February 16 - James Baskett

On this day, in 1904, James Baskett was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. James planned to become a pharmacist after high school, but two intertwined circumstances got in the way of that dream: pharmacology school was more expensive than James could afford , so he began acting to support himself. The world of prescription drugs never stood a chance. He began on the stage in Chicago, Illinois, starting small but taking increasingly roles. He eventually moved to New York City, joining Bill Robinson's (better known as Mr. Bojangles) acting company. It didn't take long for James to establish himself as one of New York's leading black actors. In 1929, he appeared on Broadway with Louis Armstrong in a musical revue called Hot Chocolates that ran for over 200 performances. Starting in 1932, he began appearing in films being produced in New York, utilizing mostly (if not all) black casts, like Harlem is Heaven, Gone Harlem and Policy Man.

In 1939, James moved again, this time to Los Angeles, California, where he continued to nab small film roles. A highlight of this phase of his career was a turn as Lazarus in the 1943 anti-Nazi horror movie Revenge of the Zombies. In 1944, James met Freeman Gosden and was asked to join the cast of Freeman's radio show, Amos 'n' Andy. For the next four years, James gave voice to Gabby Gibson, a slick talking lawyer, for a nationwide audience.

Image copyright Disney

In 1945, James answered a newspaper ad seeking voice actors for a new project being produced by the Walt Disney Studio, Song of the South. He auditioned for the role of a singing butterfly, but when Walt heard his voice, James was called back for a more extensive session. In the end, Walt offered him the lead role of Uncle Remus, making James the first live action actor the studio ever hired (the studio's first live action actress was Virginia Davis, original star of the Alice Comedies). He did, in fact, also get to be that singing butterfly, as well as the voice of Br'er Fox and partially the voice of Br'er Rabbit, when Johnny Lee was unable to finish the film.

Image courtesy of inlandvalleynews.com

Song of the South is a picture mired in controversy, some of it simply because of its content and some of it earned because of its handling of said content. The controversy spilled over into the film's premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. James wasn't allowed to attend because of the city's segregation laws. What's never been up for debate, however, is James' flawless performance. Walt reportedly told his sister Ruth that James was the best actor to be discovered in years. The gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, among others, agreed and began campaigning heavily on James' behalf to get him an Academy Award for his role. The pressure on the Academy worked, sort of. While he didn't get a nomination for Best Actor, James was presented with an Honorary Award for "his able and heartwarming characterization of Uncle Remus," making him the first black actor to receive an Oscar (once again slightly upstaged by a woman; Hattie McDaniel had been the first African-American to win period, several years earlier).

James didn't get to enjoy his achievement for long. His health had become an issue during filming for Song of the South and had only gotten worse since. He suffered a diabetes induced heart attack in late 1946. Less than two years later, during a summer hiatus for Amos 'n' Andy, James passed away on July 9, 1948 from heart failure. He was only 44 years old.