Hamtree Harrington

James Carl "Hamtree" Harrington (1889–1956) was an American comedian and Broadway performer born in Columbia, South Carolina. At fourteen, he left school, ran away from home, and joined a traveling carnival, marking the beginning of a career in entertainment that would span several decades.

After departing the carnival, Harrington established himself as a comedian on the Black vaudeville circuit, taking work as a barber during periods when stage engagements were scarce. Through the late 1920s, he frequently performed alongside well-known Black female performers, and by the 1930s he had transitioned to working as a solo act. During that same period, Harrington pursued additional ventures, appearing in films and launching a singing career. He also became one of the co-founders of the Negro Actors' Guild of America.

Harrington's Broadway career extended from 1922 to 1952 and included a range of productions across comedy, musical, and revue formats. His credits encompassed the revue As Thousands Cheer, the musical A Little Racketeer, and the comedy Pillar to Post, among others. He was one of the featured comics in Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939, a Broadway production that also starred Lena Horne and Tim Moore. His final Broadway appearance came in the 1952 production of Shuffle Along. The origin of his stage name, "Hamtree," remains unknown, though one account suggests it may have derived from his large feet.

In his personal life, Harrington had a son with a chorus girl named Edna Murray early in his career. He later toured with vaudeville actress Maude Mills, whom he married in 1916. That marriage lasted five years, and Harrington did not remarry before his death in 1956.