James Baskett

James Franklin Baskett (born February 16, 1904 in Indianapolis, Indiana) began his adult life studying pharmacology, but his passion for performance soon led him to abandon the laboratory for the stage. Boldly stepping into the world of entertainment, he moved to New York City where he joined Bill "Mr. Bojangles" Robinson’s troupe and, under the name Jimmie Baskette, appeared alongside Louis Armstrong in the 1929 Broadway revue Hot Chocolates. Harlem is Heaven (1932) marked his early foray into all‑black cinema, and over the next decade he built a modest résumé of supporting roles in films such as Straight to Heaven (1939) and Revenge of the Zombies (1943). In 1941 he provided the voice of Fats Crow in Disney’s Dumbo, showcasing a talent that would soon earn him Disney’s greatest confidence.

When Walt Disney screened the unfinished Song of the South in 1945, he was so impressed by Baskett’s vocal warmth and dignified presence that he offered him the lead role of Uncle Remus on the spot. Baskett not only embodied the live‑action Uncle Remus, but also voiced Brer Fox and briefly filled in as Brer Rabbit, making him one of the first African‑American actors to headline a mainstream Hollywood picture. Despite the film’s controversial reception and the fact that Baskett was barred from attending the Atlanta premiere because of segregation laws, his performance was universally praised. Columnists such as Hedda Hopper and Disney himself championed his receipt of an Academy Honorary Award, which he was granted on March 20 1948—making him the first African‑American male actor to receive an Oscar and the last adult to earn an honorary Oscar for a single performance. Unfortunately, Baskett’s health was already failing; diabetes and a heart attack in December 1946 left him weakened, and he succumbed to heart failure on July 9 1948 at age 44. He was survived by his wife Margaret and his mother Elizabeth, and he rests in Crown Hill Cemetery in his native Indianapolis.