Gina and I didn’t see this one coming. But we got some help
to talk about this one by inviting Imani Payne to chat with us about this movie
that could be considered one of the best. Listen as we talk about White
Chicks.
Listen Episode 6
Nina Mae McKinney (June 12, 1912 – May 3, 1967) was an American actress who worked internationally during the 1930s and in the postwar period in theatre, film and television, after beginning her career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Dubbed “The Black Garbo” in Europe because of her striking beauty, McKinney was both one of the first African-American film stars in the United States and one of the first African-Americans to appear on British television.
McKinney was born June 12, 1912, in Lancaster, South Carolina, to Georgia Crawford and Hal Napoleon McKinney. Shortly after McKinney’s birth, her mother often hid from her abusive husband in the house of Colonel Leroy Springs (of Springs Industries), for whom she worked as a domestic.
By 1920, Crawford relocated to Savannah, Georgia, to work as a cook and Hal supported the family financially as a delivery man for a local drugstore. Crawford remarried and moved to New York. Nina Mae McKinney moved later.
Her first job on stage was in the chorus line of Blackbirds of 1928 which starred Bill Robinson. She then had a role in the King Vidor’s movie, Hallelujah which led her getting a 5-year contract from MGM. She had a few roles with them, but none were leading roles.
In 1935 she made Sanders of the River with Paul Robeson. She and Robeson were promised the roles of the Africans in the movie would depict them respectfully, the film was later cut to change that. McKinney played maids and sex workers because those were the roles offered to people of color during that time period.
She moved to Europe where she worked in nightclubs and theaters, doing an occasional movie. She toured playing nightclubs and worked on some Britishe films. But eventually moved back to the United States in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Mae_McKinney
McKinney knew she wanted to perform. In 1928 she joined the chorus of a Broadway show. In October of that year she landed a role in a Hollywood movie.
Knowing what you want to do and not letting others deter you from it is tenacious. When McKinney saw her career stalling out in the United States, she moved to a place where she thought would be better. She was right. If you know what your calling is, move toward it. Don’t let anything deter you.
We first saw this show on Broadway in the early 1990s.
It tells the story of how thousands of children were beaten and tortured. 8,000 children were in prison. This story is about South African teenagers fought against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising.
Listen Episode 5
Nina Mae McKinney (June 12, 1912 – May 3, 1967) was an American actress who worked internationally during the 1930s and in the postwar period in theatre, film and television, after beginning her career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Dubbed “The Black Garbo” in Europe because of her striking beauty, McKinney was both one of the first African-American film stars in the United States and one of the first African-Americans to appear on British television.
McKinney was born June 12, 1912, in Lancaster, South Carolina, to Georgia Crawford and Hal Napoleon McKinney. Shortly after McKinney’s birth, her mother often hid from her abusive husband in the house of Colonel Leroy Springs (of Springs Industries), for whom she worked as a domestic.
By 1920, Crawford relocated to Savannah, Georgia, to work as a cook and Hal supported the family financially as a delivery man for a local drugstore. Crawford remarried and moved to New York. Nina Mae McKinney moved later.
Her first job on stage was in the chorus line of Blackbirds of 1928 which starred Bill Robinson. She then had a role in the King Vidor’s movie, Hallelujah which led her getting a 5-year contract from MGM. She had a few roles with them, but none were leading roles.
In 1935 she made Sanders of the River with Paul Robeson.
She and Robeson were promised the roles of the Africans in the movie would depict them respectfully, the film was later cut to change that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Mae_McKinney
Nina Mae McKinney was tenacious about her career. She was a performer who could dance, sing and act. Even though she encountered harsh racism, she spent her life performing even though at times it was impossible.
McKinney was so good at what she did, she was given a five-year contract by MGM which was unheard of for an African American actress.
In this episode we will talk about the movie Black Panther. It is one of the Marvel family of films, distributed by Disney. It made 1.3 billion dollars in box office. Black movies do sell. It was nice to have a brown super hero and for him to have his own movie.
It was nice to have brown people saving other brown people Wakanda created an amazing space for brown people.
Listen Episode 4
Nina Mae McKinney (June 12, 1912 – May 3, 1967) was an American actress who worked internationally during the 1930s and in the postwar period in theatre, film and television, after beginning her career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Dubbed “The Black Garbo” in Europe because of her striking beauty, McKinney was both one of the first African-American film stars in the United States and one of the first African-Americans to appear on British television.
McKinney was born June 12, 1912, in Lancaster, South Carolina, to Georgia Crawford and Hal Napoleon McKinney. Shortly after McKinney’s birth, her mother often hid from her abusive husband in the house of Colonel Leroy Springs (of Springs Industries), for whom she worked as a domestic.
By 1920, Crawford relocated to Savannah, Georgia, to work as a cook for Cynthia Withers, her daughter Irene, and other white lodgers. McKinney stayed behind on Gay Street in the Gills Creek neighborhood with her 70-year old paternal grandmother, Mary A. McKinney. Hal supported the family financially as a delivery man for a local drugstore. Meanwhile, Georgia had married James Edwin Maynor and migrated north to New York. Eight-year-old McKinney followed them shortly afterward, but was sent back down south to stay with her Uncle Curtis and his family in Gills Creek when her father went to prison. In 1923, Hal escaped from his chain gang and was never recaptured.
In 1923, McKinney went to live with Springs as a live-in domestic. Her duties included delivering and collecting parcels from the local post office. To entertain herself as she made the trips, she did stunts on her bicycle. She began acting in small scale school productions at the Lancaster Training School.
Her first job on stage was in the chorus line of Blackbirds of 1928 which starred Bill Robinson. She then had a role in the King Vidor’s movie, Hallelujah which led her getting a 5-year contract from MGM. She had a few roles with them, but none were leading roles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Mae_McKinney
This month the word is Tenacious. This is tending to keep a firm hold of something, clinging or adhering to it. It is being persistent and not being easily dispelled. We are more than halfway through 2024 and some of the things you plan might seem like a long shot. Be tenacious.
Today we are talking about a picture made during the Code Area. That was when there was an organization that strictly monitored the content of movies. Made in 1934 and given the certificate number of 412. Imitation of Life was a Universal Picture. It is remarkable this one was ever made. It was the story of a white woman taking in a black woman and them raising their daughters together facing identity and racial issues.
Listen: Episode 3
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