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Hattie McDaniel First African American Oscar Winner 1895-1952
I wanted to turn this stock role into a living, breathing character.
—HATTIE MCDANIEL

It was forty-seven years before Academy Award—winner Hattie McDaniel’s last wish came close to being fulfilled. Before her death Hattie requested that she be buried at Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery in California—the final resting place for many legends of the film industry, including Cecil B. DcMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, and Peter Lorre. Her request was denied because the cemetery did not accept blacks.
Even in death the spunky star was subjected to the racism and segregation that permeated America during her lifetime. In 1998 Tyler Cassity bought Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, and on October 26, 1999—the forty-seventh anniversary of McDaniel’s death—he unveiled a gray-and-pink granite monument dedicated to the actress. In the distance, on a hillside overlooking the cemetery, looms the enormous HOLLYWOOD sign. It is a fitting tribute to one of America’s great character actresses. The youngest of thirteen children, Hattie McDaniel was bom on June 10, 1895, in Wichita, Kansas. Her father, Henry, was an ex-slave turned Baptist preacher; her mother, Susan Holbert McDaniel, sang in the church choir. In elementary school Hattie showed talent by singing and reciting poetry. As a teen, she performed in plays and musicals at Denver East High School. At an entertainment event sponsored by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, Hattie gave a stirring recitation of “Convict Joe,” a poem by Alexander Murdoch detailing the horrors of alcohol abuse. The youngster finished with tears in her eyes, and the audience was moved to a standing ovation. Hattie earned the organization’s gold medal for Best Performance.
Hattie dropped out of high school and joined family members in touring minstrel shows, traveling from Colorado to the West Coast. She enjoyed the three years on the road and wrote some songs as well. When her father retired, Hattie picked up odd jobs around Denver. Her break came in 1920 when she began touring with George Morrison and his Melody Hounds Orchestra. The band played in places like Portland, Salt Lake City, El Paso, and even Juarez, Mexico. Working with Morrison allowed Hattie to showcase her talents, even though widespread segregation prevented her from entertaining in white establishments. Undaunted, Hattie continued to perform with Morrison and made her singing debut on Denver radio station KOA in 1925.
‘When the Depression struck in 1929, Hattie was among the millions of Americans who were suddenly jobless. She traveled to Milwaukee for a shot as a performer at the Club Madrid—but she was hired as a ladies’ washroom attendant instead. Working for a dollar a night plus tips, Hattie stood in the washroom doorway listening to the music and singing softly to herself. A white patron heard Hattie’s beautiful voice and insisted that the club owner let her perform. She was such a hit that she earned ninety dollars in tips that night.
Hattie’s growing popularity gave her the confidence to try her luck in Hollywood. Her brother Sam and sister Etta were already living in California,
and each had earned several small fdm parts. Hattie arrived in Los Angeles in 1931 and immediately hit the studios, seeking work. She landed a job with her brother on the radio program “Optimistic Do-Nut Hour.” Nicknamed Hi-Hat Hattie because of her fancy wardrobe and bossy but bubbly personality, she was an immediate hit. But because she earned just five dollars a week, she kept looking for better-paying jobs—and finally got a movie part.
At first Hattie was a film chorus singer. She received no screen credits and made just five dollars per movie. In 1932 she landed her first on-screen role as a beloved house servant in The Golden West. Hattie would reprise (replay) this same type of character in many other roles.
Slowly, McDaniel began receiving roles in films featuring Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Mae West, Gary Cooper, and Will Rogers. In Judge Priest (1934), she was given a solo and performed a duet with Rogers. She gained a reputation for playing her trademark role, the take-charge, sometimes sassy, “boss” of the household. In Gentle Julia (1936), for example, Hattie is asked by the mistress of the house to wash the dog. “No ma’am, Miss Julia” replies her character. “I ain’t playin’ nurse to no dog.” While some whites were unhappy with the screen image of a brash and independent black female, many blacks felt that McDaniel was being forced into stereotypical roles.
By the time producer David O. Selznick began casting for the film version of Margaret Mitchell’s epic Gone With the Wind (1939), Hattie had many Hollywood supporters who wanted to see her cast as Scarlett O’Hara’s “Mammy.” Actor and singer Bing Crosby wrote to Selznick suggesting McDaniel. Selznick wanted an’actrcss who could portray “a confidante, counselor, and manager of the O’Hara household.” McDaniel’s screen test proved she was perfect for the role.
Gone With the U^Wwas a blockbuster. It earned thirteen Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and two for Best Supporting Actress—Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel. On February 29, 1940, Hattie arrived at the Ambassador Hotel in Hollywood on the arm
of longtime friend Wonderful Smith. Hollywood colleagues stood and applauded as she rook her place in rhe Coconur Grove Ballroom, where the Academy Awards ceremony was being held.
When Hatrie McDaniel was named winner of the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, the audience went wild. “The ovation . . . will go down in history as one of the greatest ever accorded any performer in the annals of the industry,” one audience member said. Hattie accepted her award with grace and humility. “[T]his is one of the happiest moments in my life,” she said, “and I want to thank each of you who had a part in [it]. … I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope that 1 shall always be a credit to my race, and to the motion picture industry.”
Hattie McDaniel had made history: she not only became the first black performer nominated for an award, but she was also the first to win one. In a country where segregation was rampant, Hattie’s achievement was a spectacular triumph.
Hattie continued working in films, bur was troubled by the continual criticism leveled against her for playing stereotypical or negative roles. She responded to the attacks by saying, “I’d rather play a maid and make $700 a week than be one for $7.” McDaniel appeared in more than 300 movies in her sixteen-year career. In 1947 she left Hollywood ro take the lead role on the radio program The Beulah Show, She made history once more, becoming the first black performer to gain a starring radio role. Beulah was a hit, drawing almost 20,000 listeners each week.
The Beulah Show went to television in 1950. Shortly after, however, Hattie was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was one challenge she could not overcome: she died on October 26, 1952.

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