Butterfly McQueen (January 7, 1911 – December 22, 1995) was an American film and television actress best known for the role of "Prissy" in Gone With the Wind. Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American dramatic - romantic - War film adapted from Margaret Mitchell 's 1936
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Life and career
Born Thelma McQueen in Tampa, Florida, she trained as a dancer and took her stage name from the "Butterfly Dance" after performing it in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by " The Knight's Tale " from She performed with the dance troupes of Katherine Dunham and Janet Collins before making her professional debut in George Abbott's Brown Sugar. Katherine Mary Dunham ( June 22, 1909 &ndash May 21, 2006) was an American Dancer, Choreographer, Janet Collins (born March 7, 1917 in New Orleans Louisiana; died May 28, 2003 in Fort Worth Texas) was a ballet George Francis Abbott ( June 25, 1887 - January 31, 1995) was an American Theater producer and director, Playwright
McQueen made her first film in 1939 in what would become her most identifiable role—as Prissy, the young maid in Gone with the Wind, uttering the famous words: "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!" She also played an uncredited bit part as a sales assistant in The Women, filmed after Gone with the Wind but released before it. Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American dramatic - romantic - War film adapted from Margaret Mitchell 's 1936 For the 1939 George Cukor film based on the play see The Women (1939 film. Around this time McQueen also modeled for the Mrs. Butterworth bottle. Mrs Butterworth's is a brand of pre-packaged Syrups and Pancake mixes owned by Pinnacle Foods. She also played Butterfly, Mary Livingstone's maid in the Jack Benny radio program, for a time during World War II. Mary is also the name of David Livingstone 's wife Mary Livingstone (born Sadye Marks, June 23, 1906, Seattle Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky February 14, 1894 - December 26, 1974) was an American Comedian, vaudevillian World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including But by 1947 she had grown tired of the ethnic stereotypes she was required to play and ended her film career.
By 1950 she had played another racially-stereotyped role for two years on the television series Beulah, which reunited her with her Gone with the Wind co-star Hattie McDaniel. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U For other uses see Beulah. The Beulah Show is an American situation-comedy series that ran in radio on CBS Hattie McDaniel ( June 10, 1895 – October 26, 1952) was an American Actress and the first black performer to win an
In a lighter moment, she appeared in a 1969 episode of The Dating Game. The Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by
Her acting roles after this were very few, and she devoted herself to other pursuits including study, and received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1975. Political science is a branch of Social sciences that deals with the theory and practice of Politics and the description and analysis of Political systems In 1979 McQueen won a Daytime Emmy award for her performance as Aunt Thelma, a fairy godmother in the ABC After School Special, "Seven Wishes of a Rich Kid". The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York -based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles -based Academy The American Broadcasting Company coined the term After School Special with a series of made for television movies usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant She had one more role of some substance in the 1986 film The Mosquito Coast. The article is about the novel and film For the Central American area see Mosquito Coast.
McQueen lived in New York in the summer months and lived in Augusta, Georgia in the winter. She died in Augusta, Georgia, as a result of burns received when a kerosene heater she was attempting to light malfunctioned and burst into flames. Augusta Georgia is a city in Richmond County, Georgia, United States. A lifelong atheist, she donated her body to medical science and remembered the Freedom From Religion Foundation in her will. Atheism The Freedom From Religion Foundation ( FFRF) is an American Freethought organization based in Madison, Wisconsin.
Quotes
- "As my ancestors are free from slavery, I am free from the slavery of religion. "
- "Now I am happy I did Gone With the Wind. I wasn't when I was 28, but it's part of black history. You have no idea how hard it is for black actors, but things change, things blossom in time. "
Selected filmography
- The Women (1939)
- Gone with the Wind (1939)
- Affectionately Yours (1941)
- Cabin in the Sky (1943)
- I Dood It (1943)
- Flame of Barbary Coast (1945)
- Mildred Pierce (1945)
- Duel in the Sun (1946)
- Killer Diller (1948)
- The Phynx (1970)
- Amazing Grace (1974)
- The Mosquito Coast (1986)
External links
- Butterfly McQueen at the Internet Movie Database
- Butterfly McQueen at TV.com
- Butterfly McQueen at Find A Grave
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | McQueen, Butterfly |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McQueen, Thelma |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 8, 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tampa, Florida |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 22, 1995 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Augusta, Georgia |
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