Lillian Randolph (born Castello Randolph; December 14, 1898 – September 12, 1980) was an American actress and singer, a veteran of radio, film, and television. She worked in entertainment from the 1930s until shortly before her death. She appeared in hundreds of radio shows, motion pictures, short subjects, and television shows.
Randolph is most recognized for appearing in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Magic (1978), and her final onscreen project, The Onion Field (1979). She prominently contributed her voice to the housekeeper in nineteen Tom and Jerry cartoons released between 1940 and 1952.
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Early life and education
Randolph was born Castello Randolph in 1898 in Knoxville, Tennessee, the daughter of a Methodist minister and a teacher. She was the younger sister of actress Amanda Randolph.
Career
Radio
Randolph began her professional career singing on local radio in Cleveland and Detroit. At WXYZ in Detroit, she was noticed by George W. Trendle, station owner and developer of The Lone Ranger. He got her into radio training courses, which paid off in roles for local radio shows. Randolph was tutored by a white actor for three months on racial dialect prior to obtaining any radio roles.
In 1936, she moved on to Los Angeles to work on Al Jolson's radio show, on Big Town, on the Al Pearce show, and to sing at the Club Alabam.
Actress
Randolph and her sister Amanda were continually looking for roles to make ends meet. In 1938, she opened her home to Lena Horne, who was in California for her first movie role in The Duke Is Tops (1938); the film was so tightly budgeted, Horne had no money for a hotel.
Randolph opened her home during World War II with weekly dinners and entertainment for service people in the Los Angeles area through American Women's Voluntary Services.
Randolph played the role of the maid Birdie Lee Coggins in The Great Gildersleeve, a radio comedy and subsequent films, and as Madame Queen on the Amos 'n' Andy radio show and television show from 1937 to 1953. She also portrayed Birdie in the television version of The Great Gildersleeve. She was cast in the Gildersleeve job on the basis of her wonderful laugh. She had been a member of the chorus at MGM when, during a rehearsal break, she heard that auditions were underway for Gildersleeve. Randolph made a dash to NBC. She ran down the halls; when she opened the door for the program, she fell on her face. Randolph was not hurt and she laughed, which got her the job.
In 1955, Lillian was asked to perform the Gospel song, "Were You There" on the television version of the Gildersleeve show. The positive response from viewers resulted in a Gospel album by Randolph on Dootone Records. She found the time for the role of Mrs. Watson on The Baby Snooks Show and Daisy on The Billie Burke Show.
Her best known film roles were those of Annie in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Bessie in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947).
The West Adams district of Los Angeles was once home to lawyers and tycoons, but during the 1930s, many residents were either forced to sell their homes or take in boarders because of the economic times. The bulk of the residents who were earlier members of the entertainment community had already moved to places such as Beverly Hills and Hollywood. In the 1940s, members of the African-American entertainment community discovered the charms of the district and began purchasing homes there, giving the area the nickname "Sugar Hill". Hattie McDaniel was one of the first African-American residents. In an attempt to discourage African-Americans from making their homes in the area, some residents resorted to adding covenants to the contracts when their homes were sold, either restricting African-Americans from purchasing them or prohibiting them from occupying the houses after purchase. Lillian and her husband, boxer Jack Chase, were victims of this type of discrimination.
Death
Randolph died of cancer at Arcadia Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, California, in 1980. She is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California. Her sister, Amanda, is buried beside her.
