Daniel L. Haynes

Daniel L. Haynes (June 6, 1889 – July 28, 1954) was an American actor, stage performer, and clergyman born in Atlanta, Georgia. He worked across both theater and film, building a career that spanned several decades before he ultimately left show business to serve as a Baptist minister.

Haynes is perhaps most recognized for his leading role as Zeke in King Vidor's 1929 film Hallelujah, a landmark production distinguished as the first film to feature an all-Black cast. He expressed strong admiration for the film despite its controversial portrayal of Black Americans, stating that Hallelujah would, as Moses led his people from the wilderness, lead his own people from the wilderness of misunderstanding and apathy, and that he could not find words forceful enough to express what the race owed King Vidor and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His film work extended beyond that role to include appearances in John Smith (1922), The Last Mile (1932), Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935), So Red the Rose (1935), Escape from Devil's Island (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), and Fury (1936).

On the stage, Haynes performed on Broadway between 1927 and 1938. His credits include the musical Rang Tang, the plays The Green Pastures, Androcles and the Lion, The Earth, and The Bottom of the Cup. His Broadway debut in Rang Tang in 1927 coincided with the early years of his film career, and he continued working in theater across the following decade.

On November 28, 1910, Haynes married Rosa Belle Sims in Chicago. In his later years, he stepped away from performing entirely and devoted himself to work as a full-time Baptist minister. He died on July 28, 1954.