-DailyBulletin.com. The movie is based off a man named Cecil Gaines who operated from place to place as a butler to support his family, while his oldest son is out protesting for his rights, beliefs, and his culture. (They're played by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.) No. That little pug nose. Blacks soon became worried again when Lincoln was assassinated and Johnson took over. The tragic twist, however, happened just as its portrayed in the movie. job he works nearly 34 years to serve the presidents in the White House. Loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen, who worked in the White House for decades, the film stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, an African-American who is a witness of notable political and social events of the 20th century during his 34-year tenure serving as a White House butler. Starring Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Mariah Carey, Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, We were hoping to capture the essence of Eugene Allen, and I think we did. Cecil Gaines: John F. Kennedys death was a tragic yet questionable day. Writer. "I think it's gonna have to be somebody who is capable of delivering a nuanced performance, and Forest is more than capable." Do I Have to Stop Minoxidil Before Hair Transplant? No. Civil rights are the freedoms and rights that a person may have as a member of a community, state, or nation. -The Butler: A Witness to History "It's important to understand," says Danny Strong, who penned The Butler script, "there's a reason why the character's name is Cecil Gaines. He went on to admit that they didn't include him because, "We couldn't get him!" I cant tell if Allen ever actually met the president, but he did get a VIP invitation to the inauguration in 2009, and was in attendance on that historical day. In real life, Eugene and Helene Allen only had one son, not two. The couple had one son, Charles Allen. Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV shows! When we first encounter our hero, Cecil Gaines . Eugene and Helene Allen did not have only one son, Charles. He nudged Helene again. 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. All rights reserved. Cecil ends up attending the protest, after deciding to retire from being a butler. This differs from the movie, which finds Eugene Allen's onscreen counterpart, Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), being contacted by the White House and offered the job after a senior White House staffer witnesses Cecil in action at a D.C. hotel. The father and son relationship at the heart of Lee Daniels' The Butler nearly eclipses the story proper, which concerns African-American Cecil Gaines, a longtime White House butler who served during eight administrations over 34 years. Those appear to be the inventions of screenplay writer Danny Strong; they are never mentioned in Haygoods piece. Shed lean on her cane with one hand, and on him with the other, while walking down to the precinct. No, Cecil Gaines son was not a Freedom Rider. Colombians (colombianos in Spanish), are citizens of Colombia. At Lincoln as in high school, Gaines combined solid academic performance and an impressive schedule of activities. "[4] Allen never missed a day of work in 34 years.[6]. He began working there in 1952, during the Truman administration, but didnt get promoted to butler until several years later. The leaders of this school of thought explored radical substitutes to remedy racial discrimination against blacks in America. Gloria Gaines: Don't you think she look a little like Louis around the mouth? Allen was the first White House butler ever to be invited as a guest to a state dinner. Cecil Gaines : . Gloria Gaines: Yes she did. He became junior butler under President Kennedy, and says . The movie stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, Oprah Winfrey as Gloria Gaines, and Cuba Gooding Jr. as Louis Gaines. In reality, Allens wife, Helene, did not have a problem with alcohol nor did she have an affair. Civil rights include freedom of speech, of the press, and of religion. Cecil Gaines: [laughing] Ain't nobody done nothing to spite you. Cecil and his father working the cotton field The Civil Rights Movement was a movement to gain basic rights for African Americans (Davis, 2014). That is, till today.. Throughout the film Cecil and his family encounter many of the changes that the U.S. faced after the 1930's It was a brief meeting, but one that Obama later remarked was a thrill.. Film details The Butler, 2013 Character Cecil Gaines played by Forest Whitaker. Over the years Allen rose in his position, becoming the butler to the president. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. July 10, 1938 - While he was putting on white gloves to serve a white president, Louis was putting on black gloves to serve his community. alias Francis Gaines. He started in the White House in 1952 as a "pantry man", a job which involved basic tasks such as dish washing, stocking and cleaning silverware. References ^ a b Eugene Charles Allen - Scottsville Museum Visited 2018-05-01. It is implied that this realization is what causes him to make the decision to retire. (Allens wife Helene referred affectionately to former First Lady Rosalynn Carter as country, for instance.) Cecil Gaines parents were both killed when he was just a child. Cyclist. Most African Americans wanted to make peace with the world and wanted to be seen as equal. No. 