Libby Taylor (1902-1961) was an African American character actress of the stage and screen who was active in Hollywood from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Biography

In 1933, while working as a struggling actress in Harlem, she accepted Mae West's offer to become West's personal maid. West in turn helped Libby get roles in Hollywood films. This arrangement lasted for several years. When Taylor had a stroke in 1955, she told reporters that contrary to the headlines, West had not been helping her financially.

Selected filmography

* ''

Bright Road ''Bright Road'' is a 1953 low-budget film adapted from the Christopher Award-winning short story "See How They Run" by Mary Elizabeth Vroman. Directed by Gerald Mayer and featuring a nearly all-black cast, the film stars Dorothy Dandridge as an ...

'' (1953) * '' Two Tickets to Broadway'' (1951) * ''

Al Jennings of Oklahoma ''Al Jennings of Oklahoma'' is a 1951 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Dan Duryea and Gale Storm. It is based on the story of Al Jennings, a former train robber turned attorney. Premise Ex-lawyer becomes leader of not ...

'' (1951) * '' You're My Everything'' (1949) * ''

Another Part of the Forest ''Another Part of the Forest'' is a 1946 play by Lillian Hellman, a prequel to her 1939 drama ''The Little Foxes''. Plot synopsis Set in the fictional town of Bowden, Alabama, in June 1880, the plot focuses on the wealthy, ruthless, and innatel ...

'' (1948) * ''

The Foxes of Harrow ''The Foxes of Harrow'' is a 1947 American adventure film directed by John M. Stahl. The film stars Rex Harrison, Maureen O'Hara, and Richard Haydn. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Production Design ( Lyle R. Wheeler, Mau ...

'' (1947) * ''

The Perfect Marriage ''The Perfect Marriage'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Lewis Allen and written by Leonard Spigelgass. The film stars Loretta Young, David Niven, Eddie Albert, Charlie Ruggles, Virginia Field, and Rita Johnson. The film was re ...

'' (1946) * ''

Cinderella Jones ''Cinderella Jones'' is a 1946 American musical comedy film directed by Busby Berkeley and written by Charles Hoffman. The film stars Joan Leslie, Robert Alda, Julie Bishop, William Prince, S. Z. Sakall, and Edward Everett Horton. The film w ...

'' (1946) * ''

My Gal Sal ''My Gal Sal'' is a 1942 American musical film distributed by 20th Century Fox and starring Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature. The film is a biopic of 1890s composer and songwriter Paul Dresser and singer Sally Elliot. It was based on a biographi ...

'' (1942) * ''

Flight from Destiny ''Flight from Destiny'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Vincent Sherman and written by Barry Trivers. The film stars Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Jeffrey Lynn, James Stephenson, Mona Maris and Jonathan Hale. The film was rel ...

'' (1941) * ''

Blonde Inspiration ''Blonde Inspiration'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Busby Berkeley and written by Marion Parsonnet. The film stars John Shelton, Virginia Grey, Albert Dekker, Charles Butterworth, and Donald Meek. The film was released on February ...

'' (1941) * ''

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...

'' (1941) * ''

The Howards of Virginia ''The Howards of Virginia'' is a 1940 American drama war film directed by Frank Lloyd, released by Columbia Pictures, and based on the book ''The Tree of Liberty'' written by Elizabeth Page. The Howards of Virginia live through the American Revo ...

'' (1940) * ''

The Great McGinty ''The Great McGinty'' is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff and featuring William Demarest and (in her final screen appearance) Muriel Angelus. It was Sturges's fir ...

'' (1940) * ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work f ...

'' (1939) * ''

Secrets of an Actress ''Secrets of an Actress'' is a romantic drama film directed by William Keighley, and starring Kay Francis, George Brent, and Ian Hunter in 1938. It is about a love triangle between a stage actress, her financial backer, and his friend. Plot sum ...

'' (1938) * ''

Smashing the Rackets ''Smashing the Rackets'' is a 1938 American drama film directed by Lew Landers, written by Lionel Houser, and starring Chester Morris, Frances Mercer, Rita Johnson, Bruce Cabot and Edward Pawley. It was released on August 19, 1938, by RKO Pict ...

