This column originally appeared August 7, 2009
James Baskett, the first male African American to win an Academy Award, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on February 16, 1904. His father, John Baskett, owned a barber shop on the east side and James attended Arsenal Technical High School where he studied his passion, pharmacology. Due to lack of money, he abandoned his studies to pursue his untrained dramatic talent after being offered a small part in a show in Chicago during a visit to the Windy City. His career path was forever changed as he performed as Jimmie Baskette on Broadway with Louis Armstrong in the all-black musical revue “Hot Chocolates” in 1929 before moving to New York to join Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s company in 1932. James quickly established himself as one of the leading black performers in New York, appearing in several of Lew Leslie’s annual “Blackbird” productions. “And since then,” said Baskett in a 1946 interview, “I’ve never been out of show business, and pharmacology just became a lost dream.”.
On a visit to California, Baskett met comedian Freeman Gosden of the “Amos ‘N’ Andy” radio program who invited him to join the cast. Baskett’s role as the fast-talking lawyer Gabby Gibson from 1944 to 1948 earned him a national reputation and roles in B-rated movies such as “Harlem in Heaven,” “Straight to Heaven,” “Policy Man,” “Comes Midnight,” and “Revenge of the Zombies.” In 1945, Baskett answered an ad to provide the voice of a talking butterfly in Walt Disney’s “Song of the South” (based on the Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris.) “I thought that, maybe, they’d try me out to furnish the voice for one of Uncle Remus’ animals,” recalls Baskett.
Upon hearing Baskett’s voice, Walt Disney wanted to meet James personally even though he was already auditioning hundreds of other actors for the Uncle Remus part. Walt Disney hired Baskett on the spot. Not only did he get the part of the butterfly’s voice, but also the voice of Br’er Fox and Uncle Remus, becoming the first live actor to be hired by Walt Disney for a full-length film. “Song of the South” combined roughly 70 percent live-action and 30 percent animation. The plot revolves around seven year old Johnny, who moves with his mother to his grandmother’s plantation in 19th century Georgia. There he hears the stories of Br’er Rabbit told by Uncle Remus and learns to apply the lessons of those stories to his own life, which are shown in animated segments. Johnny finds friendship with a local girl, Ginny Favers, but is bullied by her cruel brothers. When he is accidentally gored by a bull, it takes more than Uncle Remus to save him. His parents must reunite, creating a happy family once more.
Baskett’s portrayal of Uncle Remus was the crowning achievement of his career, earning James an honorary Academy Award on March 20, 1948 described in the official Oscar history as: “For his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world, in Walt Disney’s Song of the South.” Popular Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper lobbied heavily for a special Academy Award for Baskett. Ironically, although the film was praised by the academy, Baskett and Disney both met with heavy criticism from many in the African-American community who felt that the film was rife with racist undertones and that it encouraged harmful stereotypes. To counter this controversy, Walt Disney himself wrote a personal letter on January 30, 1948, to Jean Hersholt, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, suggesting that James Baskett be awarded a special Academy Award for his work in “Song of the South” arguing that Baskett had not only brought to life the “immortal folklore character” of Uncle Remus, but also was personally “a very understanding person and very much the gentleman.” Baskett was awarded his Oscar, a remarkable accomplishment for a black man in America at that time.
Despite his Oscar stardom, the fact that Baskett was black in a racially divided America hindered him in many ways. For example, he was unable to attend the film’s premiere in Atlanta, Georgia because no hotel in the racially segregated city would give him a room for the night. Furthermore, critics point to the fact that every white actor from Bobby Driscoll to Ruth Warrick appears ahead of James Baskett in the credits and that all of the black characters (outside of Uncle Remus) are decidedly non-PC minstrel show stereotypes. Supporters of the film claim that the studio should be applauded for casting a black actor in a lead role at a time when black filmgoers were still forced to sit at the back of the cinema.
It’s important to remember that in 1946, the United States was a highly segregated country with separate facilities for non-whites. And that the brutal torture and lynching of African-Americans was so commonplace that the National Headquarters of the NAACP would fly a black flag out its window when news of a new lynching was confirmed, which seemed to be a weekly occurrence in the years following World War II. Upon its release, Time magazine called Uncle Remus “a character bound to enrage all educated Negroes, and a number of damn Yankees” while still referring to the film as “topnotch Disney.” The film will never receive a clean bill of political correctness, but neither will any racially diverse film made before the 1960s.
Truth be told, “Song of the South” presents some of the least offensive portraits of African Americans you can find from that era and Uncle Remus is perhaps the most charming character of them all. He’s much more stereotypical of an elderly man than a black man. A smart man with strong morals and a clever way of delivering them, he seems to see things more clearly than anyone else in the film. Uncle Remus is a kind man who loves humanity and this love is infectious. Should you ever see the film, you’ll agree that James Baskett deserved the Oscar for his portrayal.
Ironically, even though Baskett’s rendition of the song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” is among the most familiar of all Disney movie tunes, his performance cannot be seen in the United States, as the Walt Disney Co. will not release the film on the home video market because of the controversial nature of the film, which was denounced as racist by the NAACP when it was premiered in 1946. However “Song of the South” has never stopped making money for Disney. It’s been a popular sale item on video and laserdisc in Britain, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy with out of print international copies of the film reportedly command upwards of $100 on eBay.
Sadly, on July 9, 1948 less than 4 months after receiving his Oscar, James Baskett died of heart disease at the age of 44 in Los Angeles, CA. Baskett is remembered fondly by the Disney animators for his vitality and enormous talent. As an actor, he was a personal favorite of Walt Disney. In his last public interview, James responded to the racial criticism by saying: “I believe that certain groups are doing my race more harm in seeking to create dissension than can ever possibly come out of the ‘Song of the South’.”
He is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis and the inscription on his grave reads: “Dedicated to the memory of Indianapolis native James Baskett For his Academy Award winning portrayal of master storyteller Uncle Remus in Walt Disney’s 1946 movie, Song of the South”.
James Baskett/Uncle Remus related trivia: Ingrid Bergman handed Baskett his Oscar in 1948 . . . When the “Splash Mountain” amusement ride based on the film, “Song of the South” opened in Disneyland in the ‘90’s, the local NAACP and others protested the ride . . . The working title for “Song of the South” was “Uncle Remus” . . . Contrary to misconception, the film takes place after the U.S. Civil War, during the period known as, “Reconstruction” . . . All but five minutes of the film contains music . . . Br’er Rabbit’s laughing heard during the “Laughing Place” sequence is reused in “The Jungle Book” (1967) as Baloo tickles King Louie.
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest books are “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View,” “Irvington Haunts. The Tour Guide,” and “The Mystery of the H.H. Holmes Collection.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
