Among his best-known designs are the skull scarf and armadillo shoes. But for better or worse, her immortality rested on her small role in the 1939 film that became an enduring phenomenon--by some measures the biggest movie hit ever. The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wuthering Heights, Dark Victory and Gone With the Wind. Her stage debut was in "Brown Sugar," directed by George Abbott for whom she did several other stage shows. [5] While the role is well known to audiences, McQueen did not enjoy playing the part and felt it was demeaning to African-Americans.[6]. McQueen initially studied with Janet Collins and danced with the Venezuela Jones Negro Youth Group. Actress Butterfly McQueen, 84, who played Scarlett O'Hara's young servant in the 1939 film classic "Gone With the Wind," died Dec. 22 after suffering critical burns in a fire that destroyed her home. Butterfly McQueen – 1989 The Freedom From Religion Foundation honored actress Butterfly McQueen with its first "Freethought Heroine" award at its national convention in Atlanta in 1989, coincidentally held during the 50th anniversary of "Gone With the Wind." Ten former USC Song Girls describe a toxic culture that includes former coach Lori Nelson rebuking women for their eating habits, personal appearance and sex lives. Actor Zachary Horwitz collected $690 million from investors for movie deals the FBI says were fictitious. McQueen lived in Aiken, South Carolina and died in Augusta, Georgia as a result of burns received when a kerosene heater she was attempting to light exploded and burst into flames. She received a bachelor's degree in political science from City College of New York in 1975. Playwright. She played the Queen of the Field Mice, a character from the original L. Frank Baum novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Disliking her birth name, she later legally changed it to Butterfly McQueen. She also played Butterfly, Rochester's niece and Mary Livingstone's maid in the Jack Benny radio program for a time during World War II. But after I did the same thing over and over, I resented it. [4] She uttered the famous words: "Oh, Miss Scarlett! McQueen earned her famous nickname by dancing a butterfly ballet in a 1935 production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." When it's clean and beautiful, I think America is heaven. Butterfly McQueen facts Originally a dancer, McQueen first appeared in film in 1939 as Prissy, Scarlett O'Hara's maid, in the film Gone with the Wind She was unable to attend the movie's premiere because it was held at a whites-only theater She studied dance with Katherine Dunham, Geoffrey Holder, and Janet Collins. However, when the show was revised prior to going to Broadway, McQueen's role was cut by incoming director Geoffrey Holder. Often typecast as a maid, she said: "I didn't mind playing a maid the first time, because I thought that was how you got into the business. Pictures: USC Song Girls through the years, How many Dodgers relievers does it take to produce an epic collapse? McQueen als McQueen told firefighters her clothes caught fire when she was trying to light one of two kerosene heaters in her one-bedroom cottage just outside Augusta. Thelma "Butterfly" McQueen (January 7, 1911 – December 22, 1995) was an American actress. She was unable to attend the movie's premiere because it was held at a whites-only theater. She was taken to Augusta Regional Medical Center with second- and third-degree burns over 70% of her body and was listed in very critical condition before her death, said Butch Dorman, nursing director at the hospital’s burn center. So, Vin: Farmer John Dodger Dogs are no more of a stevedore and domestic. 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