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. [9], Allen died of kidney failure at the Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Maryland on March 31, 2010.[2]. They did not see what their truth was because they were always put down by their white peers., The Civil rights movement protects citizens from discrimination based on race, religion, sex or national origin. Alex Haley demonstrates this idea of racial equality in The Autobiography of Malcolm X., The Kennedy Assassination: Just or Unjust? Oprah Winfrey who portray husband and wife Cecil Gaines: Now you need to stop that, you know that ain't right. He then acts in a manner that undermines his belief in the authenticity of his life's work. Cecil Gaines, who has been serving presidents in the White House since the late 1950's, was fired by Donald Trump on Wednesday for disloyalty. We are sad to announce that on June 25, 2021, at the age of 82, Cecil Gaines of Hannibal, Missouri passed away. In 1957, the president was Dwight D. Eisenhower. Cecil confirms hell be there to serve and begins listing all the preparations hes already started marking. Also know, what presidents did Cecil Gaines serve? Louis (Hijo de Cecil Gaines y Gloria) "Despite what Hollywood's liberal hacks believe, my father didn't see people in colors. He was predeceased by : his parents, George Gaines and Hazel Gaines (Chase); and his wife Barbara Jones. [3] Danny Strong's screenplay was inspired by the 2008 Washington Post article. [11] The film departs from the facts of Allen's life. After that, he just up and fired me, said Jared Kushner would me to show me to the door. (2023), Are Catalpa Trees Poisonous to Dogs? Cecil is then trained to be a houseman, eventually running away and learning how to become a butler. The central character, Cecil Gaines, is only loosely based on the real Allen. So you could refer to someone from Mexico, Spain, France, Italy or Brazil as being Latin. ", "I feel great about Forest portraying my father," says Charles Allen. "Now guess which butler grew up on a Georgia farm, watched the boss rape his mother and then, when his father protested the rape, watched the boss put a bullet through his father's head? He is a butler who has worked in the White House for over three decades. Yes, the movie is based on the true story of Eugene Allen, who served as a White House butler for over three decades. Instead, actor Orlando Eric Street portrays President Barack Obama. ", "Portraying Ronald Reagan as a racist because he was in favor of lifting economic sanctions against South Africa is simplistic and dishonest," he added. Still, some of the most remarkable episodes are true. Just imagine, Gloria says. See more of my daily satirical posts here. Louis, the older son in The Butler and a Freedom Rider and early member of the Black Panther Party, is the lens through which much of the film's depiction of the civil rights movement is. I was the one who taught little John John how to salute like that., Gaines trimmed Lyndon Johnsons ear hairs as a full butler and remembers rewinding Richard Nixons tape recording machine every evening. The Butler, with its Forrest Gump-like ambition to touch on every significant moment and movement in the countrys 20th century racial history, begins by showing Cecil Gaines on a Georgia plantation picking cotton with his father (David Banner). 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. Other moments from the film appear to be true: Allen witnessed presidents mulling over important historical decisions, including Eisenhowers fight with Arkansas governor Orval Faubus regarding the desegregation of Little Rock. Grand View Funeral Home 11116 US-61, Hannibal, MO 63401. Allen had one son, Charles, who served in Vietnam, just as Cecils younger son (also named Charles) does. However, she did suffer from depression and mental health issues, which led to her drinking. His death was unjustified because he fought for equal rights, was a advocate for black people, and he did great things for his country. 2023 E! He worked for the family as a house boy doing chores such as washing dishes. Much of the film, though, has been fictionalized, including his name (which was changed to Cecil Gaines) and childhood background. He saw them as individual Americans. Haygoods article only mentions that Eugene left the White House in 1986 and received a sweet note from the president and a tight hug from First Lady Nancy. Louis grows up under the newly free United States just as the Jim Crow laws fall. Todd graduated from Pinecrest High School and continued his studies at North Ca In 1954, African Americans gained an understanding on how people should be treated and they wanted changes in their rights and how society treated them publicly. Trump only kept me on because people around him said dont fire the black man, dont fire him, youll lose votes! So he kept me around, but begrudged it. -The Washington Post, Yes. All rights reserved. In a personal essay for the fall issue of Magnolia Journal, out Friday, the 44-year-old Fixer Upper star reflected on nearly 20 years of . Did Gene Allens son really go to Vietnam? But in the hallway, he fell against the wall and started crying. The butlers backstory Cecil Gaines is working as a slave in a cotton field as a young colored boy along with his mother and father. But the names have been changed: Allen and his wife, Helene, are called Cecil and Gloria Gaines. Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States, will have spent eight years in the Oval Office when he leaves the White House in January 2017. His mother is raped by the white plantation owner and the father is shot dead immediately following. When Wil came across former White House butler Eugene Allen, he knew that he had found the perfect story to tell. Cecils first day at the White House, as portrayed in the film, is a doozy. NEWS: The Butler keeps cleaning up at the box office. Eugene Charles Allen - Scottsville Museum, "Eugene Allen, White House butler for 8 presidents, dies at 90", "Eugene Allen: White House butler who worked for eight US presidents", "The True Story of The Butler: Fact vs. Fiction in Lee Daniels' The Butler", "White House Workers: Traditions and Memories", "No, President Obama isn't doing a cameo in 'The Butler', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eugene_Allen&oldid=1134854716, This page was last edited on 21 January 2023, at 01:43. Colombia is a multiethnic society, home to people of various ethnic, religious and national origins. Spoilers follow. So how much is real and how much has been slightly embellished? Wearing the tie given to him by Jackie Kennedy and a tie clip he received from Lyndon Johnson, Cecil is last seen making the same walk he made nearly 60 years earlier when he first interviewed for his job at the White House. (I have emailed Haygood and will update the post if he provides additional information.) Write your message of sympathy today. Its not surprising that some broad creative license was taken with Allens life. Anne Marie Fox 2013 The Weinstein Company. I couldve helped him, opened up his heart a bit, but hes just too much of a egotistical, self-promoting, cocky windbag, pardon me for saying so. Like in the movie, Jacqueline Kennedy did give one of JFK's ties to Eugene. Released in 2013, the film traces the history of civil rights from the 1950s to the 1980s through the eyes of Cecil Gaines, a White House butler based on the real-life experience of Eugene Allen, who served eight presidents over 34 years. In The Butler movie, Cecil (Forest Whitaker) watches his fellow butlers serve him at the state dinner and realizes he has in fact been wearing a mask over the years to cover up the subservient nature of his job. The longtime butler also shared positive memories of Bill Clinton (Quite a rascal, that one, always chasing the skirts), but spoke less kindly of George W (Never could figure how a man with his lack of wits got as far as he did, pardon me for saying so.). (Answered 2023), What Will Deter a Dog From Peeing in the House? [10] Allen's life was the inspiration for the 2013 film The Butler. As Cecils wife, Gloria, Oprah Winfrey gives the films most layered performance. Almost 50 years later, Cecil wears that very tie to the White House when he goes to meet Barack Obama for the first time. When he is employed as a butler in the White House, he is given the opportunity of a . Practically all descendants of the Gaines family who migrated from. But as interesting as Haygoods profile is, A Butler Well Served by This Election doesnt provide that many details about Allens time in the White House outside a handful of facts and humorous anecdotes. when it came to portraying the White House John F. Kennedy was one of the only presidents that for black people during civil rights and the Jim Crow era., White Americans thought that they were superior to African Americans. According to his son, "My father came home late on the day that President Kennedy had been shot. Supporters of Ronald Reagan aren't happy with the way Lee Daniels' The Butler portrays the 40th president, but none more so than his son, Michael Reagan. Gaines was packing his bags on Wednesday night, the day before Thanksgiving, boxing up mementos from seven decades of White House service, including a signed copy of Profiles In Courage, a gift from JFK. He was correct. -The Washington Post. assistant to Ms. Williams Bianca Arvin . "appropriately and accurately.". And shed get supper going afterwardOn Monday Helene had a doctors appointment. It is nevetherless estimated that 37% of the Colombian population can be categorized as white, forming the second largest racial group after mestizos (at 49 percent). Would you like to offer Cecil Gainess loved ones a condolence message? The invented scene is what then prompts his wife Gloria Gaines (Oprah Winfrey) to emphatically state, "The White House call him, he didn't call the White House," in a moment of fiction. Gloria Gaines, thebutlerswife, hasan affair with a neighbor (Terrence Howard) and struggles with alcoholism. Eugene Allen with Ronald and Nancy Reagan. 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