REFLECTIONS: BUTTERFLY MCQUEEN ON GONE WITH THE WIND

Actress Butterfly McQueen had this to say about her famous role in the 1939 classic: "Now I am happy I did 'Gone with the Wind.' I wasn't when I was 28, but it's part of black history. You have no idea how hard it is for black actors, but things change, things blossom in time."

Originally a dancer, Butterfly McQueen first appeared in film in 1939 as Prissy, Scarlett O'Hara's maid, in the film "Gone with the Wind." Often typecast as a maid, she said: "I didn't mind playing a maid the first time, because I thought that was how you got into the business. But after I did the same thing over and over, I resented it. I didn't mind being funny, but I didn't like being stupid."

While directing the scene where Prissy says, "Oh Miss Scarlett! I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies," director George Cukor told Vivien Leigh to actually slap McQueen and to make it as realistic as possible, and directed McQueen to scream. After many takes McQueen broke down in tears, complaining that Leigh was hitting her too hard. In a later interview, McQueen said that she "bargained" with the others, stating that if Leigh hit her, she would NOT scream, but if Leigh's hand only passed close to her face with the illusion of hitting her, she would scream as loudly as she could. McQueen also giggled and said that she thought "Prissy should have been slapped often, because she was horrid!"

McQueen appeared in an uncredited role in "Mildred Pierce" (1945) (where she had a good amount of screen time) and played a supporting role in "Duel in the Sun" (1946). By 1947, she had grown tired of the ethnic stereotypes she was required to play and ended her film career. McQueen received a bachelor's degree in political science from New York City College in 1975 (she was 64)...