Star Of The Month-Louise Beavers

 

LOUISE BEAVERS

BIRTH: March 8, 1902

DEATH: October 26, 1962

AGED: 60 years old

DIED FROM: Heart Attack, after years of ill health..had diabetes

MARRIED: Twice, the second time lasted until her death

CHILDREN: No Children

OSCAR WINS: None, No Nominations even though many people felt, at the time, she deserved an Oscar nom. for her role in Imitation of Life

TALENT: She was a noted singer and played in a few bands during the 20s.

KNOWN FOR: Playing maids even though she could not cook at all. A vocal advocate for African-American rights.

The sweet-faced Louise Beavers was an actress at the wrong time, being African-American, because she would have won an Oscar and be a much bigger name today given her talents. She made the most of it and championed equal rights at a time when racism was very open even in Hollywood. Today, she is known for plying a multitude of maids who cooked up a storm and offered her own advice and talents to her white employers often helping them with their own problems and, making them rich on her ideas or cooking prowess. Funny anecdote, Louise could not cook a stitch! She, probably, didn’t even know how to boil water…lol. This lady did all she could to fight for her own rights and the rights of the African-Americans. She would, successfully, change words in the script to soften the way people spoke to the black people ( ie. she changed the word..N@#& to Negro), and she would inflect her own style into her characters so you would feel for her character whether it be sadness,  hope, or empathy. Off screen she fought for equal rights, she was part of a group who were successful in fighting land covenants that barred African Americans from buying homes in her L. A. neighbourhood. She also co-founded the Doll League which gave dolls to underprivileged girls. 

She started in Hollywood as an actual maid to a famous Hollywood star, Leatrice Joy ( the Meryl Streep of her day) to having her own TV Show, “Beulah”  in the early 1950s. Yes, she played a maid, but she was the star and the first African-American to have her own show( albeit, Ethel Waters and then, Hattie McDaniel played the character first). She should have been nominated, if not won the Oscar, for her role in Imitation of Life, fought for the rights of her people, helped underprivileged children and was known as a sweet and good natured lady. She deserves a place right beside many famous stars of the classic era.

FILMS

1. Imitation of Life-1934

2. Mr. Blandings Build His Dream House-1948

3. Reform School-1939

4. She Done Him Wrong-1933

5. The Jackie Robinson Story-1950

6. Holiday Inn-1942

7. Wives Never Know-1936

8. Bullets or Ballets-1936

9. Gold Diggers of Broadway-1929

10. Make Way For Tomorrow-1937