Louise Beavers
Date of birth: 1902-03-08
Place of birth: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Louise Beaver
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.
Movie Credits
42nd Street
1933-03-11
A producer puts on what may be his last Broadway show, and at the last moment a chorus girl has to r
The Goddess
1958-06-24
A woman adored by the people around her ultimately struggles to be happy with herself.
A Shriek in the Night
1933-07-22
Rival newspaper reporters Pat Morgan and Ted Rand find themselves unraveling the mystery behind the
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
1948-03-25
An advertising executive dreams of getting out of the city and building a perfect home in the countr
Holiday Inn
1942-07-10
Lovely Linda Mason has crooner Jim Hardy head over heels, but suave stepper Ted Hanover wants her fo
Bullets or Ballots
1936-06-06
After Police Captain Dan McLaren becomes police commissioner, former detective Johnny Blake publicly
The Story of Temple Drake
1933-05-06
The coquettish granddaughter of a respected small-town judge is stranded at a bootleggers’ hide-out,
The Last Gangster
1937-11-12
A crime boss goes searching for his ex-wife and son after a ten-year prison stint. His old gang has
Shadow of the Thin Man
1941-11-21
High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigatin
The Jackie Robinson Story
1950-05-16
Biography of Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player in the 20th century. Trac
Du Barry Was a Lady
1943-08-13
Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a p
She Done Him Wrong
1933-02-09
New York singer and nightclub owner Lady Lou has more men friends than you can imagine. One of them
Bombshell
1933-10-13
A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.
A Southern Yankee
1948-08-05
Red Skelton plays Aubrey Filmore, a feather-brained but lovable bellboy who dreams of becoming an ag
Reap the Wild Wind
1942-03-26
The Florida Keys in 1840, where the implacable hurricanes of the Caribbean scream, where the salvage
The Facts of Life
1960-11-14
Middle-class suburbanites Larry and Kitty grow bored with their lives and respective marriages. Alth
The Midnight Patrol
1933-08-03
Novice policemen Stan and Ollie bungle a burglary investigation.
Imitation of Life
1934-11-23
A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The t
Made for Each Other
1939-02-10
A couple struggle to find happiness after a whirlwind courtship.
Midnight Mary
1933-06-30
While on trial for her life, a young woman recalls her tough upbringing and her involvement with the
Belle Starr
1941-09-12
After her family's mansion is burned down by Yankee soldiers for hiding the rebel leader Captain Sam
Night World
1932-05-04
"Happy" MacDonald and his unfaithful wife own a Prohibition era night club. On this eventful night,
What Price Hollywood?
1932-06-24
Sassy and ambitious waitress Mary Evans amuses and befriends amiable seldom-sober Hollywood film dir
Coquette
1929-03-30
A Southern belle's flirtation with a working man leads to tragedy.
Teenage Rebel
1956-11-01
Nancy Fallon gets her teenage daughter back from her ex-husband when she remarries and must win her
The Dark Horse
1932-06-16
The Progressive Party convention is deadlocked for governor, so both sides nominate the dark horse Z
Girls About Town
1931-11-07
A dynamic duo in silk and ermine entertain hick businessmen looking for a good time while in Manhatt
Bedside
1934-01-27
Bob Brown uses his bedside manner to charm his patients while his partner makes the actual diagnoses
Colorado Sundown
1952-02-08
The Hurley's own a lumber mill and want to harvest all the timber in the valley. They kill the Fores
Millie
1931-02-06
After a tumultuous first marriage, Millie Blake learns to love her newfound independence and drags h
No Time for Comedy
1940-09-14
An aspiring playwright finds himself an overnight Broadway success.
Wild Girl
1932-11-09
Salomy Jane, a California mountain girl, is sought after by a number of men in the nearby small town
Reckless Living
1931-10-20
In order to be able to buy a gas station, a young couple run a speakeasy. Complications arise when t
Sign of the Wolf
1941-03-25
Two German shepherds and their mistress (Grace Bradley) crash-land in Canada by a fox breeder's (Mic
She Couldn't Say No
1930-02-15
A night club singer falls for a gangster.
Girl Missing
1933-03-04
Showgirls Kay and June are stranded on Palm Beach when they become involved in the case of a fellow
Young Widow
1946-03-01
A young bride tries to rebuild her life after she learns her husband has been killed in the war.
The Expert
1932-03-05
An elderly gentleman arrives for an extended stay with his grown son in Chicago.
Kisses for Breakfast
1941-07-05
A newlywed develops amnesia and can't remember his wife.
