Hannah Washington
Born
Hannah C. Washington

October 6, 1923
Los Angeles, California, USA
DiedJanuary 15, 1990 (aged 66)
Los Angeles, California, USA
OccupationChild actor
RelativesMildred Washington (aunt)

Hannah Washington was a former child actor who was active in Hollywood during the 1920s and 1930s.[1][2] A fixture in short comedies — often as a character named Oatmeal — she was one of the few Black child actors in movies at the time.[3][4] She also had roles in 1933's King Kong and 1935's The Littlest Rebel, where she appeared alongside Shirley Temple.[5][6]

Biography

Hannah was born in Los Angeles, California, to Robert Washington and Fannie Ford; her aunt was actress and dancer Mildred Washington. Her first known on-screen appearance was in 1926's Sea Horses; her parents were also extras on several of her older films.[7] She was signed as a toddler by Sunset Studios in 1927 to a contract to appear in comedies.[4] She appears to have returned from acting around 1935; she later married and had a son.

Select filmography

References

  1. Warner, Wade (26 Feb 1928). "Behind the Scenes". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  2. "Negro Child Acts in Uncle Tom's Cabbage". The Miami Herald. 5 Feb 1927. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  3. ""Oatmeal" Cause of Court Contest". The Los Angeles Times. 14 Apr 1928. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  4. 1 2 "Hannah Washington in "Us Bunch" Comedies". The Pittsburgh Courier. 29 Jan 1927. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  5. Staff, America Film Institute; Institute, American Film; Afi, American Film (1997). Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-20964-0.
  6. Clark, Alexis. "How the History of Blackface Is Rooted in Racism". HISTORY. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  7. "Both Are 3 But Fail to Agree". The Sacramento Bee. 22 Jan 1927. Retrieved 2021-09-01.


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