Lillian Randolph

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Lillian Randolph in 1952

Lillian Randolph (born December 14, 1898 in Knoxville , Tennessee as Castello Randolph ; † September 12, 1980 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actress and singer who had a decades-long career in film, radio and television.

life and career

Lillian Randolph was born in Tennessee to an African-American pastor and teacher. Lillian's older sister Amanda Randolph (1896–1967) later became a singer and actress. Although the year of birth 1914 is recorded on her gravestone, 1898 is the generally accepted date of birth of Lillian Randolph. She began her career as a singer on local radio stations in Cleveland and Detroit . After she had taken professional courses as a radio singer on the advice of the Detroit radio owner George W. Trendle, her responsibilities grew steadily and she received assignments from major radio stations. Among other things, Randolph had to take a three-month course in "black dialect", pidgin English, which many black characters spoke in the films, songs and shows of the US entertainment industry at the time.

In 1936 Lillian moved to Los Angeles , where she appeared on radio shows by Al Jolson and Al Pearce , among others . Living in Los Angeles, the African American soon got her first film roles - initially mainly as a speaker in cartoons, then also as a "body actress" in feature films. Her best-known speaking role was the maid " Mammy Two-Shoes " - of whom only the lower half of the body can be seen - in all of the popular Tom and Jerry cartoons. Randolph played the role of Mammy Two-Shoes for twelve years, until it was canceled in 1952 because of criticism of the stereotypical portrayal of a black maid. The magazine Ebony , which is aimed at a largely African-American readership, also criticized Randolph as a performer of stereotypes. Randolph defended that she did not see her roles as damaging the reputation of African Americans, and saw them as an opportunity for black actors.

One of Randolph's best-known roles was the maid Birdie Lee Coggins in the radio comedy The Great Gildersleeve , which was on the radio between 1941 and 1957. Randolph also played the role of Birdie Mae in the following film series and television series about Gildersleeve. She had other radio roles as Madame Queen on the radio show Amos 'n' Andy with the comedian duo Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and on the Billie Burke Show . She also spoke the title role in Beulah , the first radio series for African American people , for two years in the early 1950s . She replaced the sick Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel . Especially in the 1940s, Randolph was seen in numerous supporting roles, like most black actors of their time, however, often without mentioning in the credits and in typical roles as servants. Perhaps her best-known film role was Annie, the Bailey family maid, in Frank Capra's Christmas classic Isn't Life Beautiful? from 1946. The following year she also had a major role alongside Cary Grant and Myrna Loy in Love Isn't That Simple .

In later years, the actual singer appeared again more often in clubs and also recorded records; she also taught aspiring actresses in the 1960s. In the 1970s she returned noticeably to the big screen and had guest appearances in television series, two years before her death she had a supporting role in Magic (1978), directed by Richard Attenborough . In total, Randolph had over 100 film and television appearances.

Randolph was married three times, their daughter was the actress and singer Barbara Randolph (1942-2002), who played in Rat mal, who comes to dinner (1967). Lillian Randolph died of cancer in 1980 at the age of 81. Six months before her death, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Lillian Randolph  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Castello" Randolph on Google Books
  2. ^ Lillian Randolph - A Prolific Black Actress of the Classic Film and TV Era. Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Lillian Randolph's obituary
personal data
SURNAME Randolph, Lillian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Randolph, Castello
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer and actress of African American descent
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Knoxville , Tennessee , United States
DATE OF DEATH September 12, 1980
Place of death Los Angeles , California , United States