On the first day of Black History Month it's appropriate to celebrate this actress and activist from the first half of the 20th century.
Anyone who is a fan of black and white movies or early television will recognize Louise Beavers (1902-1962) - if not her name then likely her face. She was an incredible human being.
Discover some of what she did with her life and contribute to her biography
Yes; we recently re-watched Holiday Inn and I remembered that she was also in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. It's a shame she was typecast and that she died so young. She was a great actress.
Film and television actress Louise Beavers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she was part of an act called âLady Minstrelsâ before moving to Los Angeles to begin her film career in the silent films, âGold Diggersâ (1923) and âUncle Tomâs Cabinâ (1927).
Beavers appeared in more than 100 films between 1929 and 1960, playing the role most available to the few African American actresses able to work steadily in Hollywood: maid to the white female star. However, in the 1934 adaptation of âImitation of Lifeâ in 1934, Beavers and Claudette Colbert both played characters dealing with âthe demands of single parenthood and careers.â
Like her cousin, Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company co-founder, George Beavers, Jr., Louise Beavers was a prominent and active member of the African American community in Los Angeles. She was involved in community functions, from the Peopleâs Independent Church, where she helped develop the theater program of the Young Peopleâs Lyceum, to the 1939 public ceremonies celebrating the development of the all-black resort, Val Verde County Park.
In the 1940s, as a resident of the affluent enclave in the West Adams district of Los Angeles known as âSugar Hill,â Louise Beavers also played a role in history. Beaversâs neighbors included actors Hattie McDaniel, Ethel Waters, Joel Fluellen and Frances Williams; businessmen Norman O. Houston and Horace Clark; musicians Ben Carter, Pearl Bailey and Juan Tizon. When an association of white homeowners brought suit against black property owners in the area, claiming they were in violation of the cityâs racially restrictive covenant system, and demanding that the city enforce the covenants, attorney Loren Miller led the class action suit against the whites. The California Superior Court issued a judgment on December 6, 1945 stating that the black plaintiffs were accorded full rights guaranteed under the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This helped pave the way for Shelley v. Kramer, the 1948 Supreme Court decision that legally blocked enforcement of racial housing covenants.
Louise Beaversâs career culminated in the television roles âBeulahâ (1952 â1953) and as the housekeeper on âThe Danny Thomas Showâ (1953-1954). In 1976, she was inducted posthumously into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
See the faces of just some of the many African Americans who have contributed to building the United States into the country it is today.
African Americans in the early history of the United States had an extremely difficult start as immigrants. Having been primarily forced to immigrate to a new continent, African Americans worked throu...
For fifty years I have been a Document Examiner and that is how I earn my living.
For over 50 years I have also been a publicist for actors, singers, writers, composers, artists, comedians, and many progressive non-profit organizations.
I am a Librettist-Composer of a Broadway musical called, "Nellie Bly" and I am in the process of making small changes to it.
In addition, I have written over 100 songs that would be considered "popular music" in the genre of THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK. My family consists of four branches. The Norwegians and The Italians and the Norwegian-Americans and the Italian Americans.