> It says something that McQueen died as a result of a kerosine fire.
> And none of the notices made any point of these circumstances.
I am interested in seeing articles on Butrterfly's death. So far I
have only seen the *New York Post*, the NYT and the *Miami Herald.* I
would like to see more, if anybody has any info.
> > Perhaps it comes from my watching too much big city tv news. But,
> almost every time someone dies in a kerosine originated fire, it turns
> out that the victim could not afford any other form of heat. That is,
> poor people die in kerosine fires. So much for fame and glory in
> Hollywood -- especially in the 'thirties for black players.
An article in *People Weekly* dated 1 December 1986, written by John
Stark, entitled "Lawd, Miss Scarlett, Look at What Butterfly McQueen Is
Up To Now" (always a reference to her economic subordination to Scarlett
O'Hara, indicating that this is *all* Butterfly ever was) shows
Butterfly in her Harlem studio. It is a very dismal picture, a picture
of financial destitution. In the interview, she cites that in 1980 she
sued Greyhound Bus Lines for $300,000 after claiming she had been falsely
arrested in the downtown Washington, DC bus terminal and accused of being
a pieckpocket. In an out-of-court settlement, she says she received
$60,000 (75).
As you said, so much for fame and glory in Hollywood, well after
the Thirties.
Gloria Monti
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