In her 2009 Oscar acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress, Mo’Nique gave this shout-out to another well-known actress: “I want to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel for enduring all that she had to so that I would not have to.”
Many will remember that Hattie McDaniel was the first Black actor to win an Oscar, but perhaps less well-known are some of her other achievements, such as Hattie’s status as the first Black woman to be broadcast on US radio or her two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Be sure to catch episode 20 to learn more about the life and legacy of this remarkable woman, “Trailblazer: Hattie McDaniel.”
Show Notes – Episode 20!
Photo by Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5852349a) Hattie McDaniel, Fay Bainter Oscars / Academy Awards – 1939
Hattie McDaniel performing on radio CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
Hattie accepting her Oscar
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science[s], fellow members of the motion picture industry and honored guests. This is one of the happiest moments of my life, and I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of the awards for your kindness. It has made me feel very, very humble and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything 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.
Transcript of Hattie Mcdaniel’s academy award acceptance speech
Ashley is an award-winning Independent Filmmaker from Northern Kentucky. Her first film, “No Lost Cause” is currently internationally distributed and was recently featured on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network). Her memoir recalling her experience creating a film on a micro budget, “The Why Not Philosophy or How We Learned to Let Go, Trust God and Defeat the Raptors,” was released February 2015 and is available on Amazon.com. Her second feature film, “The Hepburn Girls” was released on Amazon.com and Vimeo.com in the summer of 2016.
Ashley is also a long-time lover of all things theatre and in the spring of 2014, she helped found and became the Vice-President of the theatre company, “The Theatre Downstream.” Their first large scale summer musical, “Beauty and the Beast” was awarded Best Musical (Local), Best Actor in a Musical (Local), Best Actress in a Musical (Local), and Best Set Design by the BroadwayWorld Louisville awards in 2016, and their 2017 production of "Annie" sold over 2,100 tickets, a company record-breaking number!
No matter what the project, Ashley is happiest when she is able to bring talented people and their art together for the consumption and appreciation of the public. While her taste remains vintage, she is grateful for the technology of the modern world and the opportunity to share her thoughts, aspirations, and misadventures.
Her lofty dreams are to create things that people remember and to one day own an alpaca. Above all, she loves God, her family, her friends, her cats, and brownies.
External websites:
“No Lost Cause”- NoLostCausedvd.com
The Theatre Downstream- TheTheatreDownstream.com
“The Why Not Philosophy”- http://www.amazon.com/Why-Not-Philosophy-Learned-Raptors/dp/1508557004/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455555613&sr=8-1&keywords=ashley+raymer-brown
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