It's Tough to Be Famous
1932-04-02
Scotty, an unwilling Navy war hero is cast into the limelight. He wants to get married and be an eng
Wide Open
1930-02-01
An eccentric, fluttery bachelor is dismayed to discover an undressed woman in his apartment.
The Woman Condemned
1934-04-03
When a radio star is found murdered in her home, everyone assumes that the mysterious young woman di
Election Day
1929-01-12
This film revolves around Election Day, a day on which Jay R. and Joe are fighting to get votes. The
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
1938-12-02
Trouble-prone Billy Peck and his gang descend on a traveling circus that has just hit town, and befo
In the Money
1933-11-06
When the chemical company owned by eccentric Professor Higginbottom files for bankruptcy, the former
I Want a Divorce
1940-09-20
Comedy about newlyweds wondering if their marriage was a mistake.
Lover Come Back
1946-06-21
A wife decides to take revenge when she learns her husband has been unfaithful.
Strictly Fresh Yeggs
1934-04-06
After spending the night out drinking, a man tries to find his way home, but can't quite get there.
Virginia
1941-01-28
Post-Civil War romantic drama about defeated Southerners, starring Madeleine Carroll and Fred MacMur
Unashamed
1932-07-02
A debutante's (Helen Twelvetrees) brother (Robert Young) stands trial for killing her no-good lover.
Women Without Names
1940-03-14
Joyce and Fred MacNeil's honeymoon comes to an abrupt and unsatisfying halt when Fred is accused of
Cheaters
1934-05-11
A criminal gang is after a rich man's money. A female member of the gang gets the bright idea of get
Knights Before Christmas
1930-11-15
Karl Dane and his pal come home for a disastrous Christmas.
Banjo
1947-05-15
Family drama about a young farm girl, suddenly orphaned, who must give up her beloved dog when she's
Beggar's Holiday
1934-08-17
A young woman falls in love with the man of her dreams, not knowing that he's an embezzler who's abo
The Greeks Had a Word for Them
1932-02-03
A trio of money-hungry women rent a luxurious penthouse, spending their dough on drink and debonair
Back Pay
1930-06-01
Bored with small town life, a woman leaves for the big city and winds up becoming the mistress of a
My Blue Heaven
1950-09-15
Radio star Kitty Moran, long married to partner Jack, finds she's pregnant, but miscarries. For a ch
I've Got Your Number
1934-02-24
Two telephone repairmen have many adventures and romance a pair of blondes.
Love in a Bungalow
1937-06-27
A radio contest brings together a woman renting a bungalow, and her squatter. Version of Hi, Beautif
Good Sport
1931-12-12
Marilyn Parker decides not to accompany her husband Rex on his business trip to Europe when she rece
For the Love of Mary
1948-09-01
Young girl gets a job at the White House as a switchboard operator and gets mixed up in politics.
Ladies of the Big House
1931-12-26
A woman tries to save her husband from the electric chair after both are sent to prison for a murder
Her Splendid Folly
1933-10-07
Solomon Ginsberg is the President of International Pictures Corporation and hires Joan McAllister, a
Make Way for Tomorrow
1937-05-09
An elderly couple are forced to separate themselves from each other after their children refuse to t
Palooka
1934-01-26
Joe Palooka is a naive young man whose father Pete was a champion boxer, but his lifestyle caused Jo
Too Busy to Work
1932-12-02
A hobo searches the countryside for the daughter he lost when his wife left him...
Good-bye, My Lady
1956-05-12
An old man and a young boy who live in the southeastern Mississippi swamps are brought together by t
Safety in Numbers
1930-05-30
Before handing over a large inheritance, a guardian hires three chorus girls to educate his charge a
Brother Rat
1938-10-29
Story of three buddies at the Virginia Military Institute. Cadet Bing Edwards is secretly married an
Bright Lights
1930-09-21
A successful Broadway star ready to retire from her wild career announces her engagement. But her tu
Glamour
1934-04-09
An ambitious chorus girl finds fame, marriage, and motherhood with a talented composer, only to leav
The Merry Frinks
1934-05-26
An heiress abandons an out-of-work husband, two sons and a lovesick daughter.
True to the Navy
1930-05-25
Ruby is a counter girl at the San Diego Soda Shop with a habit of being a girlfriend to Sailors stop
Registered Nurse
1934-04-06
In this sudsy hospital melodrama, a married nurse finds herself falling in love with one of two surg
Divorce In The Family
1932-08-27
A child struggles to come to terms with his parents' divorce. Director Charles Reisner's 1932 drama
Parole Fixer
1940-02-02
This expose of the U.S. parole system, as seen through the eyes of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, tak
Our Blushing Brides
1930-07-19
Jerry, Connie, and Franky are small-town girls seeking wealthy husbands in New York City. But, while
Merry Wives of Reno
1934-04-18
Three couples raise a ruckus when they travel to Nevada for quickie divorces.
