The film was inspired by a 2008 Washington Post story titled A Butler Well Served by This Election,which first brought Allens story to the mainstream: a butler who served every president from Truman to Reagan and weathered the worst of the countrys brutal racial history was about to see the first black president of the United States sworn into office. Cecil ends up attending the protest, after deciding to retire from being a butler. The couple had one son, Charles Allen. During an interview with Gayle King for the Oprah Winfrey Network, director Lee Daniels said, "It was more powerful to not have Obama in it but we did go back and forth." Allens son survived the war, while his fictional counterpart does not. Cecil is hired as butler just as soon as black matre d Freddie Fallows (Colman Domingo) confirms that he is not actively political and is experienced in his field. Louis Gaines represents the radical voice in the fight for social justice. Cecil is a person who really loves his family and also his job because he works hard to support his families, and for the love of the Cecil never did quit when the presidents had died, he continued his job as being the butler. Still, some of the most remarkable episodes are true. So you could refer to someone from Mexico, Spain, France, Italy or Brazil as being Latin. Cecil Gaines Obituary We are sad to announce that on June 25, 2021, at the age of 82, Cecil Gaines of Hannibal, Missouri passed away. the same political rants you see on Facebook, but they're well written. After his mother (Mariah Carey, in a wordless performance) becomes catatonic after being raped by the plantation owner (Alex Pettyfer) and his father is subsequently murdered, Cecil is essentially orphaned. A rep for the Weinstein Company, which released The Butler, was unavailable for comment. he said. She a ugly little old girl, too. Cecil eventually goes out on his own and becomes a highly efficient and secretive hotel valet in the 1950s. The Butler Movie Trailer and Related Videos, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Visit me at allanishac.com. Kennedy." cecil gaines salary cecil gaines salary (No Ratings Yet) . While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, Hispanic is a narrower term that only refers to persons of Spanish-speaking origin or ancestry, while Latino is more frequently used to refer generally to anyone of Latin American origin or ancestry, including Brazilians. Over the years Allen rose in his position, becoming the butler to the president. The Butler, from The Weinstein Co. and starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, is based on Eugene Allen, a White House butler who served eight presidents from 1952 to 1986. He was a remarkable husband, father, son, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend. 25 Feb/23. 934 results. He returned home and became an investigator with the State Department (The Washington Post). [hide]. Eugene Allen with Ronald and Nancy Reagan. After a two-hour tour through the ugliest moments of the countrys history, The Butler concludes with one of those lump-in-the-throat rousing moments that wins applause at the end of screenings. ", "Portraying Ronald Reagan as a racist because he was in favor of lifting economic sanctions against South Africa is simplistic and dishonest," he added. Satirist. The title of the movie comes from the name of the director, Lee Daniels. But perhaps the racial progress made over those decades was made through both menand both types of men. Almost 50 years later, Cecil wears that very tie to the White House when he goes to meet Barack Obama for the first time. "I wasn't that shocked, to be honest," said the 94-year-old Gaines, who was most recently employed as a private quarters assistant to the First Family. He nudged Helene again. Obituary. 2023 E! Which is why he can speak with authority on the subject. These storlines appear to be fictional. "I wasn't even looking for a job," Allen admits (The Washington Post). After being informed by a co-worker of job openings at the White House, he applied. Cecil is a very private person who does not share much about his personal life with his colleagues or friends. This crooked fella, Trump, he doesnt seem to know a thing about the country, its laws, the Constitution. The common people liked how Jackson thought they should be allowed to vote., Three Supreme Court cases influenced the civil rights movement by giving hope to the African Americans and making them want to fight even more: Dred Scott v. Sanford, Brown v. Board of Education, and Loving v. Virginia Eugene Allen represented, as journalist Wil Haygood wrote, a story from the back pages of history. In 1957, the president was Dwight D. Eisenhower. At the time of the civil rights, it was inspired by African-American, Hispanic, Native Americans, and another citizen that was against what forms of discrimination there was at that time. Alison Gaines 7/27/12. The life of that man, Eugene Allen, is the basis for Lee Daniels The Butler, which debuts in theaters this weekend. I wasnt that shocked, to be honest, said the 94-year-old Gaines, who was most