Hattie McDaniel

Also Known As: Hattie McDaniels

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).

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: Wichita, Kansas, USA

Birthday: June 10, 1893

Deathday: October 26, 1952

Adult: No

Gender: Female

Popularity:

1.96%

Known For:

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