The Beulah Show: Beulah Goes Gardening || a classic TV encore starring Hattie McDaniel
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... The Beulah Show:
Beulah Goes Gardening || a
Sullivan Media Properties classic TV archive encore starring
Hattie McDaniel
The Beulah Show - Beulah Goes Gardening (
1952)
Rare episode of the forgotten 50's sitcom "The Beulah Show", The first sitcom to feature an
African American woman in the lead role.
Starring Hattie McDaniel, best known for her part in "
Gone With The Wind". Although the show ran for several seasons, only 7 episodes still exist, Making this the TV equivalent of a "Partially lost film".
Aired 12 August 1952.
Production Company:
Roland Reed Productions
Audio/
Visual:
Sound,
Black and White
Video source location: https://archive.org/details/The_Beulah_Show
Various reviews:
"Beulah Goes Gardening." Narr. Hattie McDaniel. Writ.
Nathaniel Curtis. Dir.
Richard L. Bare.
Perf. Hattie McDaniel, Enerst Whiteman,
David Bruce,
Stuffy Singer.
Prod.
Hal Roach Studios. The Beulah Show.
ABC.
Los Angeles Affiliate.
KECA-TV (
MLA Format)
In many ways The Beulah Show followed the trending production of hybrid entertainment common in the
1950s. While original in terms of showcasing the first prominent female role for a
Black Woman as the star; it followed a growing trend of radio programming migrating into television programming through hybridized narratives. Other shows were coming to terms with the areas where variety show television was failing. As an answer to these failings, networks were attempting to create more broad based programming, that would capitalize on physical humor of these live shows, while toning down the crass elements that bothered conservatives.
Past narrative formats were recycled as evolving entertainment desired to keep one foot in the past and one in the future. In terms of
Genre History this show was produced during the dawn of sitcoms in the
United States. It helped the growing establishment of a new half hour television format. This format was characterized by, situational humor (i.e. getting ready for a school dance, planning a surprise birthday party, etc.), a suburban family, ongoing characters, solvable dilemma, maintaining status quo, physical comedy, connected narratives, episodic continuing narrative, and archetypical leader who is underappreciated by the family. African American "Beulah
Brown" premiered in
1939, when white american actor
Marlin Hurt portrayed her on radio program "
Fibber McGee and Molly."
Following the success of the program on
NBC, Beulah became an established character in the spin off radio series The Marlin Hurt and Beulah
Show, in
1945. The white actor's portrayal of this character continued as a type of "black voice" with which he continued to perform as Beulah. After
Hurt's death the NBC radio's production of the show turned to Hattie McDaniel who was cast in the role, as the first African American to ever have a starring role in a network radio program, a feat initially applauded by the
NAACP. The radio program became a television series when developed by Roland Reed Productions and picked up by ABC in
1950 as their first "ethnic" sitcom to prominently feature
Black characters in leading roles. Given a prime time slot, the sitcom aired Tuesday nights at 7:30 ET from
October 1950 to
September 1953 to both praise and criticism. The show would come to feature some of
Hollywood's most famous African American actresses of the time, including Hattie McDaniel,
Louise Beavers, and
Ethel Waters; all featured in the volatile cast that fluctuating due to controversy in the depiction of Beulah.
Actor Percy Bud
Harris, cast as Beulah's love interest "
Bill" reportedly left the show after getting request to act "Tomish." The same controversy over the derogatory and stereotypical characterization of Black one dimensional "types" molding the likes of Beulah, Bill, and their close friend and fellow maid, Oriel; would come to mean the cancellation of the show after 87 episodes and
4 seasons in
1953.
A rare
Memorial Day holiday episode - generally not celebrated among sitcoms.
After Grammer school at
Normandie Ave and
Santa Monica Blvd, my friend and I would walk to his house just two doors west of where they did the recording of the Beulah Show in a store front building on the south side of
Fountain Avenue just west of
Normandie Avenue.
I remember very vividly a very
NICE Marvin Miller (the announcer) and of course the very kind lady who kept telling my friend and I to stay in school and do good, Hattie McDaniel. They recorded the show on transcription.
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