Hattie McDaniel
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).
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (48)
The Little Rascals - The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5
2022
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Self (archive footage)
2009
Hattie McDaniel: or A Credit to the Motion Picture Industry
as Self (archive footage)
2004
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
as Self (archive footage)
1988
Musical Comedy Tonight III
1985
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
The Big Wheel
as Minnie
1949
Family Honeymoon
as Phyllis
1948
Mickey
as Bertha
1948
The Flame
as Celia
1947
Song of the South
as Aunt Tempy
1946
Never Say Goodbye
as Cozy
1946
Margie
as Cynthia
1946
Janie Gets Married
as April
1946
Hi, Beautiful
as Millie
1944
3 Is a Family
as Maid
1944
Janie
as April, Conway's Maid
1944
Since You Went Away
as Fidelia
1944
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Gossip in "Ice Cold Katie" Number
1943
Johnny Come Lately
as Aida
1943
George Washington Slept Here
as Hester
1942
In This Our Life
as Minerva Clay
1942
The Male Animal
as Cleota
1942
They Died with Their Boots On
as Callie
1941
Affectionately Yours
as Cynthia, Sue's Cook
1941
The Great Lie
as Violet
1941
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
as Self
1940
Maryland
as Aunt Carrie
1940
Gone with the Wind
as Mammy
1939
Zenobia
as Dehlia
1939
Everybody's Baby
as Hattie
1939
The Shining Hour
as Belvedere
1938
The Mad Miss Manton
as Hilda
1938
Carefree
as Hattie (uncredited)
1938
The Shopworn Angel
as Martha
1938
Vivacious Lady
as Hattie (uncredited)
1938
Battle of Broadway
as Agatha
1938
True Confession
as Ella
1937
Quick Money
as Hattie (uncredited)
1937
45 Fathers
as Beulah
1937
Nothing Sacred
as Mrs. Walker (uncredited)
1937
Merry Go Round of 1938
as Maid
1937
Over the Goal
as Hannah
1937
Sky Racket
as Jenny
1937
Saratoga
as Rosetta
1937
Mississippi Moods
1937
The Wildcatter
as Pearl (uncredited)
1937
The Crime Nobody Saw
as Ambrosia
1937
