Butterfly McQueen - 'Prissy' in "Gone With the Wind"

Butterfly McQueen was an actress who is best remembered for her role in 1939's "Gone With the Wind", as the young maid Prissy. She went on to appear in a handful of movies and several tv shows over the years.

In 1982, a friend who'd been collecting autographed photos for many years provided me with Miss McQueen's address, which was on West 144th Street in New York City's Harlem. I sent her this photo as 'Prissy', and she returned it to me within two weeks.

I'd heard from people who'd met her and/or talked to her by phone, that Miss McQueen was a very sweet lady who enjoyed being remembered for her movie role of many years earlier. This dear lady had a tragic end. In 1995, while living in Augusta, Georgia where she maintained a home during winter months, she attempted to light a kerosene heater, and it malfunctioned and burst into flames. She received burns over most of her body, and died a few days later. Her body was donated to medical science.