Almost seventy years after its release "Gone with the Wind" is still regarded as a classic film, an epic story of the American Civil War. It still regularly features as one of the top films of all time, and has sold more tickets than any other film. It also won ten Academy Awards, a record that stood for twenty years.
One of those awards made history for a very different reason. Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American performer to win an Academy Award, for her portrayal of Scarlett's feisty maid. McDaniel was the first African-American performer to ever receive a nomination, and when she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar she delivered a heartfelt speech, saying she felt "very, very humble; 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 how I feel, and may I say thank you and God bless you."
Few people realised the obstacles McDaniel had faced on the road to Oscar glory. Her friend Clark Gable recommended her, but Eleanor Roosevelt had suggested her own maid, Elizabeth McDuffie, should play Mammy. McDaniel, who had spent much of her career playing comedic roles, did not believe she would win the part. She went to the audition dressed in a maid's uniform, and producer David O Selznick immediately cast her as Mammy. The film premiered in Atlanta, Georgia, and the state segregationist laws meant McDaniel could not attend, because she would not be able to sit in the theatre with her white peers. Neither could her picture be included in the souvenir programme. Two weeks later she attended the Hollywood premiere, and her picture was prominently displayed in the programme.
McDaniel also faced criticism from her own race, who condemned the roles she chose, believing they did little to elevate the status of African-American performers. At the time roles for African-American actors were very limited, and McDaniel's response showed her class and self-respect: "I'd rather play a maid and make $700 a week than be one for $7." McDaniel appeared in more than 300 films, but received screen credits for only 80 of her roles. She was a songwriter, singer and the first African-American woman to sing on American radio.
In 1949 Ethel Waters became the second African-American actress to be nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in "Pinky", marking her successful transition from jazz and blue singer on Broadway to the silver screen. Cicely Tyson is another African-American actress who left her mark upon the entertainment industry. She first found success on the stage, before moving into the world of television. Tyson won two Emmy Awards; one for the television special "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" and the second for her role in "Roots". In 1972 she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role in the film "Sounder".
24 years after McDaniel won her Supporting Actress Oscar, Sidney Poitier became the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his role in "Lilies of the Field". Poitier found his initial acting efforts hampered by his strong Bahamian accent, and spent six months honing his theatrical skills and losing the accent. Poitier's first film role was playing an African-American doctor treating a white bigot in the film "No Way Out", released in 1950. The role went against the common perception of a black person at the time, and it was a theme he followed for much of his career.
In 1958 he received his first Academy Award nomination for "The Defiant Ones", playing an African-American prisoner who escapes a chain gang while shackled to a racist white man, played by Tony Curtis. The men overcome their mutual dislike, and become friends. Curtis was also nominated in the same category. His award-winning role was as an African-American handyman who ends up working with a group of East European immigrant nuns, who believe God has sent him to help them build a chapel. In 1967 he was America's top box office star, appearing in three excellent films: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", "In the Heat of the Night" and "To Sir, With Love".
Poitier has directed several films, including the comedy "Stir Crazy" with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. He's also worked with two more iconic n performers, Bill Cosby and Harry Belafonte, directing them in films like "Buck and the Preacher" and "Uptown Saturday Night". While Belafonte is perhaps more famous for his musical career, his work in films like "Odds Against Tomorrow" and "Island in the Sun" was met with critical acclaim. He refused the role of Porgy in "Porgy and Bess", claiming it encouraged racial stereotypes of African-Americans, and stopped acting in the 1960s to concentrate upon his musical career with great success. He returned to acting in 1995, appearing with John Travolta in "White Man's Burden" and most recently was seen in Emilio Estevez's film about Robert Kennedy's assassination, "Bobby".
Bill Cosby, on the other hand, is credited with creating one of the 1980s most successful television shows. He wrote and directed "The Cosby Show", which was one of the top rank shows for the eight years it appeared on television. Cosby had achieved a person "first" of his own on 1960's television, appearing in the weekly show "I Spy" opposite Robert Culp, an winning several Emmy awards for his work. At the time Cosby went against the comedy trend, which was developing a risqu and controversial theme. He rarely refers to the issue of race for comedic purposes, and his hilarious recounting of his childhood stories have stood the test of time.
One of the world's most respected actors, Morgan Freeman, first appeared on the screen in "The Pawnbroker". His work in the 1980s led to many supporting roles where he played fatherly characters. After being nominated for Academy Awards for "Street Smart", "Driving Miss Daisy" and "The Shawshank Redemption" Freeman won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in "Million Dollar Baby". Today, at the age of 71, Freeman is still acting and narrates documentaries, such as "March of the Penguins". He also takes the occasional stage role. Freeman is co-founder of the production company Revelations Entertainment and the online movie distribution company ClickStar.
A list of influential African-American performers would not be complete without James Earl Jones, whose deep voice is synonymous with Darth Vader, villain of the original "Star Wars" trilogy. Jones has also lent his basso vocals to Mustafa in the Disney animated film "The Lion King" and provided the television network CNN with the introduction: "This is CNN". He is a Tony winning stage performer, with leading roles in productions like "Othello", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". Television work includes the mini series "Roots: the Next Generation", and he has played leading characters in films like "Cry the Beloved Country", "The Hunt for Red October", "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger".
Many of today's top African-American actors have paid tribute to some of the actors highlighted in this article. Morgan Freeman was a mentor for the young Samuel L Jackson, who has appeared in more than 60 films, winning a BAFTA and receiving an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Jules in Quentin Tarantino's groundbreaking film "Pulp Fiction". Most recently Jackson played Jedi Master Mace Windu in George Lucas' Star Wars prequels, claiming he was so eager to be a part of the Star Wars franchise he accepted the role before reading the script. Jackson has seven film projects lined up over the next 18 months, and his appearances in leading roles in some of the most successful films ever made put him behind voice actor Frank Welker as the second highest grossing film actor of all time.
Some of the most popular African-American actors in cinema today continue the path blazed by their predecessors. Denzel Washington has received three Golden Globe awards and two Academy Awards wins from five nominations more than any other African-American actor. Will Smith, who is a singer as well as an actor, was called the most powerful actor in the world by Time Magazine. Smith has won several Grammy awards for his musical skills, and has one Golden Globe and two Academy Award nominations to his name.
Perhaps the most successful African-American actress today is Halle Berry, who became the first African-American woman to win the Academy Award for her leading role in "Monster's Ball" in 2002. Although Berry initially found fame as a beauty queen and fashion model, today she is a respected actress and film producer. Her tribute to another ground-breaking African-American actress, "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge", won her both the 2000 Emmy Award and the Golden Globe Award. Dandridge was actually the first African-American actress to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her lead role in 1954's "Carmen Jones".
The road to fame for many African-American performers hasn't been easy. Segregation and racism must surely be a challenge for any performer, and one can only imagine how many of the early actors and actress were unable to overcome these prejudices. Today there is a better choice and wider variety of roles available to African-American actors, who will continue to make their mark upon the entertainment industry. And as the range of film roles widens I believe we can expect even more award-winning work from today's performers, setting the ground for even better work in the future.