Butterfly McQueen will always be remembered for her first screen
role--as Scarlett O'Hara's hysterical servant girl, Prissy, in Gone With
the Wind (1939)--and for her most famous line in the Civil War epic: I
don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies! Though many criticized her for
playing an offensive caricature of black womanhood, film scholar Donald
Bogle claims her performance is a unique combination of the comic and
the pathetic. Tired of playing what she called stupid maids, however,
Butterfly turned her back on Hollywood in the 1940s and spent the next
fifty years in obscurity. On several occasions she tried to revive her
theatrical career, but her identification with Prissy made it difficult
for her to be taken seriously by producers and casting agents. Mostly
she supported herself by taking menial jobs. In the 1970s she was active
in social work projects in Harlem, and was awarded a degree by the City
College of New York. In 1989, as one of the last surviving members of
the cast of Gone With the Wind, Butterfly happily participated in the
film's 50th anniversary celebrations. At the time of the celebrations
she said: Now I am happy I did Gone With the Wind. I wasn't when I was
28, but it's part of black history. You have no idea how hard it is for
black actors, but things change, things blossom in time. In Butterfly
McQueen Remembered, author Stephen Bourne, who corresponded with
Butterfly for many years, draws upon two decades of research to document
her life and career. From her memorable role in one of Hollywood's
greatest films to her last big screen appearance opposite Harrison Ford
in The Mosquito Coast, the details of McQueen's life are captured in
this intimate portrait. Bourne chronicles the ups and downs of this
talented and generous woman's life, both in front of the camera and far
from its glaring spotlight.