recently employed as a private quarters assistant to the First Family. House under eight presidents, coming of Over the years Allen rose in his position, becoming the butler to the president. [3] Danny Strong's screenplay was inspired by the 2008 Washington Post article. * Eugene Allen was born in 1919, and, like Cecil, he grew up on a plantation (in Virginia, not Georgia). I thought me and the president, we were on good terms, but he turned out to be a real bastard from hell, pardon me for saying so., After the election, according to Gaines, the president he was cursing and swearing and kicking the furniture in the Oval Office, looking for someone to blame for his defeat. Much of the film, though, has been fictionalized, including his name (which was changed to Cecil Gaines) and childhood background. (Answered 2023), How Many Acres in a Mile by a Mile? The Butler true story reveals that Eugene Allen was working in the White House kitchen on the day that President Kennedy was assassinated. He was shocked at the treatment African Americans received no matter where he lived. Deeps > Contemporary Film and the Black Atlantic > Familial and Community Relationships > Straddling Divides: Unpacking the Father-Son Relationships in The Butler and Lincoln "I don't think that God meant for people to not have a family." - Cecil Gaines . Soon the fourteenth amendment came in place, which let the African Americans progress in society (263). (2023), Are Catalpa Trees Poisonous to Dogs? Loosely based on the real-life of Eugene Allen, the film stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, an African-American who eyewitnesses notable events of the 20th century during his 34-year tenure serving as a White House butler. Throughout the film Cecil and his family encounter many of the changes that the U.S. faced after the 1930's When Wil Haygood interviewed Eugene and his wife Helene for The Washington Post article, Helene admitted she was nervous about trying to make small talk with world leaders at the state dinner, adding, "Had champagne that night," which caused her husband to grin. Jackson made it where common people could vote, and thats why he won the elections. He, too, became a house boy for a white family. [7], The story had an immediate impact. Pensamiento de Cecil Gaines: "Cuando el Presidente Eisenhower envi la Guardia Nacional a Little Rock, Arkansas fue la primera vez que observ que un blanco se arriesgara para defender a los negros. He began working there in 1952, during the Truman administration, but didnt get promoted to butler until several years later. Afro-Colombians refers to Colombian citizens of African descent; this article is about the influence they have had on Colombian culture. -The Butler: A Witness to History. He was all alone. The film then fast-forwards a few decades to a jarringly older Cecil and Gloria, who are proudly campaigning for something they thought theyd never see: a man who could become the first black president of the United States. Cecil Gaines in his later years, waiting for Ronald Reagan to finish his lunch so he could step in and wipe spittle from the president's chin. It's about several other people I spoke to that worked at the White House as well so that the film would create this universal truth for many people of what that experience was like." Being a black butler in those times was extremely . Those appear to be the inventions of screenplay writer Danny Strong; they are never mentioned in Haygoods piece. Grand View Funeral Home 11116 US-61, Hannibal, MO 63401. Cyclist. Looking for info on Louis Gaines & descendents, died in Mobile, AL. Its an amazing story. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Cecil Gaines to pay them a last tribute. But those presidents that agreed with Cecil would die the same day or the next day, from the other white people because they don 't think African American should have the same rights as them. [9], Allen died of kidney failure at the Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Maryland on March 31, 2010.[2]. He is the elder son of Cecil Gaines, the film's main character. Allens life was the inspiration for the 2013 film The Butler. Sign up to receive only the most important updates straight to your inbox. According to Daniels foreword in The Butler: A Witness to History, a book by Haygood published to accompany the film, the movie is set against historical events, but the title character and his family are fictionalized. The skeleton of Allens story is there: the childhood on a plantation in the early 1920s, the interactions with several presidents. "Guess which one had a happy, quiet life and was married to the same woman for 65 years? At least one key character, Cecil's son Louis (David Oyelowo), is entirely made up. He turned down a personal invitation to President John F. Kennedy's funeral, instead devoting himself in another way, "Somebody had to be at the White House to serve everyone after they came from the funeral," says Eugene. Hispanic if you and/or your ancestry come from a country where they speak Spanish. 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