A spin-off of the Fibber McGee & Molly series, Beulah was a novelty character, created and sustained by the startling concept of a white man doing a black woman's voice.
40 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 10 hours, 3344 min)
available in the following formats:
Marlin Hurt, a white actor, played the radio voice of 'Beulah'"Sombody bawl fo' Beulah?" is the line Marlin Hurt is known best for, the star of The Beulah Show, soon to be followed by the other famous line, "Loooove dat man!"
A spin-off of the Fibber McGee & Molly series, Beulah was a novelty character, created and sustained by the startling concept of a white man doing a black woman's voice. As envisioned by Hurt, Beulah was in her 30s, "is man-crazy, weighs about 140 pounds, has good teeth, wears her hair in bangs and a pageboy bob. She adores short skirts and extremely high heels. Beulah isn't lazy!"
One of my all time favorite shows on the radio...Marlin Hurt was the first (male) Beulah and was replaced by Bob Morley, followed by Hattie McDaniel, Lillian Randolph, and finally Amanda Randolph...Over the airwaves from 1945 until 1954....It was transferred to television from 1950 to 1952 with 87 episodes... Stars were Ethel Waters, Hattie McDaniel, and Louise Beavers....sadly only (6) videos exist and (21) radio shows....I loved this show so much....great comedy with such wonderful African American actors....
Hattie McDaniel was an American Oscar-winning actress and was the first black woman to sing on U.S. radio, and was the first black actress to win an Oscar (1940 for her supporting role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind). At the Academy Awards ceremony she was racially segregated from her co-stars and had to sit at a separate table at the back of the room.
She was the first black American to star in her own radio show (1947, Beulah) and went on to reprise the role on television. A remarkable woman and actress. No matter how big or small the role, she makes it memorable.
She was talented and a classy lady. Hattie was criticized for playing subservient roles, and responded "I can *play* a maid in the movies for seven hundred dollars a week, or I can *be* a maid for seven dollars a week." Playing those subservient roles opened doors for other black actors/actresses.
She's a favorite of mine in a Jimmy Cagney movie- Johnny Come Lately. She was treated like royalty at the Georgian Terrace Hotel in Atlanta (which is still there, still worth a visit) during her stay for the gala debut of GWTW at the Fox Theater right across Peachtree street (also still there, still worth a visit). Unfortunately, these days it's fashionable to accentuate the negative and eliminate the positive.
"Sombody bawl fo' Beulah?" is the line Marlin Hurt is known best for, the star of The Beulah Show, soon to be followed by the other famous line, "Loooove dat man!"
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