John Dotson Lee Jr. (July 4, 1898 - December 12, 1965) was an American singer, dancer and actor known for voicing the role of Br'er Rabbit in Disney's Song of the South (1946)[1] and as Algonquin J. Calhoun in the CBS TV and radio comedy series Amos 'n' Andy[2] in the early 1950s. Much of his career was spent in vaudeville, but he also performed in motion pictures, on recordings and in television. He released a record (as "Johnnie Lee") in July 1949 called "You Can't Lose A Broken Heart" (Columbia Records # 30172), with backup vocals by The Ebonaires. Lee also starred in an all-black musical comedy called "Sugar Hill" in 1949 at Las Palmas Theatre in California.[3]
^Thomas S. Hischak & Mark A. Robinson, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, 2009, p. 50. "... Ray Gilbert (lyric) for the innovative musical film Song of the South (1946), which successfully mixed animation and live action. During one of the animated Uncle Remus tales, Brer Rabbit (voice of Johnny Lee), captured by Brer Fox and Brer Bear and about to be cooked, happily sings about his secret laughing place. The ploy works; Rabbit's captors let him free..."
