Hattie McDaniel
First African American Oscar winner, trailblazing actress and singer.
She became the first African American to win an Academy Award for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939).[1] Of the more than 300 films she acted in, only 80 of them gave McDaniel screen credit.[2]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 10 June 1893
- Birthplace
- Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
- Died
- 26 October 1952
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Resting place
- Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles
- Occupation
- Actress
- singer-songwriter
- comedian
- Years active
- 1920–1952
- Relatives
- Etta McDaniel (sister); Sam McDaniel (brother)
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
She enrolled in Denver's East High School in 1908 and left in 1910 to join her brother Otis McDaniel's carnival company.[3] McDaniel and her sister Etta Goff launched an all-female minstrel show in 1914 called the McDaniel Sisters Company.[3] She gained stardom as lead singer in George Morrison's Melody Hounds, a Denver-based touring jazz orchestra.[3] Segregation laws prevented her from attending the film's premiere in Atlanta, Georgia.[3]
Born in Wichita, Kansas, McDaniel was the thirteenth and last child of parents who had previously been enslaved.[4] The McDaniel family relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado in 1901, and Hattie was a student at Franklin School.[5][6][2] For her portrayal of a character in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, McDaniel was awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[7] Breast cancer caused her death in 1952; her request to be laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery was refused due to that cemetery's segregation policy.[8]
What the cited sources add
The same source states she developed her trademark minstrel character of an assertive "Mammy" who defied racial and gender stereotypes through comedy.[3] The United States Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp in her honor in 2006.[3]
References
- Wikipedia, "Hattie McDaniel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chad, "Hattie McDaniel", Hollywood Walk of Fame, 2019-10-25; "Hattie McDaniel, First African American to win an Academy Award, Featured on New 39-Cent Postage Stamp", USPS.com, January 25, 2006; "Hattie McDaniel", cogreatwomen.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Jessen, "A look at Black history: Hattie McDaniel of 'Gone with the Wind' once lived in Fort Collins", 2022-02-18. facts only, no text reused. reporterherald.com
- "Hattie McDaniel", cogreatwomen.org. facts only, no text reused. cogreatwomen.org
- Wikipedia, "Hattie McDaniel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Campbell, "Review of Hattie: The Life of Hattie McDaniel", The Georgia Historical Quarterly, 1990, p. 554–555; Watts 2005a, p. 5, 11, 16–17; "Hattie McDaniel, daughter of Henry and Susan, age 2 (born 1893), Black, Wichita, Kansas", 1895 Kansas State Census. Microfilm reels K-1 – K-169. Kansas State Historical Society; "Hattie McDaniel: Actress", coloradovirtuallibrary.org, July 13, 2015; Jackson 1993, p. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hattie McDaniel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Watts 2005a, p. 5, 11, 16–17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hattie McDaniel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jessen, "A look at Black history: Hattie McDaniel of 'Gone with the Wind' once lived in Fort Collins", 2022-02-18 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hattie McDaniel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lyman 2005, p. ; Lotchin, Roger W. (1999). The Way We Really Were: The Golden State in the Second Great War. University of Illinois Press. p. 36. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hattie McDaniel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dominguez, "Actress Hattie McDaniel Gets Final Wish", Today, October 27, 1999 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Hattie McDaniel (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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