# 3996 FDC - 2006 39c Black Heritage: Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel
Black Heritage Series
City: Beverly Hills, CA
Quantity Issued: 150,000,000
Hattie McDaniel’s Academy Award Win
McDaniel, the youngest child of former slaves, was born in Wichita, Kansas, and raised in Denver, Colorado. She dropped out of high school to tour with vaudeville companies. When McDaniel arrived in Hollywood in 1931, she supported herself by working on radio and washing clothes.
McDaniel was in her 30s before her career really began. She had performed, written, and recorded songs before the Great Depression, but the downturn in the economy halted her singing aspirations. Her brother got her a gig on his radio show as a maid who often “forgets her place.” Her character, “Hi-Hat-Hattie,” was a hit. (McDaniel later became known for her many comedic roles as a bossy, opinionated maid.)
Increased recognition and membership in the Screen Actors Guild got McDaniel into movies, though usually in “bit” parts. Her big break came in 1934 when she was cast in a lead role in John Ford’s Judge Priest, starring Will Rogers. The roles poured in from there.
The film premiered on December 15, 1939, at the Loew’s Grand Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time, segregation was still in full force in the state and violence against African Americans was rampant. With this in mind, the studio asked McDaniel and other African American cast members not to attend the premiere. Her co-star Clark Gable threatened to boycott the premiere unless she was allowed to attend. But she convinced him to go anyway.
Hattie McDaniel
Black Heritage Series
City: Beverly Hills, CA
Quantity Issued: 150,000,000
Hattie McDaniel’s Academy Award Win
McDaniel, the youngest child of former slaves, was born in Wichita, Kansas, and raised in Denver, Colorado. She dropped out of high school to tour with vaudeville companies. When McDaniel arrived in Hollywood in 1931, she supported herself by working on radio and washing clothes.
McDaniel was in her 30s before her career really began. She had performed, written, and recorded songs before the Great Depression, but the downturn in the economy halted her singing aspirations. Her brother got her a gig on his radio show as a maid who often “forgets her place.” Her character, “Hi-Hat-Hattie,” was a hit. (McDaniel later became known for her many comedic roles as a bossy, opinionated maid.)
Increased recognition and membership in the Screen Actors Guild got McDaniel into movies, though usually in “bit” parts. Her big break came in 1934 when she was cast in a lead role in John Ford’s Judge Priest, starring Will Rogers. The roles poured in from there.
The film premiered on December 15, 1939, at the Loew’s Grand Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time, segregation was still in full force in the state and violence against African Americans was rampant. With this in mind, the studio asked McDaniel and other African American cast members not to attend the premiere. Her co-star Clark Gable threatened to boycott the premiere unless she was allowed to attend. But she convinced him to go anyway.