Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel

Date of Birth:

Jun 10, 1893

Place of Birth:

Wichita, Kansas, USA

Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893 - October 26, 1952) was an American actress whose portrayal of Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939) won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first black person to win an Academy Award. After working as early as the 1910s as a band vocalist, Hattie McDaniel debuted as a maid in The Golden West (1932). Her maid-mammy characters became steadily more assertive, showing up first in Judge Priest (1934) and becoming pronounced in Alice Adams (1935). In this one, directed by George Stevens and aided and abetted by star Katharine Hepburn, she makes it clear she has little use for her employers' pretentious status seeking. By The Mad Miss Manton (1938) the character she portrays actually tells off her socialite employer Barbara Stanwyck and her snooty friends. This path extends into the greatest role of McDaniel's career, Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). Mammy is, in a number of ways, superior to most of the white folk surrounding her. From that point, McDaniel's roles unfortunately descended, with the characters becoming more and more menial. McDaniel played on the "Amos and Andy" and Eddie Cantor radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s, the title character in her own radio show "Beulah" (1947-51), and the same part on TV (Beulah, 1950).

filmography:

Reunion Reunion

1936

Flirtation Flirtation

1934

China Seas China Seas

1935

City Park City Park

1934

45 Fathers 45 Fathers

1937

Babbitt Babbitt

1934

Wig-Wag Wig-Wag

1935

The Flame The Flame

1947

Saratoga Saratoga

1937

Zenobia Zenobia

1939

Show Boat Show Boat

1936

Carefree Carefree

1938

Margie Margie

1946

Hypnotized Hypnotized

1932

Sky Racket Sky Racket

1937

Arbor Day Arbor Day

1936

Maryland Maryland

1940

Mickey Mickey

1948

Janie Janie

1944

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