Fanny Belle DeKnight explained

Fanny Belle DeKnight (May 22, 1869 – April 28, 1950)^[1] was an actress in the United States who worked on stage and films in the 1920s and 1930s. She was most well known for her role as the mammy in the 1929 musical film Hallelujah by King Vidor.

Career

Born Fannie Belle Johnson in Richmond, Virginia, she married and toured with piano player Samuel Knight throughout the 1890's, with DeKnight acting as a comedic reciter.^[2] She later advertised herself as a dramatic and dialect reader in The Crisis in 1913.^[3]

She was personally selected for the 1929 musical film Hallelujah by King Vidor because he needed someone to fit the role of a mammy in the film.^[4] She also co-starred in the 1932 short musical film A Rhapsody in Black and Blue with Sidney Easton, with both of them being uncredited for their primary roles.^[5]

Theater

• Taboo (1922) as Mammy Dorcas^[6]
• Lulu Belle as Mrs. Frisbie^[7]
• The House of Connelly (1932)^[8]
• Carry Nation (1932) as Aunt Judy^[9]

Filmography

• Hallelujah (1929)^[10] as Mammy Johnson^[11]
• A Rhapsody in Black and Blue (1932)^[12]

External links

• Fanny Belle DeKnight, Daniel L. Haynes, Victoria Spivey, and Harry Gray in a scene from the motion picture Hallelujah!, NYPL digital collections

Notes and References

1. Web site: Fanny Belle DeKnight (1869-1950) . . November 22, 2021 . bnf.fr . . February 4, 2022.
2. News: . March 31, 1894 . Y.M.C.A. Notes . . February 5, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
3. Web site: Crisis. William Edward Burghardt Du. Bois. May 7, 1913. Crisis Publishing Company. Google Books.
4. News: . October 20, 1928 . Daniel Haynes, Honey Brown and Mme. DeKnight In Vidor's New Picture . . February 4, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
5. Book: Barnett, Kyle . 2021 . Record Cultures: The Transformation of the U.S. Recording Industry . . 179 . 9780472038770.
6. News: . April 8, 1922 . New York Critics on Plays of the Week . . February 4, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
7. Book: Carter . Elmer Anderson . 1969 . Opportunity . 4 . . 134.
8. News: Snelson . Floyd G. . January 2, 1932 . Snelson Reviews Theatre . . February 4, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
9. News: . October 31, 1932 . "Carry Nation" Is Presented At Biltmore . . February 4, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
10. News: . December 31, 1928 . Hallelujah . . February 4, 2022.
11. News: Dickstein . Martin . August 21, 1929 . The Cinema Circuit . . February 4, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
12. Book: Riccardi, Ricky . 2020 . Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong . . 106-107 . 9780190914134.