Happy Birthday Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel was born on June 10, 1893 in Wichita, Kansas. Hattie began her career in 1914 when she and her sister, Etta Goff, launched a variety show. In 1920 she joined the Melody Hounds, a black touring group. By the mid 1920s the group was singing on the radio. During this time Hattie was writing her own songs and by late 1927 to 1929 she had begun to record many of her own songs in Chicago.

Hattie found herself resorting to work as a washroom attendant after the stock market crash of 1929. She was working at a nightclub in Milwaukee and soon was on the stage performing for the customers.

Hattie made her move to Los Angeles in 1931 to join other family members already there. Her debut film was in 1932 as a maid in “The Golden West”. “I’m No Angel (1933) followed, again as a maid. Hattie was being paid so little she was forced to maintain a job as an actual maid while pursuing her acting career.

In 1934 Hattie was able to join the Screen Actors Guild. This garnished her much more attention for larger film roles and better pay and within the year won a contract with Fox Film.

Hattie’s first film with Clark Gable was as a traveling companion to Gable’s character in the movie “China Seas (MGM). She then starred in yet another film with Clark Gable, “Saratoga” in 1937. Her most famous role with Clark Gable came in 1939 with “Gone with the Wind” as the sassy maid, Mammy.

There was some interesting competition for the role of Mammy. It is said that First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote the film’s producer David Selznick requesting that her own maid be casted in that part. However, it is rumored that Clark Gable requested the role be given to Hattie. Hattie McDaniel did have to audition for the part and when she arrived she wore an authentic maid’s uniform.

There was much controversy at the time of the premiere of the film in Atlanta Georgia at the Lowe’s Grand Theater. The premiere was set for December 15, 1939. Due to Georgia’s segregation laws it was expected and assumed that Hattie would not be attending. David Selznick and Clark Gable both requested that she be allowed to attend. Clark Gable even threatened to boycott the premiere and be a no-show. Hattie convinced Gable to attend in spite of her being banned. Hattie did in fact attend the premier two weeks later in Hollywood, California.

Hattie McDaniel went on to be the first black actor to be nominated and to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Gone with the Wind”. While she was allowed to attend the Oscar ceremonies, she was segregated to sit at a table along the far wall with just her escort and her agent. She was denied entry to the after party which took place at a “no-blacks” nightclub.

It would be another 50 years before a black woman won an Oscar: Whoopi Goldberg’s Best Supporting Actress win for her role in the film Ghost.

Hattie McDaniel went on to star with some of the biggest names in Hollywood after her Oscar win such as Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart.

Hattie was no stranger to the African-American rights movement. Hattie helped to organize the Historic West Adams neighborhood in Pasadena, California. Hattie had purchased a home in the neighborhood in 1942. Some whites in the neighborhood sued citing the 1902 covenant that restricted non-whites from owning homes in the West Adams neighborhood. Seven years later they all finally ended up in court. The judge threw out the law suits citing the 14th Amendment of the Federal Constitution.

The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, guarantees citizenship rights and an equal protection under the law in response to former slaves following the Civil War.

Hattie served as Chairman of the Negro Division of the Hollywood Victory Committee during WWII. The committee provided entertainment for soldiers that were stationed at military bases. She visited wounded soldiers in the hospital and performed at USO shows. Bette Davis was the only white celebrity that performed with Hatti for the black soldiers. At that time black and white soldiers were segregated.

Hattie was known to join fundraisers for the Red Cross often and to have an overall generous spirit.

Hattie was married three times.

Her first husband passed away in after just four years of marriage in 1915.

Her second husband died as the result of a gunshot wound in 1925.

In 1941 she married her third husband, a real estate salesman. They divorced in 1945.

She married for a fourth and final time in 1949 to Larry Williams, an interior decorator. This marriage ended in divorce in 1950.

Hattie never had children. In late 1951 Hattie found out she had breast cancer and by mid 1952 was too ill to work. Hattie passed away, at the age of 59, on October 26, 1952. She was laid to rest in Rosedale Cemetery. Her Oscar was bequeathed to Howard University where it is displayed today.

There are two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame celebrating Hattie McDaniel. On can be found at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard and the other at 1719 Vine Street. In 1975 she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Hattie acted in an astonishing 89 movies over the course of her career although many uncredited.

Further reading:

Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood by Jill Watts https://amzn.to/3cRtHNh

Hattie: The Life of Hattie McDaniel by Carlton Jackson https://amzn.to/2XPOlc9

By Paula C. Henderson