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Legendary character actress Thelma ``Butterfly'' McQueen died a year ago after a house fire.Associated Press/File

Movie actress McQueen remembered for kindness

Web posted December 22, 1996

By Paul Garber
Staff Writer

Ike Washington still keeps a folder of the few remnants he was able to salvage from the charred remains of the home of his friend, actress Thelma ``Butterfly'' McQueen.

Ms. McQueen, died Dec. 21, 1995, at Augusta Regional Burn Center following the fire at her home on Dent Street after suffering second- and third-degree burns over 70 percent of her body.

The folder consists for the most part of a few articles about Ms. McQueen's work and inspirational poetry the Gone With the Wind actress liked to keep on hand.

But many of Ms. McQueen's other belongings were snatched up while the house was still smoldering, Mr. Washington said.

``We had no way of securing the place,'' Mr. Washington said. ``They just came in and took what they wanted. This piecework quilt has a lot of missing parts.''

Occasionally, people will call the Washingtons to say they've found something belonging to Ms. McQueen up for sale in Los Angeles or some distant antique store. But the Washingtons said they don't have the resources to try to track down all the pieces and verify that they were taken at the time of Ms. McQueen's death.

``We couldn't swear that she didn't give them away to somebody,'' said Justine Washington, who is the executrix of the will.

Attorney Jack Long, who is probating Ms. McQueen's will, said he is close to wrapping up the estate.

``The only thing that made it difficult was getting a handle on all of her assets,'' Mr. Long said. ``She never did tell anybody about her affairs.''

While most people will remember Ms. McQueen for her many roles on the big screen, friends and neighbors will remember a soft-spoken woman who always put others first.

``She didn't want a lot of publicity. She was low key,'' Dr. Washington said. ``She seemed obsessed with helping others.''

The Washingtons said Ms. McQueen never mentioned her mother or father, and at the time of her death there were no relatives mentioned in the will.

What didn't go to friends and neighbors went to nonprofit organizations such as the Shomberg Center for Research of Black Culture at the New York Public Library, the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Freedom from Religion Foundation Inc. in Madison, Wis., an organization dedicated to the separation of church and state.

At Ms. McQueen's request, there were no memorial services and her body was donated to the Medical College of Georgia's Body Donor Program.

She was born in Tampa, Fla., but grew up in Augusta. As an adult, she split time between Augusta, Long Island and New York, Mr. Washington said.

Ms. McQueen is best known for her line: ``Miss Scarlett, I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies,'' from the 1939 film. She was 28 when she played the role of the 14-year-old Prissy.

Ms. McQueen also acted in many more movies and plays, including Showboat, The Wiz, and The Seven Wishes of Thelma Peabody. She received a 1979-80 Emmy for the ABC Afterschool Special Seven Wishes for a Rich Kid.

She was nicknamed Butterfly after appearing in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which she danced in the Butterfly Ballet.