Audio Antiques - Hattie McDaniel, Singer, Songwriter, Oscar Winner

The K-Rob Collection

Hattie McDaniel was an American actress, singer, and comedian. She was born in 1893 in Wichita, Kansas...and was the youngest of 13 children. Her father Henry had fought in the Civil War. Her mother was a gospel singer, both had been slaves. After graduating from high school McDaniel started working as a songwriter and performer. In the 1920s she began performing on the radio, and embarked on a recording career. In 1927 McDaniel had a hit with One Sorrowing Heart. In 1932 McDaniel made her first movie appearance as a maid, and unfortunately was labeled with that stereotype the rest of her life. Facing discrimination and limited opportunities. However, McDaniel remained a trailblazer and an inspiration to many. In 1939, Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to win an Academy Award, for Best Supporting Actress in the classic film Gone With the Wind. She appeared in 300 films during her career, including Johnny Come Lately, with James Cagney in 1943. McDaniel stopped acting in movies after 1949, but switched to television, and continued to perform on radio, becoming the first black actor to star in her own radio program, the comedy series Beulah in 1947 on CBS Radio. When the sitcom transitioned to ABC-TV in 1950, Ethel Waters had the starring role, but quit after the first year. McDaniel replaced Waters but became to ill to perform after filming just 6 episodes. You're going to hear Hattie McDaniel on the Eddie Cantor radio show with Humphrey Bogart in 1941. The on the all-black Blueberry Hill Program, a pilot recorded by CBS Radio in 1943. And performing as Beulah on the Bing Crosby radio program in 1949.

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