Nina Mae McKinney

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 getting her start on Broadway and in Hollywood. Dubbed the nickname, The Black Garbo in Europe because of her striking beauty,[1] McKinney was one of the first African-American film stars in the United States, as well as one of the first African Americans to appear on British television.

Nina Mae McKinney
McKinney at age 16
Born
Nannie Mayme McKinney

(1912-06-12)June 12, 1912
DiedMay 3, 1967(1967-05-03) (aged 54)
New York City, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesNina McKinney,
The Black Garbo
OccupationActress
Years active19291950
Spouse(s)
James "Jimmy" Monroe
(m. 1935; div. 1938)

Early life and education

She was born Nannie Mayme McKinney on June 12, 1912, in Lancaster, South Carolina, to Hal and Georgia (née Crawford) McKinney.[2][3] Her parents moved to New York City for work during the Great Migration of African Americans out of the rural South in the early 20th century and left their young daughter with her Aunt Carrie. McKinney ran errands for her aunt and learned to ride a bike. She soon was performing stunts on bikes, where her passion for acting was well known. She acted in school plays in Lancaster and taught herself to dance.

Career

Early career

McKinney left school at the age of 15. With hopes of establishing an acting career, she moved to New York City, where she also reunited with her parents. Her debut on Broadway was dancing in a chorus line of the hit musical Blackbirds of 1928. This show starred Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Adelaide Hall. The musical opened at the Liberty Theater on May 9, 1928, and became one of the longest-running and most successful shows of its genre on Broadway.

Her performance landed McKinney a leading role in a film. Looking for a star in his upcoming movie, Hallelujah!, the Hollywood film director King Vidor spotted McKinney in the chorus line of Blackbirds.[4] He said, "Nina Mae McKinney was third from the right in the chorus. She was beautiful and talented and glowing with personality." And that's what rocketed her into the world of acting and Hollywood.[5]

In Hallelujah (1929), McKinney was the first African-American actress to hold a principal role in a mainstream film; it had an African-American cast.[6] Vidor was nominated for an Oscar for his directing of Hallelujah and McKinney was praised for her role. When asked about her performance, Vidor told audiences "Nina was full of life, full of expression, and just a joy to work with. Someone like her inspires a director."[5]

After Hallelujah!, McKinney signed a five-year contract with MGM; she was the first African-American actor to sign a long-term contract with a major studio.[7] The studio seemed reluctant to star her in feature films. Her most notable roles during this period were in films for other studios, including a leading role in Sanders of the River (1935), made in the UK, where she appeared with Paul Robeson. After MGM cut almost all her scenes in Reckless (1935), she left Hollywood for Europe. She acted and danced, appearing mostly in stage roles and cabaret.

Work was hard to come by in Hollywood because not many movies were interracial, and it was difficult for African-American actors, actresses, directors, writers, and producers to find enough work. Especially for African-American women, breaking out into a major role was hard because there were not many choices for roles a woman of color could play. Although McKinney was strikingly beautiful, Hollywood was afraid to make her into a glamorized icon like white actresses of the time; the film production codes prohibited suggestions of miscegenation, so interracial romances were not filmed.[8]

Two years after Hallelujah, McKinney returned to the silver screen as a supporting actress in Safe in Hell, directed by William A. Wellman. McKinney played a hotel proprietor who befriends a New Orleans party girl (occasional prostitute) on the run.[5]

Europe

Because of the prevalence of racism in the American entertainment industry, many African-American actors and actresses went to work in England, France, and other European countries, where they found more professional opportunities.

In December 1932, McKinney moved to Paris, where she performed as a cabaret entertainer in nighttime hot spots or restaurants, including Chez Florence. In February 1933, she starred in Chocolate and Cream, a show in the Leicester Square Theatre in London. She also worked in Athens, Greece, and returned there after World War II.

After touring, she returned to London in 1934 to appear in a British film titled Kentucky Minstrels (released in the United States as Life is Real.) The film was one of the first British works to feature African-American actors. Film Weekly said of McKinney, "Nina Mae McKinney, as the star of the final spectacular revue, is the best thing in the picture—and she, of course, has nothing to do with the 'plot'."[5] McKinney remained in England and worked in a variety of roles. She also sang the popular song "Dinah" during Music Hall, a radio broadcast show.

She got a break and received a starring role in her first film in six years. In 1935, she appeared in Sanders of the River directed by Alexander Korda, a Hungarian Jewish director who had moved to London. McKinney and Paul Robeson, her co-star, were told that the film, which was set in part in Africa, would portray the indigenous people positively, which Robeson had made a condition of his participation in the project. After it was re-edited without the knowledge of McKinney and Robeson, or the other African-American actors in the film, they felt that it downgraded their roles and emphasized the supremacy of the British Empire around the world.[5]

Despite constraints, McKinney found more good work in London and had performances in TV productions. In 1936 she was given her own television special on BBC, which showcased her singing. In 1937, she had a role in Ebony (revue), alongside the African-American dancer Johnny Nit. Following that performance, she appeared in Dark Laughter with the Jamaican trumpet player Leslie Thompson. McKinney was given rave reviews for her singing "Poppa Tree Top Tall" in a 1937 documentary. This is the only surviving record of her performances in British television pre-World War II. She returned to the United States after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939.[1]

Return to America and race films

Jack Carter-Nina Mae McKinney in The Devil's Daughter (1939)

In Hollywood McKinney starred in some "race films" intended for African-American audiences. These include Gang Smashers/Gun Moll (1938) and The Devil's Daughter (1939), which was filmed in Jamaica. Her singing in the film is included in an excerpt of The Devil's Daughter soundtrack that is part of the album Jamaica Folk Trance Possession 1939-1961.[9]

After taking a break, she tried to make a comeback in Hollywood. She took roles in some smaller films, having to accept stereotypical roles of maids and whores. For example, in 1944 she appeared alongside both Merle Oberon, playing a servant girl in the film Dark Waters[5] and Irene Dunne in Together Again as a nightclub attendant. In 1951, McKinney made her last stage appearance, playing Sadie Thompson in a summer stock production of Rain.

