Synopses & Reviews
Hattie McDaniel is best known for her performance as Mammy, the sassy foil to Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Though the role called for yet another wide–grinned, subservient black domestic, McDaniel transformed her character into one who was loyal yet subversive, devoted yet bossy. Her powerful performance would win her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and catapult the hopes of Black Hollywood that the entertainment industry ––after decades of stereotypical characters–– was finally ready to write more multidimensional, fully realized roles for blacks. But racism was so entrenched in Hollywood that despite pleas by organizations such as the NAACP and SAG ––and the very examples that Black service men were setting as they fought against Hitler in WWII–– roles for blacks continued to denigrate the African American experience. So rather than see her stature increase in Hollywood, as did other Oscar–winning actresses, Hattie McDaniel, continued to play servants. And rather than see her popularity increase, her audience turned against her as an increasingly politicized black community criticized her and her peers for accepting degrading roles. "I'd rather play a maid then be a maid," Hattie McDaniel answered her critics but her flip response belied a woman who was herself emotionally conflicted about the roles she accepted but who tried to imbue each Mammy character with dignity and nuance.
Review
“Fascinating. . .A compelling, disturbing history of blacks in early Hollwyood.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“A provocative biography.” Edward Rothstein, The New York Times on Mae West: An Icon in Black and White
Synopsis
Hattie McDaniel is perhaps best known for her performance as Mammy, the sassy foil to Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, one of Hollywood's most revered -- and controversial -- films. McDaniel's Oscar win raised hopes that the entertainment industry was finally ready to create more respectful, multidimensional roles for blacks. But under the aegis of studio heads eager to please Southerners, screenwriters kept churning out roles that denigrated the African-American experience.
Where McDaniel's stature and popularity should have increased after Selznick's masterpiece came out, as was the case for her white counterparts, hers declined, as an increasingly politicized black audience turned against her. I'd rather play a maid than be a maid, is how McDaniel answered her critics. Yet her flippant response belied a woman whose hardscrabble background rendered her emotionally conflicted about the roles she accepted. Here, at last, in a finely tuned biography by Jill Watts, is her story.
Watts, a highly praised researcher and writer, shares little-known aspects of McDaniel's life, from her dealings with Hollywood's power brokers and black political organizations to her successful civil rights battle to integrate a Los Angeles neighborhood, revealing a woman hailed by Ebony as an achiever of more firsts in Hollywood than any other black entertainer of her time.
Synopsis
An exploration of Hollywood racism as reflected in the life and career of the actress best known for her portrayal of "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind describes her denigration in spite of her Oscar-winning performance, her controversial decision to stick to stereotypical roles, and her successful efforts to integrate a Los Angeles neighborhood. Reprint.
Synopsis
From an accomplished historian comes an uncompromising look at the pervasive racism in Hollywood, as seen through the life and times of actress Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel is best known for her performance as Mammy, the sassy foil to Scarlett O'Hara in the movie classic Gone with the Wind. Her powerful performance won her an Oscar(R) and bolstered the hopes of black Hollywood that the entertainment industry was finally ready to write more multidimensional, fully-realized roles for blacks.
But despite this victory, and pleas by organizations such as the NAACP and SAG, roles for blacks continued to denigrate the African American experience. So Hattie McDaniel continued to play servants. “I'd rather play a maid then be a maid,” Hattie McDaniel answered her critics, but her flip response belied a woman who was emotionally conflicted. Here, in an exhaustively detailed and incisive text by a talented historian, is the story of a valiant woman who defied the racism of her time.
Synopsis
Perhaps best known for her Oscar-winning performance as Mammy in the movie classic
Gone With the Wind, Hattie McDaniel has always been controversial. While her achievement bolstered the hopes of black Hollywood that the entertainment industry was finally ready to support more multidimensional, fully realized roles for blacks, screenwriters kept churning out roles that continued to denigrate the African-American experience.
Though McDaniel's popularity should have increased after Selznick's masterpiece came out, as was the case for her white counterparts, it instead declined, as an increasingly politicized black audience turned against her. "I'd rather play a maid than be a maid," she answered her critics, but her flippant response belied a woman who was emotionally conflicted. Here, at last, in a richly detailed and incisive text by talented historian Jill Watts, is the story of a valiant woman who defied the racism of her time.
About the Author
A professor of history at California State University and the coordinator of the film studies program at California State University, San Marcos, Jill Watts has written two previous books, God, Harlem U.S.A.: The Father Divine Story and Mae West: An Icon in Black and White. She lives in San Marcos, California.