Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar Acceptance Speech
Clip posted by moonflower0924.
Hattie McDaniel is generally remembered as the first black performer to win an Oscar. I invariably remember her as one of the best performers of the studio era, Oscar or no, black or white or blue or rainbow-colored.
McDaniel steals the show at the dinner table, while doing her best (but failing both miserably and hilariously) to come across as a "fancy people’s" maid in Alice Adams; she nearly runs away with the 1936 version of Show Boat; and is one of the most memorable elements in Gone with the Wind, for which she won one of the most well-deserved Oscars in Academy history — especially considering that she was competing against Olivia de Havilland, a young, pretty, and talented movie star who has a much bigger role in that same film. (De Havilland, who would eventually win two Oscars, reportedly didn’t take that first loss all that well.)
McDaniel’s speech for her best supporting actress win was written by "the studio" (I’m not sure if that means MGM or Selznick), which may explain that "credit to my race" bit. Best actress winner Vivien Leigh, also for Gone with the Wind, certainly didn’t feel the need to include in her speech any wish to be a credit to her race, gender, nationality, or what-have-you.
The presenter, by the way, was Fay Bainter, winner of the 1938 best supporting actress Oscar for Jezebel.
Oscar 2009: Dustin Lance Black’s Acceptance Speech
Sean Penn’s Oscar Acceptance Speech
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I love Hattie McDaniel in Gone with the Wind. She brings such warmth to her role. She may be a slave, but she’s very much her own boss. No one can push her around.