Hattie McDaniel

June 10, 1893

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).

Cast

Gone with the Wind

(Mammy)

Judge Priest

(Aunt Dilsey)

King Kelly of the U.S.A.

(Mop Buyer)

Show Boat

(Queenie)

Blonde Venus

(Cora, Helen's Maid in New Orleans (uncredited))

Song of the South

(Aunt Tempy)

Murder by Television

(Isabella)

George Washington Slept Here

(Hester)

Carefree

(Hattie (uncredited))

Since You Went Away

(Fidelia)

Never Say Goodbye

(Cozy)

In This Our Life

(Minerva Clay)

The Mad Miss Manton

(Hilda)

Alice Adams

(Malena Burns - Maid Serving Dinner)

The Great Lie

(Violet)

Saratoga

(Rosetta)

They Died with Their Boots On

(Callie)

The Flame

(Celia)

Affectionately Yours

(Cynthia, Sue's Cook)

The Big Wheel

(Minnie)

Family Honeymoon

(Phyllis)

The Shopworn Angel

(Martha)

Zenobia

(Dehlia)

The Shining Hour

(Belvedere)

Margie

(Cynthia)

Battle of Broadway

(Agatha)

True Confession

(Ella)

The Crime Nobody Saw

(Ambrosia)

The Boiling Point

(Caroline - the Cook (uncredited))

Are You Listening?

(Performer entering radio station)

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))

Mickey's Rescue

(Maid)

Janie

(April, Conway's Maid)

Janie Gets Married

(April)

Mickey

(Bertha)

Maryland

(Aunt Carrie)

Vivacious Lady

(Hattie (uncredited))

Merry Go Round of 1938

(Maid)

Sky Racket

(Jenny)

Over the Goal

(Hannah)

Hypnotized

(Powder Room Attendant)

The Wildcatter

(Pearl (uncredited))

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

('Gone with the Wind' screen test (archive footage) (uncredited))

I'm No Angel

(Manicurist (uncredited))

Arbor Day

(Buckwheat's Mother)

We're Only Human

(Molly)

Hattie McDaniel: or A Credit to the Motion Picture Industry

(Self (archive footage))

Nothing Sacred

(Mrs. Walker (uncredited))

The Washington Masquerade

(Maid (uncredited))

The Male Animal

(Cleota)

Don't Tell the Wife

(Mamie (uncredited))

Quick Money

(Hattie (uncredited))

Music Is Magic

(Hattie (Amanda in credits))

Valiant Is the Word for Carrie

(Ellen Belle)

Fate's Fathead

(Mandy - the Maid)

China Seas

(Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited))

City Park

(Tessie)

The Bride Walks Out

(Mamie)

Postal Inspector

(Deborah)

Racing Lady

(Abby)

Merry Wives of Reno

(Bunny's Maid (uncredited))

Flirtation

(Abigail (uncredited))

Traveling Saleslady

(Martha Smith (uncredited))

Hello, Sister!

(Woman in Apartment House)

High Tension

(Hattie)

3 Is a Family

(Maid)

Johnny Come Lately

(Aida)

Libeled Lady

(Scrubwoman in Grand Plaza Hall (uncredited))

Thank Your Lucky Stars

(Gossip in "Ice Cold Katie" Number)

Reunion

(Sadie)

Everybody's Baby

(Hattie)

Hi, Beautiful

(Millie)

The Little Rascals - The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5

The Singing Kid

(Maid (uncredited))

Mississippi Moods

Babbitt

(Rosalie (uncredited))

The Impatient Maiden

(Injured Patient (uncredited))

The Little Colonel

(Becky "Mom Beck" Porter)

Star for a Night

(Hattie)

Good-bye Love

(Edna the Maid)

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

(Self)

Wig-Wag

(Cook)

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

(Self (archive footage))

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

(Self (archive footage))

And the Oscar Goes To...

(Self (archive footage))

Operator 13

(Annie (uncredited))

Imitation of Life

(Woman at Funeral (uncredited))

Another Face

(Nellie (uncredited))

The First Baby

(Dora)

Musical Comedy Tonight III

Gentle Julia

(Kitty Silvers)

Lost in the Stratosphere

(Ida Johnson)

Can This Be Dixie?

(Lizzie)

45 Fathers

(Beulah)

Okay Toots!

(Maid (uncredited))

The Chases of Pimple Street

(Hattie - Gertrude's Maid (uncredited))

Anniversary Trouble

(Maid)

The Beulah Show

(Beulah)

Explained

(Self - First Black Oscar Winner (archive footage))