Hattie's Lost Legacy.m4v

whoo yes hold on and suck it for her memorable role as Manny Gone with the Wind how do you Daniel became the first african-american to win an Oscar was a real milestone in the Academy's history and in film history but it also created controversy she played this made and gone with the wind as mammy she was so much more she was given an Oscar for a role which really demeaned people of African descent she gave her Oscar to Howard University to inspire students but now no one knows where it is I can only figure this someone walked off with it in 1968 was it stolen perhaps misplaced maybe on eBay someday we will find this Oscar or thrown in the Potomac I think it's sleeping with the fishes the unsolved mystery next on Hattie's Lost legacy Hattie's Lost Legacy is brought to you by Cancer Treatment Centers of America winning the fight against cancer every day and Geico 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance when the adil on first opened in 1923 movies were silent then came the talkies and then in 1939 Gone with the Wind was one of the first Technicolor epics and in that same year Hattie McDaniel won an Academy Award for her portrayal as mammy she was the first african-american to ever be nominated for an Oscar and probably the first to ever attend Oscar night it would be another 24 years before another black actor Sidney Poitier would win for his role in lilies of the field and the winner is Monique in precious based on the novel push by Sapphire last year when Monique won for her riveting portrayal in precious she proved that even today the name Hattie McDaniel still stirs hearts I want to thank miss Hattie McDaniel for enduring all that she had to so that I would not have to that night Monique were a brilliant sapphire dress and gardenias in her hair it was a moment that was meant to be we get a letter from Simone chef here along with a gardenia and she is friends with the McDaniel family and she said this is the flower that had a McDaniel wore in her hair the night she won the Oscar so it was a no-brainer we pick out the blue dress because that's the same color Hattie McDaniel wore that night and then as I'm getting ready and getting prepared we're watching the video as Hattie McDaniel is accepting her Oscar it was a feeling of wow I'm watching this woman years ago before I was even born walking this journey and accepting this amazing award and now I said in the position of being nominated for this award and because of that woman I could sit in that position so it was just an amazing feeling right now the second season of her show on the e-team tops her agenda monique plans a Hattie McDaniel biopic in the future but she's in no rush it's so much research because when I am allowed to play her I want to make sure I am her in that action when they say action I would love for Hattie McDaniel to be looking down saying you're doing me right when Hattie's Lost Legacy returns how Hattie McDaniel made her mark in Hollywood she was make an income that was unheard of for that time to be a woman and to be black and was just not willing to lay down she kept going and kept pushing forward you here at the Avalon theater they've probably screened hundreds of classic movies like gone with the wind based on Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel of 1936 it promised to be a cinematic tour de force producer David of Selznick pumped-up public interest by launching a worldwide search to find the actress who would play his heroine Scarlett O'Hara but the competition for the role of mammy was equally intense today it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role but how do you make Daniel no you ain't you can't show your bosom for LA I want to kill more logic with her commanding performance in the sprawling Civil War tale of southern life Hattie McDaniel made Oscar history keep sure sure but had his journey to start him in critical acclaim was a long one her father Henry McDaniel was born a slave and fought for the Union Army growing up Hattie often performed with her brothers and sisters in minstrel shows following in her brother Sam's footsteps she moved west to join him and her sister Etta in Hollywood in 1931 Kim Gulf Cruise never knew her famous great great aunt but she repeats stories her dad Edgar tells about Hattie so three of them were really very much in Hollywood and used to rehearse lines together which is kind of fun they would rehearse the line and dialect and make fun of some of the language but make sure that they got their line cold after years as an extra had he began to get better parts like this one in Alice Adams with a young Katharine Hepburn but her role in the 1934 film judge priest gave her a chance to show off the song and dance skills she had learned as a child from the Lions Den performing alongside one of the most popular entertainers of the day Will Rogers the part of Aunt Dilsey helped raise her profile Warner praise and led to other parts like the role in lost in the stratosphere you're funny Ida thank you accused me of being in love and then you try to convince me I'm not oh you were little but not when lieutenant would you was in love with lieutenant Cooper and you knows it later she played Queenie in showboat appearing with the acclaimed singer Paul Robeson when Gone with the Wind went into movie production other actresses lined up to try out as mammy legend has it had he edged out the competition by showing up for her audition dressed in costume gala days in Dixie streamlined wings of the wind bring Hollywood to Atlanta for a history-making world premiere of the motion picture epic gone with the wind by December of 1939 Gone with the Wind was one of the most anticipated movies of its time its flamboyant producer David Selznick and the city of Atlanta threw a lavish party to celebrate thousands lined the streets for a glimpse of the stars glamorous Vivien Leigh takes a bow as heroine Scarlett O'Hara though Selznick invited Hattie segregation laws in Georgia kept her from attending when Clark Gable threatened to boycott the event on Hattie's behalf she urged him to attend and help promote the film Gone with the Wind rights history a new chapter in film triumph she lived in that parentheses of sanction it was a dirty time in American history instead Haddie attended the Hollywood opening she even felt the sting