Hattie McDaniel's Empty Plot

Hollywood gave her its prize and kept her out of its ground.

Collection: Los Angeles · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

Hattie McDaniel at her dressing table, 1940 · Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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How the story begins

An appraiser went through Hattie McDaniel's estate after she died in 1952, came to her Oscar, and put its value at nothing. It was a plaque, in fact, about the size of a hand. That is what supporting players got then. She had won it in 1940, the first Black performer to win at all. The dinner was at a hotel that did not admit Black guests, and a producer had to call in a favor to get her through the door.

The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.