There were just as many black stars in Hollywood as there were white. It didn’t matter how talented they were, however, as most were relegated to the roles of house servants, baggage handlers, valets, porters, criminals or all singing all dancing sidekicks. Their roles were generally one dimensional and did little to show off the talent of the actor. 
When Hattie McDaniel became the first black actress to win an oscar for her supporting role in ‘Gone With The Wind’ she was not even permitted to sit amongst the other stars of the film. She and her husband had to sit at a segregated table near the back of the Coconut Grove where the oscar ceremony was held. Up to that point her career had been based on playing sassy maids and that is exactly the type of role she played in ‘Gone With The Wind’. She was, however, a scene stealer and the role of ‘Mammy’ was so much more. Not only was she the first to win an oscar but also the first black singer to make it in radio.
She even had her own show ‘Hi Hat Hattie’ as a , you guessed it, wise cracking maid. She was well respected and loved amongst the Hollywood elite and counted Clark Gable and Bette Davis amongst her closest friends. Apparently she also threw great parties in her grand seventeen room Hollywood mansion. Though criticised for conforming to stereotype roles she famously said, “I’d rather receive $700.00 a week for playing a maid than $7.00 a week for being one. ”
Another wonderful black star during this era was the beautiful Theresa Harris who starred alongside Barbara Stanwyck in Baby Face. 
Throughout the film she is The best friend of Stanywyck’s character Lilly who is working her way up. The thing is that once Lilly get’s where she want’s to be with the expensive house, chauffer and designer gowns, her best friend becomes her maid. 
Even though Theresa Harris get’s to wear designer outfits too and is obviously well bred and intelligent her character does not at any time in the film share equal opportunity. 
Harris did, however, make her mark and did manage to break the mould. She also lobbied hard for better parts for black actors. Though her roles included blues singers, prostitutes and even zombies she was generally stereotyped. Harris appeared in many very well known films including’ Neptune’ s Daughter’ with Esther Williams, ‘The Dolly Sisters’ with Betty Grable and ‘Miracle On 34th Street with Maureen Ohara.
Then, of course, there was the incredible Lena Horne who, even though she could pass for white, was still never cast in leading roles. She remained a featured singer throughout her career except for her the role in ‘Cabin In The Sky’ which was an all black cast. She was turned down for the role of Miss Julie in ‘Show Boat’ despite the fact that she would have been perfect for it. The role called for a beautiful black singer passing for white but Lena Horne did not get it because she was black. Go figure. The role went to Ava Gardener who was definitely exotic but was definitely white. She was the first to sign a long term Hollywood contract with MGM but her performances in nearly all the films she appeared in were edited to fit in with the rules of segregation. 
Horne was a civil rights activist and famously refused to perform for an audience of German POWS during a tour to entertain the troups during the war. The black troops were seated behind them and Lena Horne moved through the rows to the front row of black troops to sing rather than refuse altogether. She was never, unlike many others, reduced to stereotypes and her career was full and varied as a singer and night club performer. She had started in ‘The Cotton Club’ at only sixteen and never looked back. She would go on to perform with Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Harry Balafonte, Louis Armstrong and countless other great names. She , in fact , shared the stage as an equal and went on with her own T. V. shows too.
Dorothy Dandridge was another who faired better than many. Starting out at ‘The cotton Club’ as a singer and dancer she was determined to carve a name for herself. She was the first black actress to be nominated for an academy award in a lead role. The role was that of Carmen in the film ‘Carmen Jones’. Up until that film was made Dandridge had played small parts more as temptress than maid. 
She had even featured as an African princess in Tarzan films. After ‘Carmen Jones’ she was celebrated as a great artist and offered a series of good roles often as co- star including the role of Tup Tim in ‘The King And I’. On the advice of ,Otto Preminger, her lover at the time, she turned them all down and waited for a starring role that suited her talents and her new found fame. Very smart lady. The next lead role was in Porgy and Bess in which she played opposite such luminaries as Sammy Davis Junior. She followed this up with ‘island In The Sun’ again with Harry Belafonte with whom she had starred in ‘Carmen Jones’. The two were dynamic on screen together and the film went on to make a tidy sum for Hollywood producers. 
Unfortunately Dandridge did not live a long life and died at the age of 42. They said it was drugs but later it was thought that it had been an embolism. 
Whatever it was she was gone too soon.
All of these great actresses shared another thing in common. 
All had performed at one time or another with the wonderful ‘Bo Jangles’ who, in his life time , was the highest paid black actor ever. 
