1930s and 1940s film actress Louise Beavers was merely one of a
dominant gallery of plus-sized and plus-talented African-American
character actresses forced to endure blatant, discouraging and
demeaning stereotypes during Depression-era and WWII Hollywood.
It wasn't until Louise's triumphant role in
Fannie Hurst's classic soaper
Imitation of Life (1934) that a
film of major significance offered a black role of meaning, substance
and humanity. Louise's servile role as housekeeper Delilah, who works for single
white mother Claudette Colbert, was a poignant and touching, three-dimensional character that had its own dramatic story. Brilliantly handling the heartbreaking co-plot of an appeasing single parent whose light-skinned daughter (played by Fredi Washington) went to cruel and
desperate lengths to pass for white. While Louise certainly championed
in the role and managed to steal the lion's share of reviews right from
under the film's superstar, the movie triggered major controversy and
just as many complaints as compliments from black and white
viewers. This certainly did not help what could have been a major,
positive shift in black filmmaking. Instead, for the next two or more
decades Louise was again forced back to secondary status.
Ms. Beavers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 8, 1902 and moved
with her family to the Los Angeles area at age 11. A student at
Pasadena High School and a choir member at her local church, her
mother, a voice teacher, trained Louise for the concert stage but
instead the young girl joined an all-female minstrel company called
"Lady Minstrels" and even hooked up for a time on the vaudeville
circuit. A nursing career once entertained was quickly aborted in favor
of acting. Her first break of sorts was earning a living as a personal
maid and assistant to Paramount star
Leatrice Joy (and later actress
Lilyan Tashman). By 1924 she was
performing as an extra or walk-on in between her chores. A talent agent
spotted her and gave her a more noticeable role in
Onkel Toms Hütte (1927). She
went on to gain even more visibility, but was invariably stuck in the
background cooking or cleaning after the leads. Despite this her
beaming smile and good nature paid off.
Following scene-grabbing maid roles to such stars as
Mary Pickford in
Coquette (1929)
Linda Watkins in
Good Sport (1931),
Mae West in
Sie tat ihm unrecht (1933),
Constance Bennett in
What Price Hollywood? (1932)
and Jean Harlow in
Sexbombe (1933), Louise received the
role of her career. Her poignant story line and final death scene
deserved an Oscar nomination and many insiders took her snub as
deliberate and prejudicial. Five years later her close
friend Hattie McDaniel would become the
first black actor to not only earn an Oscar nomination but capture the
coveted trophy as well for her subordinate role in
Vom Winde verweht (1939).
Despite their individual triumphs, both ladies continued in stereotyped roles. Occasionally Louise was
rewarded with such Hollywood "A" treats as
Ein ideales Paar (1939)
with Carole Lombard,
Musik, Musik (1942) starring
Bing Crosby, and especially
Nur meiner Frau zuliebe (1948)
with Cary Grant and
Myrna Loy. In
The Jackie Robinson Story (1950),
she offered lovely moments as the baseball star's mother.
Although film offers dried up in the 1950s, Louise managed to transfer
her talents to the new TV medium, and was one of a number of character
actresses hired to play the wise-cracking, problem-solving maid
Beulah (1950) during its run. "Beulah"
was one of the first sitcoms to star a black actor. She also had a
recurring role in Disney's "The Swamp Fox". In 1957, she made her
professional stage debut in San Francisco with the short-lived play
"Praise House" as a caregiver who extols the Bible through song. Her
last few films, which included
Die Göttin (1958),
Früchte einer Leidenschaft (1960)
and the Bob Hope comedy
So eine Affäre (1960) were
typical stereotypes and unmemorable.
A long time bachelor lady who finally married in the 1950s, the short, heavyset actress was plagued by health issues in later years, her
obesity and diabetes in particular. She lost her fight on October 26,
1962, at age 60 following a heart attack. In 1976 she was posthumously
inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