Street of Women
1932-06-04
An architect has an affair with a woman who inspires him. Her brother is in love with the architect'
Six Cylinder Love
1931-05-10
Troubles begin for the Sterlings when they buy an expensive car and friends start pressing them for
Wings Over Honolulu
1937-05-16
A Navy pilot gets involved in a romantic triangle while stationed in Hawaii.
Dixie Jamboree
1944-08-15
A medicine man on the last show boat on the Mississippi is mistaken by two gangsters as a bootleger,
Dixie Jamboree
1944-08-15
A medicine man on the last show boat on the Mississippi is mistaken by two gangsters as a bootleger,
Rainbow on the River
1936-12-18
A young boy is forced to leave his family in the South and move in with relatives he doesn't know in
Primrose Path
1940-03-22
Ellie Mae lives on Primrose Hill with her good-hearted and fancy free mother, her drunken father, he
Don't Bet on Women
1931-02-15
At a big party, Roger Fallon, now a woman-hater, right to the core - this all due to a failed marria
A Modern Hero
1934-04-21
A 1920s circus performer uses every means at his disposal to achieve fame and fortune at the expense
Sundown Trail
1931-09-11
Dorothy, and her big city lawyer boyfriend, return to the Lazy 'B' ranch to read her late father's w
Good Morning, Judge
1943-05-07
A songwriter is sued for libel, and when he gets to court he discovers that his girlfriend is the pl
All by Myself
1943-06-11
Career woman Jean. almost a partner in Mark's advertising firm, has been falling in love with Mark,
Notorious But Nice
1933-08-04
A lover selflessly steps aside to let her guy go so he can hook up with a rich dame. Sadly, the good
The Big Street
1942-08-13
Meek busboy Little Pinks is in love with an extremely selfish nightclub singer who despises and uses
General Spanky
1936-12-11
Orphaned shoeshine boy Spanky is working on a Mississippi riverboat during the Civil War. There he b
Life Goes On
1938-04-01
The husband of Sally Weston dies, and she decides to move to New York City where she feels her two y
Gambling Lady
1934-03-08
A businesslike syndicate runs all the gambling joints in town; least profitable is honest Mike Lee's
Honey
1930-03-29
A once-wealthy sister and brother rent out their Southern mansion and stay on as cook and butler.
Thunderbolt
1929-06-20
A criminal known as Thunderbolt is imprisoned and facing execution. Into the next cell is placed Bob
Dr. Monica
1934-06-23
A prominent New York doctor, unable to have a child, discovers her philandering husband has impregna
Paid
1930-12-30
Mary Turner gets a three year prison sentence for a crime she didn't commit. Once released, she plot
Manslaughter
1930-07-22
A spoiled young rich girl is sent to prison for accidentally running down a pedestrian. There she le
Central Airport
1933-04-15
Aviator Jim Blaine and his brother Neil are rivals not only as daredevil flyers, but also for the lo
Hell's Highway
1932-09-23
A prison-camp convict learns that his younger brother will soon be joining him behind bars.
Hold Your Man
1933-06-30
Ruby falls in love with small-time con man Eddie. During a botched blackmail scheme, Eddie accidenta
Pick-up
1933-03-24
The scheme of a pair of married con artists goes awry when their victim dies, and they are both caug
West of the Pecos
1934-12-27
Richard Dix stars as Pecos Smith, a strong, silent Westerner suspected of cattle rustling.
There's Something About a Soldier
1943-11-30
Five officer candidates fight to prove their mettle during training.
Tammy and the Bachelor
1957-06-14
An unsophisticated young woman from the Mississippi swamps falls in love with an unconventional sout
Good Sam
1948-09-01
Sam Clayton has a good heart and likes to help out people in need. In fact, he likes to help them ou
Glad Rag Doll
1929-05-04
She sought to conquer...but found Cupid her master! This is one of many lost films of the 1920s, no
Hunting Trouble
1933-02-08
A wife tries to hide a surprise birthday present from her husband but the butler causes trouble.