Bill Robinson had started in Vaudeville, performed for many years on Broadway and had achieved 
star billing in Hollywood notably with Shirley Temple who absolutely adored him. Bo Jangles taught Sammy Davis Junior everything he knew. He was responsible too for Dallas hiring the first African American police officer and for desegregating Miami audiences for a public event and lobbied Roosevelt for equal pay for African American soldiers. He was mentor and teacher to many white Hollywood stars as well including Anne Miller and Fred Astaire. Here then is a little of Bill Robinson’s ( Bo Jangles ) magic. Because of him Hollywood began to see beyond black and white. It would still be a long road but without those willing to make a stand things would have been very different .
Gabby Du Gaffe
For
Renee Dallow ( Hybiscus Bloom ) 27/03/2015
Ronald Reagan was born into a poor family in Illinois became a celebrated Hollywood actor and made it all the way to becoming president of the United States. He was not, however inexperienced. He had been president of ‘The Screen Actors Guild’ not once but twice and also Governor of California by the time he got to the White House.
He was also generally liked and regarded as an all round good guy. This despite the fact that he dobbed in many Hollywood greats denouncing them as communists during the Mcarthy era. He would be rolling in his grave at the current choice for president as Melania Trump’s father has himself been branded a communist. All politics aside Reagan was the genuine article on screen and proved very popular in mostly B pictures. He had an honesty and an integrity that audiences fell in like with. Before we get to all that let’s take a look at the merit of the man before he was even a man. His father apparently nicknamed Ronnie ‘Dutch’ which probably stood for Dutch Courage which was fitting indeed.
While still at school Reagan was a beach life guard and had been involved in over one hundred rescues. Credited with saving the lives of at least seventy of those without help. 
As a teenager he took a stand against racism and would often jump the fences that segregated his poor white trash neighbourhood from the black families and hang out with his best friend who just happened to be black. Many years later when the local inn in Dixon threw out a group of black people Reagan took a stand and invited them to his house for drinks instead. On leaving school and finishing college he got himself a job as speaker for General Electrics Factories which eventually lead to his wanting to become an actor and in 1937 he made his first Hollywood movie. 
At this time he was a actually a democrat. 
In all of his movies Reagan was a nice guy with a mixture of integrity and grit.
He was also very handsome. 
In his screen debut in 1937 he played a reporter who takes on the city council and exposes them on the radio. The film entitled ‘Love Is On The Air’ set a precedent for future roles. His leading ladies on film were like a who’s who of Hollywood. Patricia Neal, Jane Bromley, Anne Sheridan, Jane Wyman, Nancy Davis, Virginia Mayo, Doris Day and Vivecca Linfores. Many of his films contained strong moral content such as ‘The Hasty Heart’ with Patricia Neal and ‘Voice Of The Turtle’ with Eleanor Powell. He was often the hero in the war films which followed including ‘Desperate Journey’,with Errol Flynn and ‘Hell Cats Of The Navy’ with Nancy Davis who would become his second wife. 
Reagan’s first wife was Jane Wyman who divorced him for being terribly unfaithful to her. 
He was ,by all accounts, a bit of a player. Still when he met Nancy it was for keeps. Just as well because he had big fish to fry and needed to be stable. 
Reagan would go on to become Governor of California and made it all the way to President with Nancy at his side.
A very wholesome type and, if one looks very closely, quite similar in type to Wyman. Choice of wife also says alot about Reagan.
His most famous line on looking down to where his legs used to be was ‘Where’s the rest of me’. Anne Sheridan plays the girl who has loved him from childhood and Robert Cummings plays his best friend.
The film was nominated for an academy award and would have greatly boosted Reagan’s career had it not been for military service. As it was he served as Lieutenant Of the first Motion picture unit throughout the war and was able to gain much information on movements of German soldiers. It’s impossible to include all his films in this blog as he made so many but he does seem to have made quite a lot of war films which is really not surprising as he did seem to have a bit of a taste for it. There was the Iran contra affair, the arms race with Russia and increased taxes and military spending. Oh and I neglected to mention that even though originally democrat he ruled as a conservative Republican?
He did, however, hold talks with Gobachev which later resulted in the destruction of The Berlin Wall and a reduction in Russia’s nuclear arsenals. Despite some very unpopular political decisions which caused mass protests and economic doom for many Reagan was well regarded as president and completed two terms. All way too detailed to go into here. My Point? There can be no comparison to Donald Trump who has the morals of a sewer rat and is interested only in lining his own pockets. Just take a look at Ronald Reagan’s abode outside the ‘White House’ and compare it with the Golden Tower of Greed.
Bourgeoise Bloomers 