Butterfly McQueen: What a Character!

Known for her distinctive voice and comedic performances, Thelma “Butterfly” McQueen cemented her legacy in Hollywood when she starred as Prissy in Gond With the Wind (1939). Despite her talent, McQueen’s career was marred with racial prejudice and contempt at her portrayal of Prissy. Nevertheless, this actress left an indelible mark on Hollywood throughout the 1940s and is a staple in understanding the evolution of Black representation on screen.
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[@59jlopez70]

I swear her and Hattie were scene stealers and we loved them for that. When ever we see Hattie or Butterfly appear on the screen our eyes and ears goes wide open.

[@tomwittner1490]

Yes, that's the way it was with black actresses and actors during that time. They may not have been given many roles but the roles they WERE GIVEN made memorable impressions. Do you remember Mantan Moreland? Did he not bring levity and laughter to otherwise dull films?

[@MannyMensah94]

She was ahead of her time

[@sweetjane5033]

what a beautiful, talented actress!!!!❤❤❤❤

[@mizzphitzbeta]

She sounds just like Minnie Mouse 😭 ❤️

[@johnerwin9024]

she did, but believe she coulda worked in light or comedic films☝️

[@thevintagelover6936]

And Betty Boop❤️❤️❤️

[@blackfranklin]

I wonder why they got her talking like that? I don't think that's her voice.

[@potroastpig]

@blackfranklin - that is her real voice. KZbin it - there are interviews even in the 70’s - That’s just how she talks. Her pitch is very high, know one had her talk in like that, it’s her natural speaking voice

[@buffalosowljah373]

@@potroastpig you whats weird.. i thought a singer called michell'e pronounced (michelley)was the only one who had this cartoonish squeaky voice untill some comments said a butterfly mcqueen also had it so i looked it up and low n behold here she is, its like those boxes that can change voices with quiet funny

[@gregap8282]

She would rule Hollywood today

[@ShroomNana]

That voice!💕

[@JudgeJulieLit]

It exudes, epitomizes innocent girlish naivete.

[@alaysha4641]

Thank you so much this TCM. I'm humbled. From my native Harlem and hobnobbing with 1\ one my favs Joan Crawford and in the iconic Gone with the Wind. RIP Ms. McQueen. Godspeed

[@LusciousTwinkle]

Butterfly outclassed Crawford by miles...

[@Joan-ot9nf]

4:45 She earned a degree at age 64?! 🙌🙌🙌

[@ispeakmytruth1549]

Way to go, girl!! I'm in college and will graduate at 64 too!

[@danjones5161]

I got mine at 65.

[@Kelli.Hicks.5]

I adore Butterfly McQueen. ❤️🦋

[@Joan-ot9nf]

3:45 who dat? Who dat say who dat? Who dat say who dat and then I say who dat. :DDDDDD

[@jeorgedavid3239]

Love her voice

[@sweetjane5033]

I love Butterfly!! She a wonderful, kind human being but never received the accolades she so rightly deserved ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@elizabethgalio2564]

I was watching parenthood show they did a tribute to her and others my tears came out 🥰🙏

[@cherrycordiaI]

Butterfly had the most adorable voice I've ever heard.

[@rox2001]

shes so cute 😭

[@johnerwin9024]

yeah, really wishing she'd stay'd in front of the camera somehow. always a fan ✔

[@antdell8730]

What a jewel. She died a totally avoidable death. RIP Butterfly McQueen.

[@Unclemoparman]

No one here gets out alive.

[@klassicalmuzik]

She was so beautiful

[@shelovezcandy2852]

The newest book on her is - "Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen Hollywood Neighbours."

[@sugarlove]

Bless her soul ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@isammolina4842]

Gran actriz con tremenda y deliciosa gracia ...😃👀👍👏👏🌹🍃🌹🍃🌹🍃🌠💎🌠💎🌠💎

[@fldmail1]

In 1995, McQueen died from critical burns after lighting a kerosene heater in her cottage near Augusta, Georgia, where she lived alone.

[@thomassperduti4500]

She was a proud athiest and donated her body to science.

