clergyman. He is best known for starring as Zeke in King Vidor's early talking film [Hallelujah (1929 film)|Hallelujah], the first film ever to feature an all-Black cast. On November 28, 1910, he married Rosa Belle Sims in Chicago. In his last years, he left show business and became a full-time Baptist minister.
Despite Hallelujah's controversial depiction of Black Americans, Haynes thought highly of the film. He is quoted as having said: "I cannot say what our race owes King Vidor and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer—there are not words forceful enough for that. Hallelujah will, as Moses led his people from the wilderness, lead ours from the wilderness of misunderstanding and apathy."

Selected filmography