Clarence Muse
A groundbreaking, versatile, multimedia artist who collaborated with icons from boxing champ Joe Louis to poet and activist Langston Hughes, Clarence Muse was an African American trailblazer from Hollywood to Broadway throughout much of the 20th Century. Over many generations, he performed with such greats as Paul Robeson, Ossie Davis, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
In 1934, the Baltimore native chose Riverside County and the Perris Valley for his home and Muse quickly became a community leader on multiple fronts.
He helped fund the city’s running water system, was heavily involved in community events, and volunteered at Perris elementary schools to help local children. He was his own personal lunch program for schoolchildren who would otherwise do without.
Muse’s 300-acre land off Highway 74 was listed in the famed Green Book, guiding African American travelers to welcoming and safe lodging in the Jim Crow era.
“He truly was a terrific person,” said Katie Keyes, a longtime volunteer at the Perris Valley Historical Museum and Association who knew Muse as a young girl. Muse founded the historical association himself in 1964.
Despite his passion for small-town life, Muse continued entertaining until he died in 1979. That same year, he was approved by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — an honor that has not been fulfilled.
Unknown to most, granting a star requires funding from those in support of the recipient to effectuate the star being added to the streets of Hollywood. Often studios, networks, and other moneyed interests cover that cost. Because Muse’s star was never funded after his 1979 approval, also the year of his death, he was removed from the list, and his name has not been engraved on Hollywood Boulevard.
But locals never forgot and have slowly been raising the funds to honor Clarence Muse for his long-approved star. The fee has risen to $85 thousand.
Keyes persisted despite the drag, and last week, the Perris Valley Historical Museum and Association finally reached its goal.
“We had a $10,000 donation,” Keyes said. “And then we got several $5,000 donations.”
Keyes said the effort started small, but as word spread, it reached people who were passionate about honoring Muse’s legacy.
“Any little bit helps,” Keyes said. Museum volunteers began raising money in 2024 through silent auctions, donation jars and outreach to local businesses.
By every measure, Clarence Muse was a titan. He performed in the first predominantly African American “talkie” film in 1929 and appeared in more than 200 films over the next five decades, including the cult classic “Car Wash” and “Black Stallion” in 1979, the year he passed. In 1941, he was the first Black director of a play on Broadway.
He opened doors for other African American performers on Broadway and was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973.
With the funds now raised to support the Hollywood Star offered 47 years ago, Keyes submitted Muse’s name for consideration for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s 2027 class of Walk of Fame honorees.
The next step is now up to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
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