[@deolihp]

Great

[@dcxxxx]

@@johnerwin9024 Uhh, the fact she wasn't brainwashed and could think for herself.

[@darweshiblackwell2588]

Sad

[@downwiththemaster]

Everything she did was for nothing

[@tolykozin]

omg that was so funny, who say dat who dat when I say who dat..I am still laughing

[@JudgeJulieLit]

It sounds a "who's on first?" vaudevillean comedy routine.

[@spinosuchusdude7302]

Same this is old i love this

[@runawayuniverse]

"I'm an atheist," she had declared, "and Christianity appears to me to be the most absurd imposture of all the religions, and I'm puzzled that so many people can't see through a religion that encourages irresponsibility and bigotry." She told a reporter, "As my ancestors are free from slavery, I am free from the slavery of religion."

[@blacky93able]

I could not agree more She was a thoughtful woman With her own criteria May the earth be light

[@janeiwasduncan8463]

I guess she knows now that there is GOD.✝️✝️✝️

[@mikelheron20]

@@janeiwasduncan8463 Garbage! She doesn't know anything. Like all of her other organs her brain ceased functioning when she died.

[@AlkisenSuper]

@@janeiwasduncan8463 Disgusting comment.

[@MrJm323]

@@janeiwasduncan8463 ...Please, don't project your own fears on others.

[@blacky93able]

She had a squeaky voice typical of a prepubescent girl, but that was her grace. She was a great comedian. She had a certain appeal and refinement. I think if it weren't for Jim Craw's nasty laws, maybe her career would have had a bigger boost But people like her or Sidney Poitiers remind us that we can break many barriers in the world of entertainment.

[@59jlopez70]

Wish she did voice acting she had a sweet and unique voice

[@cakeNkittens]

This is beautiful. I appreciated her comment about not wanting to be stupid. It is regrettable that one group of humans would reduce another group of humans down to the concept of having no intellect. God created us all equally, and this is evident in the ability of oppressed peoples to rise to the level of their natural humanity despite oppression. God's love is reserved for all creation, and so we all should be distributing that love to each other equally

[@cakeNkittens]

@Sarah 👏👏👏👏👏❤

[@JudgeJulieLit]

It takes smart acting to play "stupid" well, as written for a character. Other examples are Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump, Dustin Hoffman as the Rain Man, and the actor who on early tv's Amos & Andy show played the dawdly broom sweeper ironically named "Lightnin'."

[@StephenMykal]

The difference is people didn't believe he was like that in real life. The racists majority thought it was an accurate depiction of black intelligence , all while eating the peanut butter a nigga invented. @@JudgeJulieLit

[@AkalPadmani]

Thank you

[@TomassoTrekks]

“When it played in Mason, I was the only Negro in the theatre, and when Butterfly McQueen went into her act, I felt like crawling under the rug.” - Malcom X

[@nowandzenify]

She was smart as Prssy. She was like.... screw you people. I'm taking my sweet time. Not overly concerned about ya'll.

[@zatoichi101]

She was a nightmare on the set of Gone With The Wind and even tried to sabotage the film by causing delays several times. She was a talented actress, no one can deny that, but she was so miserable to work with that she even got under Hattie McDaniel's skin.

[@dadevi]

If they were doing things like actually slapping each other, she had every right to delay production until she was treated fairly.

[@eattravellovejoy20]

I love her!

[@LusciousTwinkle]

That is the best name I've ever heard.

[@Brian-pf7qq]

Enjoyed her in the Jack Benny radio show

[@elomartz3428]

She was awesome

[@EricaYE6]

Her voice reminds me of the sista in "Police Academy".

[@Santagmk0]

Butterfly mcqueen is one of the many mcqueen such as steve mcqueen, some other mcqueen and most famous of all .......................................................................... lightning mcqueen kachow

[@AlkisenSuper]

I actually love Butterfly McQueen's GWTW performance, it's just the way her role was handled I don't like. Unlike Mammy who was still allowed to have some dignity, Prissy just got bullied throughout and depicted as a useless moron.

[@eamonndeane587]

Especially in the "I don't know Nothin bout birthing Babies" scene. The Film basically vindicates Scarlett viciously slapping Prissy.