After World War II, McKinney returned to Europe, living in Athens, Greece until 1960 when she returned to New York.

Personal life

In 1935, McKinney married jazz musician James "Jimmy" Monroe.[10] They divorced in 1938.[11]

Death and legacy

After 1960, McKinney lived in New York City.[6] On May 3, 1967, she died of a heart attack at the age of 54 at the Metropolitan Hospital in Manhattan.[12][2] Her funeral was at the Little Church Around the Corner.[2]

  • In 1978, McKinney received a posthumous award from the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame for her lifetime achievement.[5]
  • In 1992, the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City replayed a clip of McKinney singing in "Pie, Pie Blackbird" (1932) in a combination of clips called Vocal Projections: Jazz Divas in Film.[13]
  • The film historian Donald Bogle discusses McKinney in his book Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, And Bucks—An Interpretive History Of Blacks In American Films (1992). He recognizes her for inspiring other actresses and passing on her techniques to them. He wrote that "her final contribution to the movies now lay in those she influenced."[14]
  • A portrait of McKinney is displayed in her hometown of Lancaster, South Carolina, at the courthouse's "Wall of Fame."
  • In 2011 BearManor Media published Stephen Bourne's biography Nina Mae McKinney - The Black Garbo
  • In 2019, The New York Times newspaper began a series called "Overlooked", where the editorial staff is attempting to correct a longstanding bias in reporting by republishing obituaries for historical minorities and women.[15] McKinney was one of the featured obituaries in Overlooked.[2][16]

Broadway credits

Date Production Role Notes
1928 Blackbirds of 1928 Chorus line [2]
September 6 - November 26, 1932 Ballyhoo of 1932 Performer [17]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1929 Hallelujah! Chick [2]
1929 Manhattan Serenade Herself Short subject
1930 They Learned About Women Specialty singer Uncredited
1931 Safe in Hell Leonie, the hotel manager
1932 Pie, Pie Blackbird Miss Nina with the Nicholas Brothers, Eubie Blake, and Noble Sissle.[2]
1932 Passing the Buck
1934 Kentucky Minstrels Uncredited
1935 Sanders of the River Lilongo, African chief’s wife with Paul Robeson.[2]
1935 Reckless Specialty singer
1936 The Lonely Trail Dancer Uncredited
1936 Broadway Brevities: The Black Network Herself Short subject
1938 Gang Smashers Laura Jackson, cabaret singer [2]
1938 On Velvet Herself Short subject
1939 The Devil's Daughter Isabelle Walton
1939 Straight to Heaven Ida Williams
1940 Swanee Showboat Herself Short subject
1944 Dark Waters Florella
1944 Together Again Maid in nightclub powder room Uncredited
1945 The Power of the Whistler Flotilda, Constantina's maid Uncredited
1946 Mantan Messes Up Nina
1946 Night Train to Memphis Maid
1947 Danger Street Veronica
1949 Pinky Rozelia, jealous girlfriend [2]
1950 Copper Canyon Theresa Uncredited

References

  1. Bourne, Stephen (2005). Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 142. ISBN 0-8264-7898-0.
  2. Gates, Anita (2019-01-31). "Nina Mae McKinney, Who Defied the Barriers of Race to Find Stardom". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  3. "Nina Mae McKinney Biography at Black History Now". Black Heritage Commemorative Society. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  4. Associated Press. "This Week, Returning," The New York Times, February 13, 1994.
  5. Bourne, Stephen. "Nina Mae McKinney", Films in Review, Jan/Feb 1991: 24
  6. Regester, Charlene (2010). African American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility, 1900-1960. Bloomington Indiana: Indiana University Press.
  7. Harmetz, Aljean (May 10, 2010). "Lena Horne, Singer and Actress, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  8. Courtney, "Picturizing Race: Hollywood's Censorship of Miscegenation and Production of Racial Visibility through Imitation of Life" Archived 2013-05-30 at the Wayback Machine, Genders, Vol. 27, 1998, accessed 21 May 2013
  9. See the Jamaica Folk Trance Possession 1939-1961 album
  10. "From Hollywood". Reading Eagle. February 16, 1935. p. 9. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  11. Regester, Charlene B. (2010). African American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility, 1900-1960. Indiana University Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-253-35475-7.
  12. Brettell, Andrew; King, Noel; Kennedy, Damien; Imwold, Denise (2005). Cut!: Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies. Leonard, Warren Hsu; von Rohr, Heather. Barrons Educational Series. p. 145. ISBN 0-7641-5858-9.
  13. Associated Press, "This Week, Belting it Out," The New York Times, November 29, 1992: p18.
  14. Bogle, Donald (1992). Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies And Bucks—An Interpretive History Of Blacks In American Films. New York: Continuum Publishing Co.
  15. Baskauf, Carmen; Nalpathanchil, Lucy (2019-02-12). "Remembering Those We've 'Overlooked'". WNPR. Connecticut Public Radio. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  16. Padnani, Amisha; Chambers, Veronica (2019-01-31). "For Black History Month, Remarkable Women and Men We Overlooked Since 1851". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  17. "Nina Mae McKinney". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
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