Louise Beavers

Acting · 0.7 popularity

Age

124

Movies

148

Born: March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962
From: 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.

Works

148 films

Holiday Inn

19427.0

Tammy and the Bachelor

19577.0

Doctor X

19326.0

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

19487.0

Teenage Rebel

19567.0

Party Husband

19316.5

42nd Street

19336.9

Good Sam

19486.3

Second Choice

19308.0

Reap the Wild Wind

19426.4

Make Way for Tomorrow

19377.5

You Can't Run Away from It

19565.1

Belle Starr

19415.9

Du Barry Was a Lady

19436.5

Shadow of the Thin Man

19417.0

The Story of Temple Drake

19336.5

Follow the Boys

19445.7

All the Fine Young Cannibals

19605.9

Made for Each Other

19396.1

She Done Him Wrong

19335.9

Thunderbolt

19295.7

Imitation of Life

19347.0

The Last Gangster

19376.4

The Big Street

19425.8

Pick-up

19335.1

Bullets or Ballots

19366.6

Central Airport

19336.0

What Price Hollywood?

19326.8

Her Bodyguard

19336.7

Sign of the Wolf

19417.0

Wild Girl

19326.2

Manslaughter

19307.0

Reform School

19398.0

Bombshell

19336.5

The Strange Love of Molly Louvain

19326.1

Only Yesterday

19337.1

Midnight Mary

19336.8

A Southern Yankee

19485.7

Cheaters

193410.0

The Vanishing Virginian

19427.3

Tell It to the Judge

19496.6

I Want a Divorce

194010.0

My Blue Heaven

19507.5

Wings Over Honolulu

19376.4

Our Blushing Brides

19305.6

I've Got Your Number

19346.8

Girls About Town

19316.6

The Midnight Patrol

19336.6

The Goddess

19586.0

The Jackie Robinson Story

19506.3

Barbary Coast Gent

19445.5

Young Widow

19464.8

Good-bye, My Lady

19567.8

A Modern Hero

19347.0

Millie

19315.3

Primrose Path

19406.7

No Time for Comedy

19405.3

Never Wave at a WAC

19535.0

South of Dixie

194410.0

I Believed in You

19347.0

The Woman Condemned

19344.6

The Facts of Life

19605.3

Coquette

19295.9

The Dark Horse

19327.4

Gambling Lady

19346.2

Lover Come Back

19467.1

For the Love of Mary

19486.2

Annapolis Farewell

19358.0

The Headleys at Home

193810.0

The Merry Frinks

19344.8

Hell's Highway

19326.1

Beggar's Holiday

19349.0

The Greeks Had a Word for Them

19325.6

Ladies of the Big House

19316.0

Night World

19326.8

Women Without Names

19404.7

Kisses for Breakfast

19416.3

You're Telling Me

19325.3

In the Money

19335.7

Paid

19306.7

Young America

19325.5

Top Man

19439.0

Her Splendid Folly

19337.0

Glamour

19344.3

Seven Sweethearts

19426.3

I Dream of Jeanie

19524.0

Glad Rag Doll

19299.0

Hold Your Man

19336.3

What Price Innocence?

19336.5

West of the Pecos

19347.0

Wall Street

19297.0

All by Myself

19438.0

General Spanky

19365.7

Parole Fixer

19405.0

Sundown Trail

19317.8

Bedside

19345.6

Rainbow on the River

19368.7

Wide Open

19305.6

Bright Lights

19305.2

A Shriek in the Night

19335.2

Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus

19385.4

There's Something About a Soldier

19435.4

Delightfully Dangerous

19455.3

Dixie Jamboree

19445.4

Young America

19429.0

Unashamed

19327.3

Dr. Monica

19345.0

The Hostess with the Mostes'

1957

Palooka

19343.6

Good Morning, Judge

194310.0

Colorado Sundown

19525.0

Six Cylinder Love

19319.0

She Couldn't Say No

193010.0

Wives Never Know

19369.0

The Big Cage

19338.0

Knights Before Christmas

19308.0

Safety in Numbers

19305.5

Registered Nurse

19344.8

Brother Rat

19386.0

Scandal Street

19388.0

Divorce In The Family

19326.8

Back Pay

19304.9

Girl Missing

19335.2

Too Busy to Work

19326.5

It's Tough to Be Famous

19326.4

Street of Women

19325.0

Recaptured Love

19306.0

Good Sport

19315.5

I Give My Love

19347.5

Reckless Living

19314.3

Virginia

19419.0

Notorious But Nice

19336.7

Honey

19305.7

The Expert

19327.3

Life Goes On

19388.0

Don't Bet on Women

19314.9

Nix on Dames

192910.0

Merry Wives of Reno

19344.4

Election Day

19297.0

Banjo

19477.7

Outside the Law

19305.2

True to the Navy

19307.5

Love in a Bungalow

193710.0

The Lady's from Kentucky

19398.0

Barnum Was Right

19297.5

Strictly Fresh Yeggs

1934

The Phantom Broadcast

19335.1

Hunting Trouble

193310.0