[@AlkisenSuper]

@@eamonndeane587 Yeah, and it's weird as well since most of the movie Scarlett is depicted as unreasonable and overheated with most of her decisions and outbursts, but in that scene they seem to side with her instead. Overall I still consider Gone With The Wind an excellent movie, despite that unfortunate aspect about it.

[@mikelheron20]

Which is precisely the way black people were, and often are still, treated in parts of the USA. Depicting a thing does not mean that you're condoning it.

[@LusciousTwinkle]

@@mikelheron20 Exactly.

[@andrewamiaandwileywildchil5337]

BUTTERFLY MCQUEEN 💕💕

[@gimmethepinkelephant3685]

She was funny. But people get typecast. That just happens sometimes. Especially people who have a bit of oddity to them, and she had that voice. So that was probably what made her but what also broke her. It just happens sometimes. Look at Dolph Lundgren. He's got an IQ of 160 but they often paint him as a big dumb brute in almost every role he's had. It just happens.... I'd just he happy to be making money and acting. That's something most people rarely get to do.

[@anniem9595]

❤❤❤❤

[@DorianYarg]

I refuse to believe that Vivien Leigh would accept to slap her in the face for real. I have no reason to think that she was racist; she was a good person. Her deep friendship with Hattie McDaniel witnesses that Vivien was not effected by absurd theories about race which were unfortunately popular back to those times...

[@MrDFJohnson]

Since you didn't know Vivian Leigh you don't know what she was one way or the other. The reason you said you refused to believe it is based on her Hollywood image and that alone

[@DorianYarg]

@@MrDFJohnson Well, actually the idea I have of Vivien Leigh is based on her friendship with Hattie McDaniel, not on her Hollywood image. You might be right, but I hope and I like to think she wasn't a racist person.

[@gwp5066]

first of all: most slaps are real on film. in Mildred Pierce, Ann Blythe and Joan Crawford slapped each other...hard...in the face. Vivian Leigh was an old school actor. Olivia DeHavilland said that Vivian, like Angela Lansbury, could turn her character on and off with a finger snap. If the role called for her to slap someone, she would slap her or him and not overthink it. if the actor on the receiving end refused and the director said...don't hit her...an actor like Leigh would take the director's direction. Why make this about race.

[@DorianYarg]

@@gwp5066 Who knows, maybe you're right.

[@Unclemoparman]

Respect ❤

[@ladylovesherlord]

Natural comedienne.

[@gwp5066]

she wasn't credited in Mildred Pierce, which made no sense.

[@enolamsamoht]

She sounds like Betty Boop.

[@hunkydorian]

She starred in a Seventies B-Movie about corrupt politics....

[@akrenwinkle]

01:34 I don't care what "fun facts" board it came from, there is no way Vivien Leigh was going to really haul off and slap Butterfly, or, for that matter, Olivia de Havilland. Actors knew how to deliver a stage slap or punch. What is said here is pretty silly.

[@dadevi]

You don't know anything about Hollywood. There are several notorious examples of actors and actresses actually slapping each other on film. It all depends on what the director wants.

[@akrenwinkle]

@@dadevi Hi, toddler. I never said a real slap never happened. I just said it didn't happen in the two scenes I mentioned.

[@karenhollins6987]

Do I amuse you? Are you not entertained?

[@Our_UnStoppableKing]

In Gone w the Wind her role was so annoying. She couldn't do anything nor help Scarlett with anything when Melanie was having Ashley's baby. Finally got to watch it last wk.💐👏🏼❤️‍🔥🪷🏆

[@servant4473]

Unsonged on earth, but if she knew Jesus as Lord; she is indeed Songed in Heaven.

[@dadevi]

She was an athiest, and I'm sure she's fine wherever she is now. You've been decieved into thinking there is just heaven and hell. The planes of the afterlife are far bigger than that, and not restricted to one God.

[@pallabidutta968]

3:45 lol that was so cringeworthy.

[@canman5060]

Did Kate Bush copy her voice ???

