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Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel

Birthday: 1895-06-10 | 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).

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1949
The Big Wheel

as    Minnie

1947
The Flame

as    Celia

1946
Song of the South

as    Aunt Tempy

1946
Margie

as    Cynthia

1944
Janie

as    April, Conway's Maid

1944
Since You Went Away

as    Fidelia

1942
The Male Animal

as    Cleota

1942
In This Our Life

as    Minerva Clay

1941
Affectionately Yours

as    Cynthia, Sue's Cook

1941
The Great Lie

as    Violet

1939
Zenobia

as    Dehlia

1939
Gone with the Wind

as    Mammy

1938
The Shopworn Angel

as    Martha

1937
Racing Lady

as    Abby

1937
Merry Go Round of 1938

as    Maid

1937
Saratoga

as    Rosetta

1936
The Bride Walks Out

as    Mamie

1936
Show Boat

as    Queenie

1936
Arbor Day

as    la mère de Buckwheat

1935
The Little Colonel

as    Becky "Mom Beck" Porter

1935
Murder by Television

as    Isabella