Fanny Belle DeKnight (May 22, 1869 - April 28, 1950) was an actress in the United States who worked on the theatre stage and on the movie screen in the 1920s and 1930s. She was most well known for her role as the mammy in the 1929 musical film ''

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...

'' by King Vidor.

Career

Born Fannie Belle Johnson in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, she married and toured with piano player Samuel Knight throughout the 1890's, with DeKnight acting as a comedic reciter. She later advertised herself as a dramatic and dialect reader in ''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...

'' in 1913. She was personally selected for the 1929 musical film ''

'' by King Vidor because he needed someone to fit the role of a mammy in the film. She also co-starred in the 1932 short musical film ''

A Rhapsody in Black and Blue ''Rhapsody in Black and Blue'' is a short ten-minute film that was created and released in 1932, starring Sidney Easton"A Rhapsody in Black and Blue." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. March 8, 2013. and Fanny Belle DeKnight. It is an early example of ...

'' with Sidney Easton, with both of them being uncredited for their primary roles.

Theater

*''

Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

'' (1922) as Mammy Dorcas *'' Lulu Belle'' as Mrs. Frisbie *'' The House of Connelly'' (1932) *''

Carry Nation Caroline Amelia Nation (November 25, 1846June 9, 1911), often referred to by Carrie, Carry Nation, Carrie A. Nation, or Hatchet Granny, was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the advent of Prohibition. Nat ...

'' (1932) as Aunt Judy

Filmography

*''

'' (1929) as Mammy Johnson *''

'' (1932)

References

External links

Fanny Belle DeKnight, Daniel L. Haynes, Victoria Spivey, and Harry Gray in a scene from the motion picture Hallelujah!
NYPL digital collections {{DEFAULTSORT:DeKnight, Fanny Belle American actresses 1869 births 1950 deaths