Hattie McDaniel
Acting
Born June 10, 1893 · Wichita, Kansas, USA
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).
Films (96)
Becoming Marilyn
2022
The Little Rascals - The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5
2022
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009
Hattie McDaniel: or A Credit to the Motion Picture Industry
2004
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988
Musical Comedy Tonight III
1985
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
The Big Wheel
1949
Family Honeymoon
1948
Mickey
1948
The Flame
1947
Song of the South
1946
Never Say Goodbye
1946
Margie
1946
Janie Gets Married
1946
Hi, Beautiful
1944
3 Is a Family
1944
Janie
1944
Since You Went Away
1944
Thank Your Lucky Stars
1943
Johnny Come Lately
1943
George Washington Slept Here
1942
In This Our Life
1942
The Male Animal
1942
They Died with Their Boots On
1941
Affectionately Yours
1941
The Great Lie
1941
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
Maryland
1940
Gone with the Wind
1939
Zenobia
1939
Everybody's Baby
1939
The Shining Hour
1938
The Mad Miss Manton
1938
Carefree
1938
The Shopworn Angel
1938
Vivacious Lady
1938
Battle of Broadway
1938
True Confession
1937
Quick Money
1937
45 Fathers
1937
Nothing Sacred
1937
Merry Go Round of 1938
1937
Over the Goal
1937
Sky Racket
1937
Saratoga
1937
Mississippi Moods
1937
The Wildcatter
1937
The Crime Nobody Saw
1937
Don't Tell the Wife
1937
Racing Lady
1937
Reunion
1936
Can This Be Dixie?
1936
Libeled Lady
1936
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie
1936
Star for a Night
1936
Postal Inspector
1936
The Bride Walks Out
1936
High Tension
1936
Show Boat
1936
Arbor Day
1936
The Singing Kid
1936
Gentle Julia
1936
The First Baby
1936
We're Only Human
1935
Another Face
1935
Music Is Magic
1935
Murder by Television
1935
Alice Adams
1935
China Seas
1935
Wig-Wag
1935
Traveling Saleslady
1935
Anniversary Trouble
1935
The Little Colonel
1935
Okay Toots!
1935
The Chases of Pimple Street
1934
Babbitt
1934
Imitation of Life
1934
Fate's Fathead
1934
Lost in the Stratosphere
1934
Flirtation
1934
Judge Priest
1934
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
1934
Operator 13
1934
City Park
1934
Merry Wives of Reno
1934
Mickey's Rescue
1934
Good-bye Love
1933
I'm No Angel
1933
Hello, Sister!
1933
Hypnotized
1932
Blonde Venus
1932
The Boiling Point
1932
The Washington Masquerade
1932
Are You Listening?
1932
The Impatient Maiden
1932