Biography

He was the son of a Puerto Rican seaman. He was self-educated and spent much of his childhood in Brazil singing on the streets to raise money for food. He became an actor after having been a circus performer, radio actor, and vaudeville performer. He worked in the chorus of the 1927 stage production of the musical "Show Boat". Black American film historian Donald Bogle considers Hernandez's early success in films during the early twentieth century to have been an event that paved the way for the high visibility and success of Black actor and Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier.

- IMDb mini biography by: L. J. Allen-2

Juano Hernandez was born in Puerto Rico, son of a Puerto Rican father and Brazilian mother.

Hernandez's first talking pictures were "race films" produced by Oscar Micheaux. His first speaking part was in Micheaux's "The Girl From Chicago," a 1932 talkie. He became well-known as a radio performer, and also acted on Broadway.

His breakthrough role was "Intruder in the Dust" (1940), directed by Clarence Brown from the novel by William Faulkner. As a poor farmer unjustly accused of the murder of a white man, Hernandez was nominated for both Golden Globe and New York City Film Critics awards. Bosley Crowther called it "one of the great cinema dramas of our times". As for Hernandez's performance, Crowther wrote: "The staunch and magnificent integrity that Mr. Hernandez displays in his carriage, his manner and expression, with never a flinch in his great self-command, is the bulwark of all the deep compassion and ironic comment in this film."

His later performances were often singled out for praise, including "Breaking Point" (1950), starring John Garfield, and Sidney Lumet's "The Pawnbroker" (1965). In 1957, Hernandez appeared with Sidney Poitier in "Something of Value" (1957), a drama about the Mau Mau uprising against white settlers in East Africa. Hernandez also made frequent appearances on television.

In later years he returned to his native Puerto Rico, but continued to make American films. His last role was supporting Sidney Poitier in "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!" He died of a cerebral hemorrhage, two days before his 74th birthday.

- IMDb mini biography by: Mlle Wackjob