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Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel

Actor · 1893–1952 · Wichita, Kansas, USA

IMDb

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).

Acted in 91

2020s

  1. 2023

    1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year

    TV

  2. 2022

    Becoming Marilyn

    (archive footage)

  3. The Little Rascals - The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5

    Movie

1980s

  1. 1985

    Musical Comedy Tonight III

    Movie

1940s

  1. 1949

    The Big Wheel

    Minnie

    56
  2. 1948

    Family Honeymoon

    Phyllis

  3. Mickey

    Bertha

  4. 1947

    The Flame

    Celia

    63
  5. 1946

    Song of the South

    Aunt Tempy

    61

  6. Never Say Goodbye

    Cozy

  7. Margie

    Cynthia

  8. Janie Gets Married

    April

  9. 1944

    Hi, Beautiful

    Millie

  10. 3 Is a Family

    Maid

  11. Janie

    April, Conway's Maid

  12. Since You Went Away

    Fidelia

    74
  13. 1943

    Thank Your Lucky Stars

    Gossip in "Ice Cold Katie" Number

    66

  14. Johnny Come Lately

    Aida

  15. 1942

    George Washington Slept Here

    Hester

  16. In This Our Life

    Minerva Clay

  17. The Male Animal

    Cleota

  18. 1941

    They Died with Their Boots On

    Callie

    72

  19. Affectionately Yours

    Cynthia, Sue's Cook

  20. The Great Lie

    Violet

  21. 1940

    Maryland

    Aunt Carrie

1930s

  1. 1939

    Gone with the Wind

    Mammy

    86

  2. Zenobia

    Dehlia

    57

  3. Everybody's Baby

    Hattie

  4. 1938

    The Shining Hour

    Belvedere

  5. The Mad Miss Manton

    Hilda

  6. Carefree

    Hattie (uncredited)

  7. The Shopworn Angel

    Martha

  8. Vivacious Lady

    Hattie (uncredited)

    78

  9. Battle of Broadway

    Agatha

  10. 1937

    True Confession

    Ella

  11. Quick Money

    Hattie (uncredited)

  12. 45 Fathers

    Beulah

  13. Nothing Sacred

    Mrs. Walker (uncredited)

    76

  14. Merry Go Round of 1938

    Maid

  15. Over the Goal

    Hannah

  16. Sky Racket

    Jenny

  17. Saratoga

    Rosetta

  18. The Wildcatter

    Pearl (uncredited)

  19. The Crime Nobody Saw

    Ambrosia

  20. Don't Tell the Wife

    Mamie (uncredited)

  21. Racing Lady

    Abby

  22. 1936

    Reunion

    Sadie

  23. Can This Be Dixie?

    Lizzie

  24. Libeled Lady

    Scrubwoman in Grand Plaza Hall (uncredited)

    78

  25. Valiant Is the Word for Carrie

    Ellen Belle

  26. Star for a Night

    Hattie

  27. Postal Inspector

    Deborah

  28. The Bride Walks Out

    Mamie

  29. High Tension

    Hattie

  30. Show Boat

    Queenie

  31. Arbor Day

    Buckwheat's Mother (uncredited)

  32. The Singing Kid

    Maid (uncredited)

  33. Gentle Julia

    Kitty Silvers

  34. The First Baby

    Dora

  35. 1935

    We're Only Human

    Molly

  36. Another Face

    Nellie (uncredited)

  37. Music Is Magic

    Hattie (Amanda in credits)

  38. Murder by Television

    Isabella

  39. Alice Adams

    Malena Burns - Maid Serving Dinner

  40. China Seas

    Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)

    71

  41. Wig-Wag

    Cook

  42. Traveling Saleslady

    Martha Smith (uncredited)

  43. Anniversary Trouble

    Maid

  44. The Little Colonel

    Becky "Mom Beck" Porter

  45. 1934

    The Chases of Pimple Street

    Hattie - Gertrude's Maid (uncredited)

  46. Babbitt

    Rosalie (uncredited)

  47. Imitation of Life

    Woman at Funeral (uncredited)

  48. Fate's Fathead

    Mandy - the Maid

  49. Lost in the Stratosphere

    Ida Johnson

  50. Flirtation

    Abigail (uncredited)

  51. Judge Priest

    Aunt Dilsey

    67

  52. King Kelly of the U.S.A.

    Mop Buyer

  53. Operator 13

    Annie (uncredited)

    59

  54. City Park

    Tessie

  55. Merry Wives of Reno

    Bunny's Maid (uncredited)

  56. Mickey's Rescue

    Maid

  57. 1933

    Good-bye Love

    Edna the Maid

  58. I'm No Angel

    Manicurist (uncredited)

  59. Hello, Sister!

    Woman in Apartment House

  60. 1932

    Hypnotized

    Powder Room Attendant

  61. The Golden West

    Mammy Lou

  62. Blonde Venus

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

  63. The Boiling Point

    Caroline - the Cook (uncredited)

  64. The Washington Masquerade

    Maid (uncredited)

  65. Are You Listening?

    Performer entering radio station

  66. The Impatient Maiden

    Injured Patient (uncredited)

Appearances10

2020s

  1. 2024

    Hollywood Black

    Self (archive footage) · 4 episodes

  2. 2020

    Gone with the Wind – Makeup and Wardrobe Tests

    Self (archive footage)

2000s

  1. 2009

    1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

    Self (archive footage)

  2. 2004

    Hattie McDaniel: or A Credit to the Motion Picture Industry

    Self (archive footage)

  3. 2001

    Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel

    Self (archive footage)

1980s

  1. 1988

    The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

    Self (archive footage)

  2. 1983

    Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

    Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

1960s

  1. 1961

    Hollywood: The Selznick Years

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

1940s

  1. 1940

    Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

    Self