Classic Television

In order to take my mind off of the sinking economy, I have been trying to focus on other interests, one reason I haven't blogged a huge amount in recent weeks. One of the things I have been doing is getting DVDs of old television series from the 1950s and 1960s. I recently received a DVD of public domain episodes of the early 1950s sitcom Beulah, the first television sitcom featuring an African American actress in the main role. Originally it starred Hattie McDaniel of Gone With the Wind fame, but when ill health forced her to quit (she died of breast cancer in 1952), Louise Beavers took over the part. Ethel Waters and Amanda Randolph (Sapphire's mother in Amos 'n' Andy) also played the part during the series' run.

Like Amos 'n' Andy, the show came under fire from the NAACP and the like for supposedly treating blacks in a stereotyped manner. In reality, the show was pretty harmless, and it has been compared with the 1960s sitcom Hazel, which was about a housekeeper/maid who had more wisdom than the rest of the cast. Seen in that light, Beulah was not at all insulting, for the "Beulah" character was almost identical to the "Hazel" character.

Rumor has it there are only a handful of episodes in existence, but since the show was filmed rather than performed live, I would think there would be more episodes than the seven rumored to exist.