The life of Soror Hattie McDaniel
 

For those that dont know, our soror Ellia English (played aunt helen on the jamie foxx show)... has purchased the rights to soror Hattie McDaniel's life story and a movie is currently in production!

it is also rumored that soror english will play soror mcdaniel in the movie!

here are a few websites to check out:

www.classicmoviemusicals.com/mcdaniel.htm
http://www.gwtwmemories.com/forums/b...ssages/70.html

i am looking forward to seeing the movie - by being the 1st African American actress to win an oscar (especially considering the role she won it for), soror McDaniel truely has paved the way for blacks in hollywood!

Sorhor,

That bit of information was stated at the 60th Northeast Regional Conference! I can't wait to see her life on the big screen!

Serioussigma22:cool:

I will be glad to see this come to the big (or small) screen too. I think a lot of people will have a different outlook on Hattie McDaniel's life after they watch it.

The life of Soror Hattie McDaniel
 

I also look forward to seeing this. As has been stated, I could not imagine what she must have faced as a black actress in that time period.

Tenacious1922

I will be looking forward to seeing the movie on Hattie McDaniel.
I think there was a stage play on her life a few years back called "Hattie" that was really interesting.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Wow,

That would be sooooooo AWESOME to see!! I can not wait until it comes to the theater!!

THere was an AMC biography on this morning on Hattie McDaniel. Unfortunately I missed the first part, but the part I saw was very good. I did not know that she gave her oscar to Howard and during some demonstrations during the 60s the statue got "lost" There is, of course, some speculation that some student(s) stole in because of the kinds of roles she played.

I also did not know she had a TV show for a short time. It was called "The Buelah (sp) show and she played....yep, you guessed it...a maid. :rolleyes:

The thing I found most facinating was that after she had won her oscar her neighbors tried to have her removed from the home that she bought with her money because of restrictive covenants! The case went to the Supreme Court and she won.

A New Biography comes out on September 7, 2005
 

I heard this morning on Tom Joyner news of a new biography on your Soror, Hattie McDaniel called Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood by Jill Watts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In her imperfect yet fascinating biography, Watts (Mae West) unveils the largely tragic tale of Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Academy Award. Born in 1893, the youngest daughter of freed slaves, McDaniel sang and danced to help provide for her poverty-stricken family. Her early career as a comedian and singer garnered raves. She landed in Hollywood, appearing as an extra in scores of early 1930s films. Soon speaking roles in films like Stella Dallas led to her Oscar-winning performance as Mammy in the 1939 epic Gone with the Wind. This achievement marked the pinnacle of McDaniel's career—and heralded its collapse. Despite the complexity of her portrayal, McDaniel became typecast as the affable, disgruntled or tippling domestic. Although she'd educated herself , dressed elegantly and became involved in a range of political and social issues, McDaniel was hampered by studios that presented her as an eye-rolling, dialect-speaking Jemima. Watts's strength lies in her explication of the political and social conflicts in which McDaniel was embroiled. Yet her illumination of the complex actress herself is weak; she only comes alive in the book's final chapters. Nevertheless, Watts has crafted a compelling, disturbing history of blacks in early Hollywood. Photos.
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Thanks for the update!

People Magazine did a recommdation on the Hattie McDaniel book this week. :)