Editing James Baskett (section)

==Career==
[[File:James Baskett performing as Money Johnson in Harlem Is Heaven, 1932.jpg|thumb|right|Baskett in ''[[Harlem Is Heaven]]'' (1932), in which ''Variety'' described his portrayal of "Money" Johnson as "very impressive"<ref name=Variety>[https://archive.org/stream/variety106-1932-06#page/n19/mode/2up "Harlem Is Heaven"], ''Variety'' (New York, N.Y.), June 7, 1932, page 20. Retrieved January 30, 2018.</ref>]]

Baskett studied pharmacology as a young man but gave it up to pursue an acting career. He first moved to New York City, New York, where he joined up with [[Bill Robinson|Bill 'Mr. Bojangles' Robinson]]. Using the name Jimmie Baskette, he appeared with [[Louis Armstrong]] on Broadway in the 1929 black musical revue ''[[Hot Chocolates]]'' and in several all-black New York films, including ''[[Harlem is Heaven]]'' (1932).<ref name=Variety/>

He later moved to Los Angeles, California, and had a supporting role in the film ''Straight to Heaven'' (1939), starring [[Nina Mae McKinney]]. In 1941 he voiced Fats Crow in the animated Disney film ''[[Dumbo]]'', and he also had bit parts in several [[B movie]]s, including that of Lazarus in ''[[Revenge of the Zombies]]'' (1943), a porter in ''[[The Heavenly Body]]'' (1944), and native tribal leader Orbon in ''[[Jungle Queen (serial)|Jungle Queen]]'' (1945).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thelosangelesbeat.com/2020/04/movies-till-dawn-almost-weirder-than-now/|title=Movies till Dawn: Almost Weirder Than Now|date=April 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://filesofjerryblake.com/2015/04/15/jungle-queen/|title = Jungle Queen|date = April 16, 2015}}</ref> From 1944 until 1948, he was part of the cast of the ''Amos 'n' Andy Show'' live radio program as lawyer Gabby Gibson.

In 1945, he auditioned for a [[bit part]] voicing one of the animals in the new Disney feature film ''[[Song of the South]]'' (1946), based on the Uncle Remus stories by [[Joel Chandler Harris]]. [[Walt Disney]] was impressed with Baskett's talent and hired him on the spot for the lead role of Uncle Remus. Baskett was also given the voice role of [[Br'er Fox|Brer Fox]], one of the film's animated [[antagonist]]s, and also filled in as the main animated protagonist, [[Br'er Rabbit|Brer Rabbit]], in one sequence.  This was one of the first Hollywood portrayals of a black actor as a non-comic character in a leading role in a film meant for general audiences.<ref>As Jim Korkis notes, "Song of the South came out in 1946 and there was no balance of media images... African American performers often portrayed comic roles where their characters were described as lazy, slow-witted, easily scared or flustered, subservient and worse. That image was what the American public was seeing and accepting as the norm for African Americans." Jim Korkis, [http://travel.usatoday.com/alliance/destinations/mouseplanet/post/2011/04/The-Sad-Song-of-the-South/167707/1 "The Sad Song of the South"], ''USA Today'' (accessed 24 August 2013)</ref>

Baskett was prohibited from attending the film's premiere in [[Atlanta]], Georgia, because Atlanta was [[racially segregated]] by law.<ref name="Atlanta" /><ref name="Bayor1988" />

Although Baskett was occasionally criticized for accepting such a "demeaning" role (most of his acting credits were that of African-American stereotypes), his acting was almost universally praised, and columnist [[Hedda Hopper]], along with Walt Disney, was one of the many journalists and personalities who declared that he should receive an Academy Award for his work.<ref name="indystar" /><ref name = "Frost1">{{cite journal |last=Frost |first=Frost |date= Winter 2008 |title= Hedda Hopper, Hollywood Gossip, and the Politics of Racial Representation in Film, 1946-1948 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20064255 |journal=The Journal of African American History |volume=93 |issue=1 |pages=36–63 |doi=10.1086/JAAHv93n1p36 |jstor=20064255 |s2cid=142114722 |access-date=March 23, 2023}}</ref> Baskett defended the film and his character in it, saying, "I believe that certain groups are doing my race more harm in seeking to create dissension, than can ever possibly come out of the ''Song of the South''."<ref name = "Frost1"/>

===Academy Honorary Award===
On March 20, 1948, Baskett received an [[Academy Honorary Award]] for his performance as Uncle Remus.<ref name="Cohen2004" />

He was the first African-American male actor to earn an [[Academy Award]]. Additionally, Baskett was the last adult actor to receive an Honorary Oscar for a single performance.<ref name="filmexp" />