Louise Beavers

Also Known As: Louise Beaver

Biography: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s until 1960, most often cast in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. She was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American sororities. Beavers was a breakthrough actress for black women and became known as a symbol of a "mammy" on the screen. A mammy archetype "is the portrayal within a narrative framework or other imagery of a black domestic servant, generally good-natured, often overweight, and loud". Louise Beavers started her career in the 1920s. At the time, black people in films were limited to acting in only very few roles, usually as slaves or domestic help. She played the "mammy" in many of the movies she acted in. She started to gain more attention in the acting world after she played the role of Julia in Coquette, which starred Mary Pickford. In this film she played the black maid and mother figure to a young white woman. She once received a review which stated: "Personally, Miss Beavers is just splendid, just as fine as she appears on screen, but she also has a charm all her own, which needs no screen role for recognition. She has a very pleasing personality, one that draws people to her instantly and makes them feel that they are meeting a friend instead of a Hollywood Star." Beavers had an attractive personality, and often played roles in which she helps a white protagonist mature in the course of the movie. In 1934, Beavers played Delilah in Imitation of Life in a dramatic role. Her character again plays a black maid, but instead of the usual stereotypical comedic or purely functional role, Delilah's story line is a secondary parallel plot. The public reacted positively to Beavers' performance. It was not only a breakthrough for Beavers, but was also "the first time in American cinema history that a black woman's problems were given major emotional weight in a major Hollywood motion picture". Some in the media recognized the unfairness of Hollywood's double standard regarding race. For example, California Graphic Magazine wrote, "the Academy could not recognize Miss Beavers. She is black!" As Beavers' career grew, some criticized her for the roles she accepted, alleging that such roles institutionalized the view that blacks were subservient to whites. Beavers dismissed the criticism. She acknowledged the limited opportunities available, but said: "I am only playing the parts. I don't live them." As she became more famous, Beavers began to speak against Hollywood's portrayal and treatment of black Americans, both during production and after promoting the films. Beavers became active in public life, seeking to help support African Americans. In later life, Beavers was plagued by health issues, including diabetes. She died on October 26, 1962, at the age of 60, following a heart attack. Beavers was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1976.

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Birthday: March 08, 1902

Deathday: October 26, 1962

Adult: No

Gender: Female

Popularity:

1.11%

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Known For:

42nd Street
The Goddess
A Shriek in the Night
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Holiday Inn
Bullets or Ballots
The Story of Temple Drake
The Last Gangster
Shadow of the Thin Man
The Jackie Robinson Story
Du Barry was a Lady
She Done Him Wrong
Bombshell
A Southern Yankee
Reap the Wild Wind
The Facts of Life
The Midnight Patrol
Imitation of Life
Made for Each Other
Midnight Mary
Belle Starr
Night World
What Price Hollywood?
Coquette
Teenage Rebel
The Dark Horse
Girls About Town
Bedside
Colorado Sundown
Millie
No Time for Comedy
Wild Girl
Reckless Living
Sign of the Wolf
She Couldn't Say No
Girl Missing
Young Widow
The Expert
Kisses for Breakfast
It's Tough to Be Famous
Wide Open
The Woman Condemned
Election Day
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
In the Money
I Want a Divorce
Lover Come Back
Strictly Fresh Yeggs
Virginia
Unashamed
Women Without Names
Cheaters
Knights Before Christmas
Banjo
Beggar's Holiday
The Greeks Had a Word for Them
Back Pay
My Blue Heaven
I've Got Your Number
Love in a Bungalow
Good Sport
For the Love of Mary
Ladies of the Big House
Her Splendid Folly
Make Way for Tomorrow
Palooka
Too Busy to Work
Good-bye, My Lady
Safety in Numbers
Brother Rat
Bright Lights
Glamour
The Merry Frinks
True to the Navy
Registered Nurse
Divorce In The Family
Parole Fixer
Merry Wives of Reno
Our Blushing Brides
Street of Women
Six Cylinder Love
Wings Over Honolulu
Dixie Jamboree
Dixie Jamboree
Rainbow on the River
Primrose Path
Don't Bet on Women
A Modern Hero
Sundown Trail
Good Morning, Judge
All by Myself
Notorious But Nice
General Spanky
The Big Street
Life Goes On
Gambling Lady
Honey
Thunderbolt
Dr. Monica
Paid
Manslaughter
Central Airport
Hell's Highway
Hold Your Man
Pick-up
West of the Pecos
There's Something About a Soldier
Tammy and the Bachelor
Good Sam
Glad Rag Doll
Hunting Trouble
Barbary Coast Gent
Party Husband
The Lady's from Kentucky
Never Wave at a WAC
The Vanishing Virginian
What Price Innocence?
Scandal Street
All the Fine Young Cannibals
Annapolis Farewell
Her Bodyguard
Barnum Was Right
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
Wives Never Know
Young America
Top Man
Outside the Law
South of Dixie
I Give My Love
Only Yesterday
Delightfully Dangerous
The Phantom Broadcast
Tell It to the Judge
Reform School
Seven Sweethearts
You're Telling Me
Doctor X
Wall Street
Second Choice
You Can't Run Away from It
The Big Cage
Young America
The Headleys at Home
I Dream of Jeanie
Recaptured Love
Lover Come Back