Hattie McDaniel
Acting
- Born:
- 1893-06-10
- Died:
- 1952-10-26
- Place of birth:
- Wichita, Kansas, USA
Biography
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).
Known For
Filmography
Hollywood Black
1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year
Becoming Marilyn
The Little Rascals - The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5
Gone with the Wind – Makeup and Wardrobe Tests
Explained
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Hattie McDaniel: or A Credit to the Motion Picture Industry
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Musical Comedy Tonight III
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
The Beulah Show
The Big Wheel
Family Honeymoon
Mickey
The Flame
Song of the South
Never Say Goodbye
Margie
Janie Gets Married
Hi, Beautiful
3 Is a Family
Janie
Since You Went Away
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Johnny Come Lately
George Washington Slept Here
In This Our Life
The Male Animal
They Died with Their Boots On
Affectionately Yours
The Great Lie
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Maryland
Gone with the Wind
Zenobia
Everybody's Baby
The Shining Hour
The Mad Miss Manton
Carefree
The Shopworn Angel
Vivacious Lady
Battle of Broadway
True Confession
Quick Money
45 Fathers
Nothing Sacred
Merry Go Round of 1938
Over the Goal
Sky Racket
Saratoga
Mississippi Moods
The Wildcatter
The Crime Nobody Saw
Don't Tell the Wife
Racing Lady
Reunion
Can This Be Dixie?
Libeled Lady
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie
Star for a Night
Postal Inspector
The Bride Walks Out
High Tension
Show Boat
Arbor Day
The Singing Kid
Gentle Julia
The First Baby
We're Only Human
Another Face
Music Is Magic
Murder by Television
Alice Adams
China Seas
Wig-Wag
Traveling Saleslady
Anniversary Trouble
The Little Colonel
Okay Toots!
The Chases of Pimple Street
Babbitt
Imitation of Life
Fate's Fathead
Lost in the Stratosphere
Flirtation
Judge Priest
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
Operator 13
City Park
Merry Wives of Reno
Mickey's Rescue
Good-bye Love
I'm No Angel
Hello, Sister!
Hypnotized
The Golden West
Blonde Venus
The Boiling Point
The Washington Masquerade
Are You Listening?
The Impatient Maiden