Thursday, December 11, 2008

Two Unsung Pioneers of Hollywood



Nina Mae McKinney--I had almost forgotten who she was. I had to reach way back in the recess of my mind to remember who she was.



Fredi Washington-- Another pioneer, she starred in the first Imitation of Life. She quickly became disgusted with Hollywood.

3 comments:

Alison M said...

I'm watching the Lana Turner version of Imitation of Life. I have yet to come across the original. Fredi Washington was a wonderful woman though.

Debra Wilson said...

she didn't get far. She only played roles known as the tragic maulattoe who always wished she was white. She was very talented but often didn't get far because of hollywoods typecasting setting limits on Black women.

Unknown said...

Hello. My name is Terrence McKinney. I'm Jr. High School. I actually stumbled upon this researching for a project I had to do for Black History Month. I saw that we had the same last name so I called my father. He said my grandmother was a cousin of hers. I find it very interesting that I was related to a Pioneer of Hollywood!