Butterfly McQueen remembered / Stephen Bourne.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bourne, Stephen, 1957 October 31-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

McQueen, Butterfly.

Motion picture actors and actresses--United States--Biography.

Motion picture actors and actresses.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxi, 142 pages, 10 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2008.

Summary:

Butterfly McQueen (1911-1995) will always be remembered for her first screen role-as Scarlett O'Hara's hysterical servant girl, Prissy, in Gone With the Wind (1939)-and for her most famous line in the Civil War epic: "I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies!" Though many criticized her for playing an offensive caricature of black womanhood, film scholar Donald Bogle claims her performance is "a unique combination of the comic and the pathetic." However, tired of playing what she called "stupid maids," McQueen turned her back on Hollywood in the 1940s and spent the next fifty years in obscurity. On several occasions she tried to revive her theatrical career, but her identification with Prissy made it difficult for her to be taken seriously by producers and casting agents. Consequently, she supported herself by taking mostly menial jobs.

In the 1970s, McQueen was active in social work projects in Harlem and was awarded a degree by the City College of New York. In 1989, as one of the last surviving members of the cast of Gone With the Wind, she happily participated in the film's fiftieth anniversary celebration. At the time, she said: "Now I am happy I did Gone With the Wind. I wasn't when I was 28, but it's part of black history. You have no idea how hard it is for black actors, but things change, things blossom in time."

In Butterfly McQueen Remembered, Stephen Bourne draws upon two decades of research to document her life and career. From her memorable role in one of Hollywood's greatest films to her last big-screen appearance with Harrison Ford in The Mosquito Coast (1986), the details of McQueen's life are captured in this intimate portrait. Bourne, who corresponded with McQueen for many years, chronicles the ups and downs of this talented and generous woman's life, both in front of the camera and far from its glaring spotlight.

Contents:

1 Before Butterfly Became Prissy 1

2 Gone With the Wind 11

3 Black Resistance to Gone With the Wind 21

4 Hattie McDaniel: More Than a Mammy 31

5 Swingin' the Dream 39

6 Butterfly in Hollywood 45

7 Mildred Pierce 55

8 Making a Stand 61

9 What Ever Happened to Butterfly McQueen? 73

10 The Fiftieth Anniversary of Gone With the Wind 97

Appendix A Butterfly McQueen's Credits 107

Appendix B Gone With the Wind: Awards, Statistics, and Movie Lists 111

Appendix C Butterfly's "Essays" and "Booklets" 115

Appendix D International Security Corporation of Virginia v. McQueen 125.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 129-134) and index.

ISBN:

9780810860186

081086018X

OCLC:

137305947