Celebrating Black History Month

For Black History Month, we want to celebrate and honor the impact of Black artists in the entertainment industry.

In the beginnings of Hollywood, Black directors, writers, actors, and other artists not only created films that inspired audiences, but contributed to the advancement of the industry. Some of these pioneers included Noble and George Johnson, who created The Lincoln Motion Picture Company, considered the first all-Black production company; Tressie Souders, the first known Black woman to direct a feature film with 1922's A Woman's Error; and Maria P. Williams who is credited as the first Black woman to produce a feature film with The Flames of Wrath (1923).

Among these pioneers was Charles Butler, the head of Central Casting's African American Division and one of the few Black Casting Directors working in early Hollywood. Butler scouted talent all around Los Angeles by going to jazz clubs and local churches and by connecting with the community along Central Avenue. Some of those artists he scouted and cast in background roles were Dorothy Dandridge, Louise Beavers, Willie Best, and future history-maker Hattie McDaniel, who in 1939 became the first Black performer to win an Academy Award for her supporting role in Gone with the Wind (1939).

You can see some of Butler's work in films like 1929's Hallelujah!, for which he booked 340 Background Actors for reshoots and in 1934's Imitation of Life funeral scene that included 550 Background Actors booked with an hour's notice. Butler remained a Casting Director with Central Casting for 24 years, until shortly before his death in 1951.

Butler is remembered for the opportunities he provided Black actors in Hollywood, including by McDaniel who told The Hollywood Reporter, "A call from Charlie Butler at Central Casting was like a letter from home."

At Central Casting, we continue to honor Charles Butler's legacy by providing our staff with Conscious Casting training that gives our Casting Directors the tools they need to provide your production with Background Actors who reflect the rich diversity in race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, and other diversities of our communities. Our staff are also celebrating Black History Month in our Employee Resource Groups, including an internal event led by our Multicultural Connections ERG, which celebrates the unique intersectionality of identities that compose People of Color and ethnically diverse communities.