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Old Time Radio - Radio Comedy

The Golden Age of Radio

Comedy

Beulah

Beulah was a popular radio show of the 1940s that later became the first television sitcom to star an African American. The Beulah radio show ran from 1945 to 1953; the television show ran for three seasons from 1950 to 1953 on ABC.

History

Beulah is a housekeeper and cook for the Armstrong family: father Harry, mother Alice, and son Donny. Most of the comedy in the series is derived from the fact that Beulah, referred to as "the queen of the kitchen", has the ability to solve the problems that her Caucasian employers cannot figure out. Beulah's catch phrase, said when she noticed her employers in trouble, was "Somebody bawl fo' Beulah?" Other characters included Beulah's boyfriend Bill, a mechanic who is constantly proposing marriage, and Oriole, a befuddled maid for the family next door.

The character of Beulah first appeared in the early-1940s on the popular Fibber McGee radio program. She was originally portrayed by Caucasian actor Marlin Hurt. In 1945, Beulah was spun off into her own radio show, with Hurt still in the role. African American actress Hattie McDaniel won the role in 1946 and would continue to perform in the radio version of Beulah until she died in 1953.

In 1950, Roland Reed Productions turned Beulah into a situation comedy for the ABC television network. Ethel Waters portrayed the character from 1950 to 1952. McDaniel filled in briefly in 1952, and was succeeded by Louise Beavers the same year, who in turn was succeeded by Amanda Randolph for the show's final 1953 episodes. Butterfly McQueen portrayed Oriole, a similar character to her Gone With the Wind role, with Ruby Dandridge (the voice of So White in Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs and sister to Dorothy Dandridge) as a fill-in during the third and final season. Percy "Bud" Harris originally portrayed Bill, but walked out on the part during the first season, accusing the producers of forcing him to portray an "Uncle Tom" character. The show was directed by Jean Yarbrough.

Like contemporary television program Amos 'n' Andy, Beulah came under attack from many critics, including the NAACP, who accused the show, and specifically Merman, of supporting stereotypical depictions of black characters. Beulah became one of the characterizations of the stereotypical "mammy", and her name is sometimes used as a racial slur towards African American women, similar to "Aunt Jemima".

After Beulah was cancelled at the end of the 1952-1953 television series, black characters virtually disappeared from television, with only small and infrequent roles surfacing. The next television program to star a black woman came in the form of Julia in 1968, starring Diahann Carroll.

Cast

1950-1951

1951-1952

1952-1953

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Beulah".