- About The Movie
- Cast Biographies
Hattie McDaniel as Aunt Tempy
Hattie McDaniel was born in 1895, the youngest of 13 children. In 1900, her family moved to Colorado, and worked in her brother Otis' minstrel show. In 1920, she joined Professor George Morrison's Melody Hounds, a black touring ensemble. Around 1925, she began singing on the radio with the Melody Hounds and recorded several records until 1929.
After the 1929 stock market crash, Hattie worked as a waitress and washroom attendant before eventually being allowed to perfom on stage at the Club Madrid. In 1931, she moved to Los Angeles and worked various jobs until her film debut in The Golden West (1932). She appeared in several other uncredited roles, and in 1934 she joined the Screen Actors Guild. She began performing in larger, credited roles, and in 1939 Hattie landed the role of Mammy in David O. Selznick's Gone with the Wind. Her outstanding performance won her the 1940 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first Oscar ever awarded to an African American.
Into the 1940s, Hattie became one of the most prominent film character actresses in Hollywood, creating roles closely identifying with hard working black women, including Aunt Tempy in Walt Disney's Song of the South. She was also criticized by the NAACP for perpetuating black stereotypes.
Hattie's career was sadly cut short; on October 26, 1952, she died of breast cancer in Woodland Hills, CA. In her will, she expressed her wishes to be buried at the Hollywood Cemetery, but the owner of the cemetery refused to allow her burial because she was black. She was instead interred at Rosedale Cemetery. Today, a cenotaph can be found at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Hattie has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in radio and film. Her star for radio can found at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard, and her star for motion pictures can be found at 1719 Vine Street.
