Louise Beavers

Acting March 8, 1902 (60 years old) October 26, 1962 Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s until 1960, most often cast in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. She was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American sororities. Beavers was a breakthrough actress for black women and became known as a symbol of a "mammy" on the screen. A mammy archetype "is the portrayal within a narrative framework or other imagery of a black domestic servant, generally good-natured, often overweight, and loud". Louise Beavers started her career in the 1920s. At the time, black people in films were limited to acting in only very few roles, usually as slaves or domestic help. She played the "mammy" in many of the movies she acted in. She started to gain more attention in the acting world after she played the role of Julia in Coquette, which starred Mary Pickford. In this film she played the black maid and mother figure to a young white woman. She once received a review which stated: "Personally, Miss Beavers is just splendid, just as fine as she appears on screen, but she also has a charm all her own, which needs no screen role for recognition. She has a very pleasing personality, one that draws people to her instantly and makes them feel that they are meeting a friend instead of a Hollywood Star." Beavers had an attractive personality, and often played roles in which she helps a white protagonist mature in the course of the movie. In 1934, Beavers played Delilah in Imitation of Life in a dramatic role. Her character again plays a black maid, but instead of the usual stereotypical comedic or purely functional role, Delilah's story line is a secondary parallel plot. The public reacted positively to Beavers' performance. It was not only a breakthrough for Beavers, but was also "the first time in American cinema history that a black woman's problems were given major emotional weight in a major Hollywood motion picture". Some in the media recognized the unfairness of Hollywood's double standard regarding race. For example, California Graphic Magazine wrote, "the Academy could not recognize Miss Beavers. She is black!" As Beavers' career grew, some criticized her for the roles she accepted, alleging that such roles institutionalized the view that blacks were subservient to whites. Beavers dismissed the criticism. She acknowledged the limited opportunities available, but said: "I am only playing the parts. I don't live them." As she became more famous, Beavers began to speak against Hollywood's portrayal and treatment of black Americans, both during production and after promoting the films. Beavers became active in public life, seeking to help support African Americans. In later life, Beavers was plagued by health issues, including diabetes. She died on October 26, 1962, at the age of 60, following a heart attack. Beavers was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1976.

Louise Beavers

Biography

Movies 150

Shadow of the Thin Man

Holiday Inn

Good Sam

42nd Street

Make Way for Tomorrow

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

She Done Him Wrong

Reap the Wild Wind

Doctor X

Imitation of Life

Tammy and the Bachelor

The Big Street

Du Barry Was a Lady

The Story of Temple Drake

The Jackie Robinson Story

Made for Each Other

The Facts of Life

Bombshell

You Can't Run Away from It

All the Fine Young Cannibals

Good-bye, My Lady

Bullets or Ballots

Follow the Boys

Manslaughter

Never Wave at a WAC

Belle Starr

The Headleys at Home

The Goddess

For the Love of Mary

Her Bodyguard

Midnight Mary

Our Blushing Brides

Thunderbolt

Wild Girl

I Dream of Jeanie

Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus

No Time for Comedy

The Strange Love of Molly Louvain

Sign of the Wolf

There's Something About a Soldier

A Shriek in the Night

Tell It to the Judge

Pick-up

Women Without Names

Six Cylinder Love

The Last Gangster

Teenage Rebel

Central Airport

The Woman Condemned

Coquette

I've Got Your Number

Wide Open

Bedside

Girls About Town

I Give My Love

The Midnight Patrol

The Greeks Had a Word for Them

Hold Your Man

Gambling Lady

The Big Cage

A Modern Hero

She Couldn't Say No

South of Dixie

Ladies of the Big House

My Blue Heaven

General Spanky

True to the Navy

Virginia

Wings Over Honolulu

Only Yesterday

Brother Rat

The Lady's from Kentucky

In the Money

Rainbow on the River

I Want a Divorce

Young Widow

Too Busy to Work