Samuel Rufus McDaniel was one of thirteen children born to formerly enslaved parents Henry McDaniel, a WWI veteran, and Susan Hobart, a traveling gospel singer. The McDaniel children were all gifted. Hattie, Samuel’s younger sister, was the first African-American woman to receive an Academy Award. Etta McDaniel was another well-known actress.
What piqued my interest in Samuel McDaniel was his performance on the popular sitcom I Love Lucy in the episode “The Great Train Robbery.” He was the first African-American actor to appear on the show. Lucy and Ricky are on the lookout for the moody figure: a suspected diamond thief.
They come to a halt on the train platform and run into McDaniel, who is dressed as a porter. Ricky refers to him as “boy,” and when asked about McDaniel, he responds, “No, sir.” It surprised me to see it and much more to hear it. But that was common at the time. The episode debuted in 1955. It was not his responsibility.
McDaniel also appeared in the following films as a butler, waiter, or doorman: The Public Enemy, Ma and Pa Kettle, The Egg and I, and Captains Courageous. Samuel also appeared as Spiffingham the Butler on the classic television show The Three Stooges. The majority of African American actors were cast as domestics, farmers, butlers, nannies, or brutes.
Samuel McDaniel began his career alongside his siblings and sisters in a minstrel show. The family moved from Kansas to Colorado, first to Fort Collins and subsequently to Denver, a vital location. It gave the troupe easy access to the venues and tours that were taking place in California.
As a result of his accomplishment, Samuel relocated to Los Angeles to facilitate a radio show on KNX. Etta, Orlena, and Hattie would eventually join her. Despite the fact that little is known about his career, it had a significant impact on his younger sisters. In a hostile Hollywood, he was tenacious and preserved.
When not on screen, it appears that Samuel McDaniel served as a bridge builder, bringing African American actors to the theater and screen. Samuel McDaniel featured in almost a hundred films by the end of his career and was a pioneer in radio and vaudeville. His sisters went on to champion the fields of theater and movies, and they are even alleged to have sponsored civil rights movement factions.
The McDaniel family was one of early Hollywood’s most successful African American families.
Samuel Rufus McDaniel died in 1962 as a result of complications from throat cancer.