Joseph Bradford
Joseph Bradford (1843–1886) was an American playwright who most famously helped write a landmark production, Out of Bondage, the first African American musical comedy. The show's cast included Pauline Hopkins and the Hyers Sisters, debuting in 1876. The production featured Sam Lucas, a famous minstrel performer of the era.
Also recorded as William Randolph Hunter
Joseph Bradford
- Name
- Joseph Bradford
- Birth Name
- William Randolph Hunter
- Born
- October 24, 1843
- Birthplace
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Died
- April 13, 1886
- Place of death
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Full name
- William Randolph Hunter.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- playwright · poet · journalist · actor · librettist · writer
- Languages
- American English
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q15453161
In this article
Biography
Biography
A White Bostonian, Bradford was also an actor, poet and journalist. He wrote for the Boston Courier as "Jay Bee".
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Joseph Bradford • Pen Name — Jay Bee • Birth Name — William Randolph Hunter • Born — October 24, 1843 • Birthplace — Nashville, Tennessee • Died — April 13, 1886 • Place of death — Boston, Massachusetts • Notable Works — Out of Bondage
Works
Works
• New German (1872) • Law in New York (1873) • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1874) Libretto • The Conditional Pardon (1875) • Fritz's Brother (1875) • Out of Bondage (1876) • In and Out of Bondage (1877) • Our Bachelors (1877) • A.A. 1900 (1879) • John Mishler (1882) • One of the Finest (1883) • A Wonderful Woman (1883) • Cherubs (1885) • Rose and Coe (1886)
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Nashville.
Birth place
Boston.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Joseph Bradford (playwright), revision 1371894871 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 06 September 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Joseph Blanco WhiteAuthor
- Joseph BolognaAuthor
- Joseph BosworthAuthor
- Joseph BottumAuthor
- Joseph Brahim SeïdAuthor
- Joseph BrodskyAuthor
- Joseph ButlerAuthor
- Joseph C. WilsonAuthor
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