Cast
Louise Beavers
Acting
Cast
Louise Beavers
Known for
Acting
Born
1902-03-08
From
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Died
1962-10-26
Also known as Louise Beaver
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.
Central Airport
as Hotel Maid (uncredited)
Belle Starr
as Mammy Lou
Thunderbolt
as Black Cat Cafe Patron (uncredited)
Holiday Inn
as Mamie
Wild Girl
as Mammy Lou (uncredited)
Young America
as Maid (Uncredited)
Doctor X
as Louise (Uncredited)
A Southern Yankee
as Laundry Woman
Glamour
as Millie
Primrose Path
as Woman Talking to Police (uncredited)
Bullets or Ballots
as Nellie LaFleur
Manslaughter
as Rose
Girl Missing
as Julie, Daisy's Maid (Uncredited)
Reap the Wild Wind
as Maum Maria
42nd Street
as Pansy (uncredited)
Back Pay
as Nellie - Hester's Maid
The Big Street
as Ruby (uncredited)
Scandal Street
as Clairce
Brother Rat
as Jenny
Reform School
as Mother Barton
Hunting Trouble
as Lucy
The Story of Temple Drake
as Minnie
Imitation of Life
as Delilah Johnson
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
as Gussie
The Goddess
as The Cook
Midnight Mary
as Mary's Maid Anna (uncredited)
Good Sam
as Chloe
Millie
as Maid (uncredited)
Make Way for Tomorrow
as Mamie
Kisses for Breakfast
as Clotilda
The Midnight Patrol
as Maid (scenes deleted)
Follow the Boys
as Louise Beavers (uncredited)
Pick-up
as Magnolia (uncredited)
Only Yesterday
as Abby (Uncredited)
Our Blushing Brides
as Amelia - The Mannequins' Maid (uncredited)
Du Barry Was a Lady
as Niagara
Colorado Sundown
as Mattie, Jackie's Maid
Bombshell
as Loretta
Young America
as Pansy
There's Something About a Soldier
as Birdie
What Price Hollywood?
as Mary's Maid Bonita
Shadow of the Thin Man
as Stella
Teenage Rebel
as Willamay
Made for Each Other
as Lily (uncredited)
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
as Washroom Attendant (uncredited)
My Blue Heaven
as Selma
Wings Over Honolulu
as Mammy
In the Money
as Lily
Tammy and the Bachelor
as Osia
All the Fine Young Cannibals
as Rose
You Can't Run Away from It
as Maid
Hell's Highway
as Rascal's Sweetheart at Visitor's Center (uncredited)
For the Love of Mary
as Bertha
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
as Cassey
The Last Gangster
as Gloria
Coquette
as Julia
Night World
as Maid (uncredited)
Strictly Fresh Yeggs
as Maid
Paid
as Convict (uncredited)
Women Without Names
as Ivory
Ladies of the Big House
as Ivory
The Jackie Robinson Story
as Jackie's Mother
Bedside
as Pansy
Top Man
as Cleo
She Done Him Wrong
as Pearl
Party Husband
as Laura's Maid
Good-bye, My Lady
as Bonnie Drew
Annapolis Farewell
as Miranda
Girls About Town
as Hattie
The Facts of Life
as Gussie
The Dark Horse
as Kay's Maid Levinnia
A Shriek in the Night
as Maid
Gambling Lady
as Suzy - Peter's Cook (uncredited)
I've Got Your Number
as Crystal
Lover Come Back
as Martha
Lover Come Back
as Martha, Kay's Maid
Never Wave at a WAC
as Artamesa
The Vanishing Virginian
as Aunt Emmeline
Virginia
as Ophelia
A Modern Hero
as Azais's Maid
Unashamed
as Amanda
The Big Cage
as Mandy
Delightfully Dangerous
as Hannah
Dixie Jamboree
as Opal
Dixie Jamboree
as Sam the Deckhand
Wives Never Know
as Florabelle
Rainbow on the River
as Toinette
Seven Sweethearts
as Petunia, the Maid
Young Widow
as Rosie
The Woman Condemned
as Sally
Reckless Living
as Maid
Hold Your Man
as Elite Club Attendant (uncredited)
Palooka
as Crystal
The Greeks Had a Word for Them
as Beautician (uncredited)
Banjo
as Lindy
Parole Fixer
as Aunt Lindy
Notorious But Nice
as Ophelia
Outside the Law
as Judy the Maid
Tell It to the Judge
as Cleo, Marsha's Maid (uncredited)
Glad Rag Doll
as Hannah
South of Dixie
as Magnolia Brown / Chloe
West of the Pecos
as Mauree
Sundown Trail
as Auntie Jenny
Six Cylinder Love
Divorce In The Family
as Rosetta
The Expert
as Lulu
Dr. Monica
as Sarah - Mary's Maid (uncredited)
General Spanky
as Cornelia
Her Bodyguard
as Margot's Maid
Bright Lights
as Angela
Beggar's Holiday
as Heliotrope
Street of Women
as Mattie, Natalie's maid
No Time for Comedy
as Clementine
Wide Open
as Easter
The Headleys at Home
as Hyacinth
I Want a Divorce
as Celestine
All by Myself
as Willie
Sign of the Wolf
as Beulah
Registered Nurse
as Flo - Sadie's Maid
Good Sport
as September
Barbary Coast Gent
as Bedelia
Life Goes On
as Sally Weston
The Phantom Broadcast
as Minnie
I Believed in You
as Prisoner
Good Morning, Judge
as Cleo
Nix on Dames
as Magnolia
Second Choice
as Maid (uncredited)
True to the Navy
as Maid (uncredited)
Too Busy to Work
as Mammy
It's Tough to Be Famous
as Ada, Janet's Maid
The Merry Frinks
as Camille
Honey
as Black Revivalist
She Couldn't Say No
as Cora
The Lady's from Kentucky
as Aunt Tina
Don't Bet on Women
as Maid (uncredited)
What Price Innocence?
as Hannah
Recaptured Love
as Maid
Knights Before Christmas
Merry Wives of Reno
as Derwent's Client - Black Mother of 12 Wanting a Divorce (uncredited)
Wall Street
as Magnolia
You're Telling Me
as The Maid (uncredited)
Cheaters
as Lily
Barnum Was Right
as Maid
Her Splendid Folly
as Anastasia
I Dream of Jeanie
as Mammy
Election Day
as Farina's mother
Love in a Bungalow
as Millie
I Give My Love
as Maid
The Hostess with the Mostes'
as Mattie Mae
Safety in Numbers
as Messalina