Hattie McDaniel Made Far Less Than Her ‘Gone With the Wind’ Co-Stars Despite Oscar Win

‘Gone With the Wind’ Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel as soon as mentioned she’d quite play a maid on-screen than be one in real existence.

Feb. 29 2024, Published 2:04 p.m. ET

Actor Hattie McDaniel will ceaselessly be discussed in Black History. On Feb. 29, 1940, Hattie become the first Black actor to win an Academy Award, duration. She received Best Supporting Actress for her function as “Mammy” in Gone With the Wind, which debuted in 1939. The vintage modified Hattie’s lifestyles perpetually and remains to be an honor only a handful of Black artists have won since.

Though Hattie’s win was once intended to be a joyous occasion, she no doubt faced hardships, together with being harshly criticized by way of the Black target audience at the time and overlooked by means of the white audience, plus the executives who ran Hollywood. What’s more, Hattie’s cost from Gone With the Wind would motive online discourse today.

How much money did Hattie McDaniel make from her function in ‘Gone With the Wind?’

Hattie gave the impression in a number of uncredited comedic movie roles in the 1930s prior to she booked the coveted function as Mammy in Gone With the Wind. In the dramatic position, Hattie performed Vivien Leigh’s personality, Scarlett O’Hara’s maid.

According to a write-up about Hattie from History Colorado, she earned $450 every week whilst filming Gone With the Wind. It’s unclear how lengthy manufacturing ran for Gone With the Wind, despite the fact that it’s secure to say Hattie earned considerably not up to her white co-stars, particularly the film’s stars, Vivien and Clark Gable. Per Town and Country Magazine, Vivien made approximately $25,000 from the film, whilst Clark earned over $120,000.

While Hattie was one among the lower-paid stars of Gone With the Wind, History Colorado stated that the film and her Oscar win allowed her to buy her first house in 1942. However, the psychological toll on Hattie for accepting the Mammy role used to be mentally dear.

How did Hattie McDaniel die?

Almost once she authorised the phase, Hattie received backlash from the NAACP, stating her being in the movie did nothing for “racial development,” per Vanity Fair. Hattie was once also no longer allowed to sit with her white co-stars at the 1940 Oscars and couldn’t attend Gone With the Wind’s premiere due to Atlanta, Ga.’s segregation laws.

Despite the backlash, Hattie has been credited for making an attempt to not make her personality stereotypic. She also fought for a number of racist scenes to be removed from the film in the ultimate cut, comparable to the use of the N-word.

When she permitted the Academy award, Hattie additionally mentioned she was hoping the win would make her a pillar in her neighborhood.

"I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of the awards for your kindness,” she said during her acceptance speech. “It has made me feel very, very humble, and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel. And may I say thank you, and God bless you."

After her Oscar win, Hattie continued appearing, and in the early Nineteen Fifties, she booked a starring role as the titular persona on CBS’s radio show, Beulah. Like her Oscar-winning function as Mammy, Hattie received harsh critiques from her Black audience, with one critic pointing out the radio show, “defiles and desecrates colored other people,” according to Vibe Magazine.

Hattie worked on Beulah till her well being declined in the ‘50s. She turned into in poor health from breast cancer and diabetes headaches and died in 1952. Unfortunately, the actor died penniless, with her Oscar and different property being sold to settle a $11,000 tax debt.

Did Hattie McDaniel have any kids prior to she died?

During her lifestyles, Hattie was once married five occasions to Howard Hickman, George Langford, Nym Lankfard, James Llyod Crawford, and Larry Williams. None of the marriages resulted in children, even though Vanity Fair mentioned she experienced a “false being pregnant” at the age of 51.

Hattie’s legacy has endured, turning into the first Black Oscar winner whose likeness is on a U.S. postage stamp. Her Academy Award plaque is positioned in Howard University’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts center, though the plaque is a reproduction.

After Hattie selected to depart the unique plaque at Howard, it went lacking for years. It was once in the long run replaced by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and returned to the school.

Hattie’s extended circle of relatives has also kept her legacy alive. Her great-great nephew, filmmaker Kevin John Goff, wrote a e-book about her life, Hattie McDaniel: A Reflective Life. The ebook will be released in early 2024, in step with the Hattie McDaniel website.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbXSramam6Ses7p6wqikaKhfnby4ecyumqFllJ6xbrTArauinV2isKWtzaKcpWWXmsFuvMCim2aen6d6qLvNnmSwoaSderW0xGauoqaU