'' (1938) * ''

Woman Against Woman ''Woman Against Woman'' is a 1938 American drama film directed by Robert B. Sinclair and written by Edward Chodorov. The film stars Herbert Marshall, Virginia Bruce, Mary Astor, Janet Beecher and Marjorie Rambeau. The film was released on June 24 ...

'' (1938) * '' The Buccaneer'' (1938) * ''

The Good Old Soak ''The Good Old Soak'' is a 1937 drama film starring Wallace Beery and directed by J. Walter Ruben from a screenplay by A. E. Thomas based upon the 1922 stage play of the same name by Don Marquis. The picture's supporting cast features Una Merk ...

'' (1937) * ''

Three Smart Girls ''Three Smart Girls'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Barbara Read, Nan Grey, Deanna Durbin (her feature film debut), and Ray Milland. The film's screenplay was written by Adele Comandini and Austin P ...

'' (1936) * ''

Libeled Lady ''Libeled Lady'' is a 1936 screwball comedy film starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy, written by George Oppenheimer, Howard Emmett Rogers, Wallace Sullivan, and Maurine Dallas Watkins, and directed by Jack Conway (fi ...

'' (1936) * ''

Lucky Corrigan ''Lucky Corrigan'' or ''Fury and the Woman'' is a 1936 American-Canadian drama film directed by Lewis D. Collins and starring William Gargan, Molly Lamont and James McGrath. It was later screened at the 1984 Festival of Festivals as part of Fro ...

'' (1936) * '' Stage Struck'' (1936) * ''

Diamond Jim ''Diamond Jim'' is a 1935 biographical film based on the published biography ''Diamond Jim Brady'' by Parker Morell. It follows the life of legendary entrepreneur James Buchanan Brady, including his romance with entertainer Lillian Russell, and s ...

'' (1935) * ''

Every Night at Eight ''Every Night at Eight'' is a 1935 American comedy musical film starring George Raft and Alice Faye and made by Walter Wanger Productions Inc. and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Raoul Walsh and produced by Walter Wanger from a screenplay ...

'' (1935) * ''

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

'' (1935) * ''

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

'' (1935) * ''

Star of Midnight ''Star of Midnight'' is a 1935 American mystery comedy film directed by Stephen Roberts. William Powell was loaned out to RKO Pictures from MGM to star with Ginger Rogers. Plot New York lawyer and playboy Clay "Dal" Dalzell (William Powell) is ...

'' (1935) * ''

Transient Lady ''Transient Lady'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by Edward Buzzell, written by Edward Buzzell, Arthur Caesar and Harvey F. Thew, and starring Gene Raymond, Henry Hull, Frances Drake, June Clayworth, Clark Williams and Edward Ellis. I ...

'' (1935) * ''

Sweet Music ''Sweet Music'' is a 1935 American musical film directed by Alfred E. Green, written by Jerry Wald, Carl Erickson and Warren Duff, and starring Rudy Vallée, Ann Dvorak, Ned Sparks, Helen Morgan, Robert Armstrong and Allen Jenkins. It wa ...

'' (1935) * ''

Ruggles of Red Gap ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' is a 1935 American comedy western film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles, and ZaSu Pitts and featuring Roland Young and Leila Hyams. It was based on the best-selling 1915 ...

'' (1935) * ''

Society Doctor ''Society Doctor'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by George B. Seitz and starring Robert Taylor, Chester Morris, and Virginia Bruce. It was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was inspired by an unproduced play by Theodo ...

'' (1935) * ''

I'm No Angel ''I'm No Angel'' is a 1933 pre-Code film directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Mae West and Cary Grant. West received sole story and screenplay credit. It is one of her films that was not subjected to heavy censorship. Plot Tira (Mae West ...

'' (1933) * ''

Ann Carver's Profession ''Ann Carver's Profession'' is an American pre-Code 1933 film directed by Edward Buzzell. It focuses on the relationship of a female lawyer and her husband, and on the strain that her financial success places on their marriage. The film stars ac ...

'' (1933) * ''

The Cabin in the Cotton ''The Cabin in the Cotton'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay by Paul Green is based on the novel of the same title by Harry Harrison Kroll. The film perhaps is best known for a line of dialogue ...

'' (1932)

References

Actresses from Chicago 1902 births 1961 deaths 20th-century American women 20th-century American people {{African-American-stub