“The only role for which actresses of my type were considered suitable was for the stereotypic
“The only role for which actresses of my type were considered suitable was for the stereotypical part of a “black who is passing for white.” When a role of this kind became available, my phone would ring off the hook as I was called by every agent in town. The dirty Joker in the deck was that these roles always ended up being handed to Caucasians. I was interviewed for a movie called “I Passed for White.” The role was given to the white Sandra Wilde. I was seen about the remake of Imitation of Life. Ross Hunter, the film’s producer, pronounced me a stunning clone of Loretta Young and promptly cast the white Susan Kohner. In both cases I was merely looked at, not even auditioned. (The list of white actresses who had co-opted roles written for light-skinned black women included Jeanne Crain, Yvonne De Carlo, Ingrid Bergman, and Ava Gardner.) ~ Ellen Holly, best known for playing “Carla Gray” on “One Life to Live” from her 1996 autobiography, “One Life: The Autobiography of an African American Actress.” -- source link
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