"Beulah" TV Show
1950-1953

Key Cast:
Beulah - Ethel Waters, Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers
Bill Jackson - Percy Harris, Dooley Wilson, Ernest Whitman
Oriole - Butterfly McQueen, Ruby Dandridge

"Beulah" was he first television show to star an African-American woman. It was on air for only
three years from 1950 to 1953.

The first star of "Beulah" was Ethel Waters who played Beulah from 1950-1952. She was succeeded by
Hattie McDaniel who was already playing "Beulah" on the radio version of the show. For health reasons,
Hattie McDaniel stopped doing the TV show, so she was replaced by Louise Beavers.

Like the TV show Amos 'n Andy, "Beulah" was controversial because many members of the Black
community did not like the show's racial stereotyping. Because of these protests, actively led by the NAACP,
the "Beulah" show was eventually cancelled.

"Beulah" was about a maid named Beulah who worked for a White family named the Hendersons. Big-hearted
and always well-meaning, Beulah gets involved in various family situations that results in unexpected
consequences that Beulah never intended. Nevertheless, Beulah always finds a way to turn a seemingly
bad situation into something good.

Beulah has a boyfriend named Bill who always is willing to help her with her situations. Beulah's best friend, Oriole,
is the maid for the next door neighbor.

Controversial, yet historical, the "Beulah" show is an opportunity to see some early
African-American acting greats in a 1950s style situation comedy.

• There were reportedly 87 episodes of the "Beulah" show made, but it is believed that only seven of
them are in existence today. You can get four of them on "The Beulah Show" on DVD.

• "Beulah", like many TV programs in the 1950s, was originally a radio program. Hattie McDaniel was the
voice for the radio show version of "The Beulah Show" from 1947 to 1952.

• Hattie McDaniel's appearance on the TV show "Beulah" were her last ones. After filming just six episodes
of "Beulah", Hattie McDaniel had a heart attack and then a stroke. She never returned to the show.
Hattie McDaniel passed away in October, 1952 at the age of 57.

• Ruby Dandridge, the mother of famous actress Dorothy Dandridge, was an accomplished performer
herself. She played the role of Oriole in "The Beulah Show" from 1952 until the show's cancellation.
Ruby Dandridge can be seen in all of the episodes on "The Beulah Show" DVD.

• After "Beulah" there wasn't another television program starring an African-American woman for
15 years. The next TV show to star a Black woman was "Julia" which began airing in 1968 and
starred in Diahann Carroll.

Buy "The Beulah Show" on DVD
This "Beulah" DVD contains four of the surviving episodes from this
1950s TV show.

Hattie McDaniel stars as Beulah in two of the episodes and Louise
Beavers stars as Beulah in the other two episodes.

The following episodes are on this DVD: "Beulah Goes Gardening",
"The Waltz", "The New Arrival" and "Second Wedding"