Actor and Musician. He spent most of his Texas childhood performing in minstrel shows. After touring Europe with his own jazz band in the 1920s, he acted in Federal Theatre Project plays and made it to Broadway in the cast of "Cabin in the Sky" (1940). Wilson's Hollywood career was brief---just over a dozen films in the last decade of his life---and consisted mainly of uncredited supporting parts and bits. But he will always be remembered as Sam, the piano player of "Casablanca" (1943), crooning "As Time Goes By" to a dewy-eyed Ingrid Bergman. In real life Wilson was a drummer, not a pianist, and his playing in the film had to be dubbed. He did, however, have experience performing in Paris nightclubs, giving the role some verisimilitude. At the time of his death he was a regular on the TV series "Beulah".
Actor and Musician. He spent most of his Texas childhood performing in minstrel shows. After touring Europe with his own jazz band in the 1920s, he acted in Federal Theatre Project plays and made it to Broadway in the cast of "Cabin in the Sky" (1940). Wilson's Hollywood career was brief---just over a dozen films in the last decade of his life---and consisted mainly of uncredited supporting parts and bits. But he will always be remembered as Sam, the piano player of "Casablanca" (1943), crooning "As Time Goes By" to a dewy-eyed Ingrid Bergman. In real life Wilson was a drummer, not a pianist, and his playing in the film had to be dubbed. He did, however, have experience performing in Paris nightclubs, giving the role some verisimilitude. At the time of his death he was a regular on the TV series "Beulah".
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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