Ethel Waters, born October 31, 1896 in Chester, Pennsylvania, was the first African-American to star as the lead in television series. She appeared in Beulah from 1950-1951, when she quit. She played a housekeeper/cook for the Henderson family. The show ran for three seasons and Hattie McDaniel stepped in but appeared in only six episodes before she had to quit due to health reasons.
She was the second African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award and the first African-American to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. Three of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
She passed away in 1977.
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