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Photo of Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel

Actor
Died October 26, 1952 (59 years)
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).
Movies & Shows on Plex
  • Nothing Sacred
  • Judge Priest
  • The Big Wheel
  • Laurel & Hardy
  • TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Known For
  • Gone with the Wind
  • Song of the South
  • The Great Lie
  • In This Our Life
  • Since You Went Away
  • The Shopworn Angel
  • George Washington Slept Here
  • Show Boat
  • Saratoga
  • The Male Animal
  • The Shining Hour
  • Never Say Goodbye
  • Murder by Television
  • The Big Wheel
  • The Bride Walks Out
  • Beulah
  • The Flame
  • Mickey

Filmography

2022
Becoming Marilyn · as Mammy - House Servant
2004
2003
Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty · as Aunt Dilsey (clip From Judge Priest (1934))
1993
1992
John Ford · as Aunt Dilsey [in "judge Priest"]
1986
Laurel & Hardy (TV Series) · as Delilah (1986)
1969
Hollywood: The Selznick Years · as 'gone With The Wind' Screen Test (archive Footage) (uncredited)
1950
Beulah (TV Series) · as Beulah
1949
1948
Family Honeymoon · as Phyllis
1948
Mickey · as Bertha
1947
The Flame · as Celia
1946
Song of the South · as Aunt Tempy
1946
1946
Margie · as Cynthia
1946
Janie Gets Married · as April
1944
1944
Janie · as April, Conway's Maid
1944
Since You Went Away · as Fidelia
1943
Thank Your Lucky Stars · as Gossip In 'ice Cold Katie' Number
1943
1942
1942
In This Our Life · as Minerva Clay
1942
The Male Animal · as Cleota
1941
1941
Affectionately Yours · as Cynthia, Sue's Cook
1941
The Great Lie · as Violet
1940
Maryland · as Aunt Carrie
1939
Gone with the Wind · as Mammy
1939
Zenobia · as Dehlia
1938
The Shining Hour · as Belvedere
1938
1938
Carefree · as Hattie (uncredited)
1938
Vivacious Lady · as Hattie - Maid At Prom Dance (uncredited)
1938
The Shopworn Angel · as Martha
1938
Battle of Broadway · as Agatha
1937
True Confession · as Ella
1937
Quick Money · as Hattie (uncredited)
1937
Nothing Sacred · as Mrs. Walker (uncredited)
1937
Saratoga · as Rosetta
1937
Over the Goal · as Hannah
1937
Sky Racket · as Jenny
1937
The Crime Nobody Saw · as Ambrosia
1937
Don't Tell the Wife · as Mamie (uncredited)
1937
Racing Lady · as Abby
1936
Libeled Lady · as Scrubwoman In Grand Plaza Hall (uncredited)
1936
1936
Postal Inspector · as Deborah
1936
High Tension · as Hattie
1936
1936
Show Boat · as Queenie
1936
The Singing Kid · as Maid (uncredited)
1936
Next Time We Love · as Hanna
1935
We're Only Human · as Molly
1935
Another Face · as Nellie (uncredited)
1935
Alice Adams · as Malena Burns - Maid Serving Dinner
1935
Music Is Magic · as Hattie (amanda In Credits)
1935
Harmony Lane · as Liza - The Cook
1935
Murder by Television · as Isabella
1935
China Seas · as Isabel Mccarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)
1935
Traveling Saleslady · as Martha Smith (uncredited)
1935
The Little Colonel · as Becky "mom Beck" Porter
1934
Little Men · as Asia
1934
Babbitt · as Rosalie (uncredited)
1934
Imitation of Life · as Woman At Funeral (uncredited)
1934
Lost in the Stratosphere · as Ida Johnson
1934
Flirtation · as Abigail (uncredited)
1934
Judge Priest · as Aunt Dilsey
1934
King Kelly of the U.S.A. · as Mop Buyer
1934
Operator 13 · as Annie (uncredited)
1934
Merry Wives of Reno · as Bunny's Maid (uncredited)
1934
City Park · as Tessie
1933
Good-bye Love · as Edna The Maid
1933
I'm No Angel · as Manicurist (uncredited)
1933
Hello, Sister! · as Woman In Apartment House
1932
Blonde Venus · as Cora, Helen's Maid In New Orleans (uncredited)
1932
Crooner · as Maid In Ladies' Room
1932
The Washington Masquerade · as Maid (uncredited)
1932
Are You Listening? · as Performer Entering Radio Station
1932
The Impatient Maiden · as Injured Patient (uncredited)

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