[@downwiththemaster]

They aren't even close

[@matthewrago6377]

MLK and MX hated this woman. "When I saw Butterfly McQueen go into her act, I felt like crawling under the rug," said Malcolm. MLK viewed GWTW at a downtown parade in Atlanta adorned w Confederate Flags and a nostalgic air toward slavery. Just some info.

[@AlkisenSuper]

That doesn't tell me they hated Butterfly herself, just the character she was forced to play.

[@rammsteinrulz16]

@@AlkisenSuper forced to play? Is that how you think actors are hired?

[@charlottegranger1449]

Malcolm X was a devout Muslim MLK was a devout Christian Butterfly Mcqueen was an atheist that was outspoken against religion That is a major reason why those two men hated her. Also Malcolm X & MLK were sexist, followed patriarchal religion thought women to be inferior & submissive. Butterfly was a feminist atheist and humanist which was very rare in black women at the time, she was ahead of her time. So it makes sense why those two men hated her.

[@charlottegranger1449]

Malcolm X was a devout Muslim MLK was a devout Christian Butterfly Mcqueen was an atheist that was outspoken against religion That is a major reason why those two men hated her. Also Malcolm X & MLK were sexist, followed patriarchal religion thought women to be inferior & submissive. Butterfly was a feminist atheist and humanist which was very rare in black women at the time, she was ahead of her time. So it makes sense why those two men hated her.

[@charlottegranger1449]

Malcolm X was a devout Muslim MLK was a devout Christian Butterfly Mcqueen was an atheist that was outspoken against religion That is a major reason why those two men hated her. Also Malcolm X & MLK were sexist, followed patriarchal religion thought women to be inferior & submissive. Butterfly was a feminist atheist and humanist which was very rare in black women at the time, she was ahead of her time. So it makes sense why those two men hated her.

[@lambdalambdalambda257]

Her race obviously held her back in her career but honestly i don't think it mattered much. Her voice limited her to portraying minor characters. There's no way anybody is listening to that for over an hour.

[@johnerwin9024]

Well, understandably the voice was a barrier to roles, but wish she woulda done comedy or comedic roles☝️

[@withthemostcake]

Nothing a vocal coach couldn’t work on her with. If we can sit through Marilyn Monroe movies and listen to her whisper and watch her seduce the camera most of her films, then there was hope for McQueen. I’m a fan of both. But, I believe McQUeen lived life how she wanted and that’s fair.

[@lambdalambdalambda257]

@@withthemostcake You're comparing McQueen's high pitched voice with Marilyn Monroe's whispering? If you had to live with somebody that spoke a lot, would you rather have them sound like McQueen or whisper like Marilyn?

[@withthemostcake]

@@lambdalambdalambda257 remember, the first thing, I stated was a “vocal coach”. One worked with Marilyn and she became more of a serious actress. If one worked with Butterfly. I’m sure she would have been more tolerable that’s all I was saying. But, Butterfly did things the way she wanted to and that can’t be changed.

[@lambdalambdalambda257]

@@withthemostcake lol a "vocal coach" probably worked with Marilyn Monroe because she was a star in movies and was paid well. Butterfly McQueen was a bit part actress and never received any kind of top billing throughout her career. So why would a studio or anybody pay a vocal coach to work with McQueen when blacks weren't even receiving many or any main roles back then?

[@cheche2857]

You know it's hell on earth when women of color have to portray such characters to make Caucasians feel comfortable with themselves.

[@davicool4284]

Gone with the wind was HORRIBLE

[@mdw71]

A black actress should have narrated this

[@9MaTicMusic]

I feel you, but let’s not detract from the fact that Butterfly McQueen is getting her flowers. It’s beautiful no matter who is narrating.

[@fan2jnrc]

And I hope the commentary was written by a black writer and that the editor is black too. And the video should have to be on a platform like KZbin but invented by black people.

[@michaelpatrickfox]

How do you know the narrator isn't black ??

[@roseblud995]

These characters are all extremely racist stereotypes.

[@fan2jnrc]

You mean reality.

[@shirleythomas754]

Why couldn't they use their own beautiful voices that's why I hate movie this to where I don't even watch anything Oprah Winfrey played any other black actor who don't use their own voice