of discrimination again on Oscar night she and I think her date were seated at their own table they were not with the other nominees from gone with the wind or really with anybody else it was such an insult to her in her race it is with the knowledge that this entire nation will stand and salute the presentation of this plaque that I resent the Academy Award for the best performance of an actress in supporting role during 1939 the heady with Danny when she won and she got to go to the front of the room imagine the significance of that just the geography of that room and her march to the front and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry my heart is too full to tell you just high for you and may I say thank you there's no question that the fact that she was the first black not just actor but any kind of artist to win an Academy Award was a real milestone in the Academy's history and in in film history Patti basked in the Oscars glow posing for publicity photos and enjoying the headlines in black newspapers like the California Eagle but even before her award some in Hollywood had begun to criticize her and other african-american actors for accepting roles didn't meaning to their race come on nobody was offering black actresses work as judges or scientists at that point in history she did what she could and she made a absolutely terrific career out of it so even though she mostly was relegated to playing maids she did that with a distinct flair hey cut them lucky shine if you paid attention in the maze that she played she always ran the household she was always the voice of reason had he continued to work sometimes with her brother Sam in movies like the great lie had a stock answer to her critics I'd rather make seven hundred dollars a week playing a maid than seven dollars being one but fundamentally she thought the audience was smart enough to be able to put something in the context and not assume that that was her she said in my home I am Hattie McDaniel on the screen I play a fine maid so she was able to separate that off-screen had he lived in style often dressing in furs and driving around Los Angeles in her green Packard when she married her third husband James Lloyd Crawford she threw the party of the social season here's what her great-nephew Edgar remembers about his on she was a woman of substance and lefty this way he thought of her and that's when he describes her and he talks to me about her she was the life of the party very family-oriented but Hattie was never to have a family of her own she divorced married and divorced again before the decade was over when she bought a home in historic West Adams her neighbors sued claiming black residents violated the community covenant the case went all the way to the Supreme Court before the angry neighbors lost and Hattie was saved from eviction I have a date tonight a date with a boy over time had he found work in Hollywood drying up times and roles had changed the big wheel was her last movie in all she appeared in more than 300 movies playing a maid in 93 of them edwin when there wasn't a movie she was still okay because this woman was a comedian she was a singer she was a dancer she was still able to carry on when Hollywood said well we don't have a script for you you're going to miss me honey in search of a new venue howdy reinvented the role of Beulah for CBS Radio attracting 20 million listeners every week when that popularity led to a television series had he moved on to the small screen with her usual energy well that looks pretty good dad feel like it ought to the process of charging I didn't know whether to cook another positive I think she was someone who had very big talent very big dreams and was always looking for ways to express that that talent but had he filmed only two episodes of Beulah before she fell ill with breast cancer within a year she was dead thousands attended her funeral as her death made front-page headlines in the Eagle in a Los Angeles Times she wanted to be buried in Hollywood forever she expressed that and then her secondary request in case they don't let somebody in my race be buried there I mean can you imagine her secondary requesters rose death on November 1st 1952 Hattie McDaniel was laid to rest in the Angeles Rosedale cemetery even in death it seems she could not escape second-class treatment in one of her final acts Hattie McDaniel willed her most valued possession her Oscar to Howard University handling that most coveted prized Howard University she handled them over the right to be steward of that prize it was her since that was a good place it was a safe archive she also want to make sure that she encouraged as she did throughout her life young actors to continue to pursue their dream when Hattie's Lost Legacy returns the mystery of her missing Oscar what's so shocking about the loss of this Oscar is that it was lost at Howard University a place that would have special reverence for this award because it was such a breakthrough for black culture you in 1940 how Diamond annual went on a publicity tour for Gone with the Wind when she stopped in Washington she was invited to a luncheon here at Howard University it must have made quite an impression because this is where she chose to bequeath her Academy Award years later her historic Oscar was reported missing when we contacted the university late last year we were surprised by the response thanks for your email according to the University Archives we do not have a record of receiving Hattie McDaniels Oscar pretty cowardly of Howard University to claim we have no record of ever having received it so therefore we can't speak publicly about it now it was seen by thousands of people in this glass case on your campus now lease graduated from Howard University in 1966 and he remembers seeing Hattie's Oscar and even holding it in his hands it was unlike the Academy Award that we have today it looked like a little like a little gravestone when Hattie McDaniel received her oscar recognition for supporting roles had been introduced just a few years earlier and the now classic statuettes were not awarded in those categories to indicate I guess that it wasn't a full leading performance award they gave them what the Academy calls a plaque now a Dean Montclair State University Jeffrey Newman wasn't too impressed when he saw it in the