Sam broke into film in the 1929 film “Hallelujah” and never quit moving. From then until his death from throat cancer in 1962, McDaniel amassed over 200 film credits. Though never a leading man, he was part of the Academy Award-winning film “Captains Courageous,” the horror classic “Son of Dracula,” and was the first African American to appear on the classic television show “I Love Lucy” (per IMDb).
Because of the racial injustices that were pervasive during the entirety of Sam McDaniel’s career, he was mostly known to play roles that fit into the stereotypes of the era. There’s a good chance that if you are watching a film from the 1930s or 1940s that has an African American porter, butler, or hired help, it might well have been performed by McDaniel.
And though he is now credited with an abundance of film roles, many of his parts were “uncredited” after the release of the films he worked in. Oftentimes, minor roles were not listed in the film credits during this era. It might be speculated that this was a regular practice that many actors of color fell victim to.