Barbary Coast Gent
1944-09-01
Honest Plush Brannon is a con-man thrown out of the Barbary Coast in San Francisco in the 1880s and
Party Husband
1931-06-06
Party Husband finds ex-Ziegfield Girl Dorothy playing the better half of a thoroughly “modern marria
The Lady's from Kentucky
1939-04-27
Good-natured gambler Marty Black falls into ownership of a booking joint but soon falls on hard time
Never Wave at a WAC
1953-01-28
A divorced socialite decides to join the Army because she hopes it will enable her to see more of he
The Vanishing Virginian
1942-02-01
The perineal District Attorney and conservative southern patriarch cherishes the old ways and does h
What Price Innocence?
1933-06-24
A young woman has to pay the price for fooling around with men.
Scandal Street
1938-02-11
Joe McKnight temporarily leaves his fiancée, Nora Langdon, for an expedition in a South American jun
All the Fine Young Cannibals
1960-09-15
An ambitious farm girl rushes into marriage with a rich man, almost destroying four lives in the pro
Annapolis Farewell
1935-08-23
Commodore Fitzhugh, an old retired naval officer, lives at the Annapolis Naval Academy and, unhappy
Her Bodyguard
1933-07-21
The "sugar daddy" of a Broadway star hires a bodyguard to protect her from thieves out to steal the
Barnum Was Right
1929-09-22
Freddie owns a failing old hotel. To attract new business he spreads the rumor that there's pirate t
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
1932-05-28
A fast-talking reporter befriends a young woman and her male companion who are wanted for a policema
Wives Never Know
1936-09-18
The blissful marriage of Homer and Marcia Bigelow is disrupted when Marcia hosts a party for one J.
Young America
1942-02-06
Young America is a 1942 American drama film directed by Louis King and written by Samuel G. Engel. T
Top Man
1943-09-17
In this WW II musical, a young man suddenly finds himself in charge of his family when his father is
Outside the Law
1930-09-18
Fingers is planning a half-million-dollar bank robbery in gang boss Cobra Collins' territory. Finger
South of Dixie
1944-06-23
To save their music publishing firm from bankruptcy, Bill "Brains' Watson creates a colorful life-st
I Give My Love
1934-07-17
After accidentally killing her no-good husband, Judy makes her true love promise not to tell her sma
Only Yesterday
1933-11-01
On the back of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a young businessman is about to commit suicide. With a
Delightfully Dangerous
1945-03-31
Young Sherry Williams dreams of having a singing career, and she idolizes her older sister Josephine
The Phantom Broadcast
1933-03-14
A handsome radio singer has it all--fame, money, adoring fans--but what no one knows is that his acc
Tell It to the Judge
1949-11-18
Marsha Meredith, an attorney-at-law, is nominated for a federal judgeship, but her nomination is opp
Reform School
1939-04-27
A female warden takes over at a state reform school and attempts to bring about needed changes. Res
Seven Sweethearts
1942-11-13
Little Delft, Michigan follows the customs of old-world Holland and is known for its Tulip Festival.
You're Telling Me
1932-04-16
In this The Boy Friends series short, college students Mickey and Alabam stay at a city friend's pla
Doctor X
1932-08-03
A wisecracking New York reporter intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.
Wall Street
1929-12-01
A very topical early talkie from low-budget company Columbia Pictures, Wall Street starred Ralph Inc
Second Choice
1930-01-04
Vallery Grove is in love with Don Warren but her mother opposes the match because he is poor and has
You Can't Run Away from It
1956-10-30
A reporter stumbles on a runaway heiress whose story could salvage his career.
The Big Cage
1933-05-01
A circus on the verge of bankruptcy decides to save itself by staging a animal act with lions and ti
Young America
1932-04-17
Mrs. Doray sits with a Juvenile Court Judge to learn more about problem children and what to do abou
The Headleys at Home
1938-11-01
In this domestic comedy, a social climbing wife inadvertently creates trouble when she insists that
I Dream of Jeanie
1952-06-15
The life and career of famed American composer Stephen Foster.
Recaptured Love
1930-07-07
In this drama, a 50-year-old married man (played by John Halliday) goes with his wife (Belle Bennett
Lover Come Back
1946-06-21
A wife decides to take revenge when she learns her husband has been unfaithful.
I Believed in You
1934-04-09
An aspiring writer and her boyfriend, a professional agitator head off to the Big Apple in search of
The Hostess with the Mostes'
1957-03-21
The story of Perle Mesta, who became, first, a renowned society hostess, and then an ambassadress.
Nix on Dames
1929-11-24
Follow the Boys
1944-05-05
During World War II, all the studios put out "all-star" vehicles which featured virtually every star