Howard drama department back in the late 60s I remember seeing it specifically because it didn't look like an Oscar I mean it really wasn't much to look at later the Motion Picture Academy would change that policy and present the full statuette to all winners confusion about Hattie's Oscar was further fueled by publicity photos don't recall seeing a picture of her with the plaque they faked it as if she had gotten a statuette I don't know why that picture exists to this day but it's very confusing according to one theory it vanished during student protests on campus in the late 1960s those turbulent times created payoffs all the classes were either cancelled because of a bomb threat or students had come in and taken over the building we call students over here to sit in back then many students at Howard held treasures like how do you make Daniels Oscar in contempt the fact that she was given an Oscar for a role which really demeaned people of African descent was so appropriate to me that had I known that it was there I would have destroyed it while many Howard alums from the protest days say they didn't even know McDaniels Oscar was on campus the political climate made it a natural target for Rage once they found out it was there they would have they would have in keeping with the times plotted to make a point at it bigger or no one theory which may be nothing more than an urban legend or a convenient explanation is that protesting students seized the Oscar and then threw it into the Potomac if I were an african-american in the late 1960s dealing with the cities of America inflamed and the government's still not responsive to my civil rights I might throw something away that was the emblem of that offense I could get that do I believe it happened now it's an interesting victory out in Hollywood Tom O'Neill writes about all kinds of awards including Oscars for the LA Times and Vanity Fair among others in all likelihood it was stolen by somebody who had access to it no one was looking that's what happens to these things all the time then they tend to surface in flea markets or they pop up at bazaar auctions maybe on eBay someday we will find this Oscar they own this one heidi McDaniel Gone with the Wind 1939 as as mammy the strong and indomitable one but I love it I love how to McDaniel she was a must-have for me Tom Gregory's Beverly Hills home holds his unique collection of autographed photos memorabilia from Hollywood's golden age and yes a couple of Oscars people know Tom Gregory would buy it dingdong you know I put it out there now for at least two or three years that I'm in the market for the darn thing ah it's never been offered to me in an article for The Washington Post last year Howard offered up the possibility that her Oscar might still turn up perhaps in a box like Bojangles bronze shoes did several years ago it's in a box somewhere you know now come on Howard you know find some people and and you know go through your box Howard has had some serious issues with competency over the years I don't dismiss at all the possibility that it was just plain lost as opposed to purloined we may never know what became of Hattie McDaniels missing Oscar when Hattie's Lost Legacy returns some thoughts on her enduring impact Oh you we requested an interview with the president of Howard University several times to discuss Hattie's missing Oscar that request was denied ironically enough the drama department that had he's so admired also disappeared in the late 70s but even though Haddie and her Oscar are now gone her star continues to shine visitors to Grauman's Chinese Theatre fine Patty's radio star only steps away on the Hollywood Walk of Fame her contribution to the movies is immortalized near the landmark crossroads of Hollywood and Vine I have caught two black artists who in the 60s were very dismissive of her accomplishments who now have come around to seeing wow she was actually a great pioneer in 1998 her family made sure one of her last wishes came true they dedicated this pink marble memorial to her at Hollywood Forever but the puzzle of what to do about the missing Oscar remains unsolved according to the Motion Picture Academy Howard University did request a replacement this award means so much to so many people not just african-americans but people who love cinema history and civil rights history and are respectful to all of that we need to find this Oscar or have it replaced the Academy's policy is is very firm we have occasionally replaced a statuette into the hands of the actual winner we really don't replace statuettes that have fallen out of the hands of the original recipient there are exceptions to every rule and this is a case of where the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences should acknowledge the historic importance of an award won by Hattie McDaniel and issued again according to notes from Edgar Gough the closest keeper of Hattie's legacy the McDaniel family would like a healing moment too so my father has has made it very clear that he would like to see either it found and then still have hope that it would be found replaced if possible but if not at least their acknowledgement that she did receive the statute the current leaders of the Academy may be stubborn and say we're not going to budge but somebody has to have a heart in Hollywood don't think so far there's no Hollywood ending to our mystery story we may never learn the fate of her Oscar but we can only hope that howdy McDaniels legacy will continue to live on for generations to come I'm Robin Hamilton thanks for watching it should be restored to that University by the Academy her wishes should be fulfilled if it is gone as some suggested in the Potomac River that is the appropriate place for it to be we must hold on to her legacy it's an important part of the fabric of America I think the time has come and it's the right time to do it and it's the right thing to do we love you Hattie Hattie's Lost legacy has been brought to you by Cancer Treatment Centers of America winning the fight against cancer every day and Geico 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance

Channel: Robin Hamilton (ARound Robin Production, LLC)

Views: 88,145

Keywords: oscars, african american, history

Id: lRx2w5oTX6k

Length: 24min 49sec (1489 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 05 2011