Louise Beavers
Acting
Born: March 8, 1902 · Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Died: October 26, 1962 (aged 60)
Highest Rated
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.
Movies (145)
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Gussie
42nd Street
Pansy (uncredited)
Make Way for Tomorrow
Mamie
Doctor X
Louise (Uncredited)
Reap the Wild Wind
Maum Maria
Holiday Inn
Mamie
Belle Starr
Mammy Lou
Good Sam
Chloe
Tammy and the Bachelor
Osia
Made for Each Other
Lily (uncredited)
I Want a Divorce
Celestine
Gambling Lady
Suzy - Peter's Cook (uncredited)
Party Husband
Laura's Maid
My Blue Heaven
Selma
Teenage Rebel
Willamay
Shadow of the Thin Man
Stella
Second Choice
Maid (uncredited)
Wild Girl
Mammy Lou (uncredited)
Pick-up
Magnolia (uncredited)
Imitation of Life
Delilah Johnson
The Last Gangster
Gloria
Du Barry Was a Lady
Niagara
Bullets or Ballots
Nellie LaFleur
Follow the Boys
Louise Beavers (uncredited)
Her Bodyguard
Margot's Maid
Reform School
Mother Barton
Young Widow
Rosie
The Goddess
The Cook
Bombshell
Loretta
She Done Him Wrong
Pearl
Sign of the Wolf
Beulah
The Midnight Patrol
Maid (scenes deleted)
Barbary Coast Gent
Bedelia
Manslaughter
Rose
Midnight Mary
Mary's Maid Anna (uncredited)
Thunderbolt
Black Cat Cafe Patron (uncredited)
Central Airport
Hotel Maid (uncredited)
The Big Street
Ruby (uncredited)
The Jackie Robinson Story
Jackie's Mother
Only Yesterday
Abby (Uncredited)
Primrose Path
Woman Talking to Police (uncredited)
The Story of Temple Drake
Minnie
What Price Hollywood?
Mary's Maid Bonita
No Time for Comedy
Clementine
Our Blushing Brides
Amelia - The Mannequins' Maid (uncredited)
All the Fine Young Cannibals
Rose
You Can't Run Away from It
Maid
Parole Fixer
Aunt Lindy
Coquette
Julia
The Woman Condemned
Sally
Tell It to the Judge
Cleo, Marsha's Maid (uncredited)
Young America
Pansy
Banjo
Lindy
Good-bye, My Lady
Bonnie Drew
Hold Your Man
Elite Club Attendant (uncredited)
For the Love of Mary
Bertha
A Shriek in the Night
Maid
I Dream of Jeanie
Mammy
Wives Never Know
Florabelle
In the Money
Lily
Girls About Town
Hattie
South of Dixie
Magnolia Brown / Chloe
All by Myself
Willie
The Big Cage
Mandy
Glad Rag Doll
Hannah
West of the Pecos
Mauree
Cheaters
Lily
The Facts of Life
Gussie
Lover Come Back
Martha
Lover Come Back
Martha, Kay's Maid
Top Man
Cleo
The Dark Horse
Kay's Maid Levinnia
Night World
Maid (uncredited)
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
Washroom Attendant (uncredited)
A Southern Yankee
Laundry Woman
Seven Sweethearts
Petunia, the Maid
Girl Missing
Julie, Daisy's Maid (Uncredited)
The Vanishing Virginian
Aunt Emmeline
Millie
Maid (uncredited)
Wings Over Honolulu
Mammy
Delightfully Dangerous
Hannah
Young America
Maid (Uncredited)
Scandal Street
Clairce
A Modern Hero
Azais's Maid
Hell's Highway
Rascal's Sweetheart at Visitor's Center (uncredited)
Bedside
Pansy
Too Busy to Work
Mammy
I Believed in You
Prisoner
Women Without Names
Ivory
The Merry Frinks
Camille
Brother Rat
Jenny
The Headleys at Home
Hyacinth
Outside the Law
Judy the Maid
General Spanky
Cornelia
Colorado Sundown
Mattie, Jackie's Maid
Rainbow on the River
Toinette
There's Something About a Soldier
Birdie
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
Cassey
Notorious But Nice
Ophelia
Never Wave at a WAC
Artamesa
Back Pay
Nellie - Hester's Maid
Wall Street
Magnolia
Safety in Numbers
Messalina
Street of Women
Mattie, Natalie's maid
Kisses for Breakfast
Clotilda
Palooka
Crystal
Six Cylinder Love
1931
What Price Innocence?
Hannah
Paid
Convict (uncredited)
Good Morning, Judge
Cleo
I've Got Your Number
Crystal
The Greeks Had a Word for Them
Beautician (uncredited)
Divorce In The Family
Rosetta
Sundown Trail
Auntie Jenny
Glamour
Millie
The Hostess with the Mostes'
Mattie Mae
She Couldn't Say No
Cora
Ladies of the Big House
Ivory
The Expert
Lulu
Registered Nurse
Flo - Sadie's Maid
Her Splendid Folly
Anastasia
The Lady's from Kentucky
Aunt Tina
True to the Navy
Maid (uncredited)
Love in a Bungalow
Millie
Good Sport
September
Wide Open
Easter
Dr. Monica
Sarah - Mary's Maid (uncredited)
It's Tough to Be Famous
Ada, Janet's Maid
Annapolis Farewell
Miranda
Don't Bet on Women
Maid (uncredited)
Merry Wives of Reno
Derwent's Client - Black Mother of 12 Wanting a Divorce (uncredited)
Bright Lights
Angela
I Give My Love
Maid
The Phantom Broadcast
Minnie
Barnum Was Right
Maid
Unashamed
Amanda
Virginia
Ophelia
Recaptured Love
Maid
Honey
Black Revivalist
Nix on Dames
Magnolia
Election Day
Farina's mother
Beggar's Holiday
Heliotrope
Life Goes On
Sally Weston
Dixie Jamboree
Opal
Dixie Jamboree
Sam the Deckhand
