Hannah Washington

Hannah Washington was a former child actor who was active in Hollywood during the 1920s and 1930s. A fixture in short comedies — often as a character named Oatmeal — she was one of the few Black child actors in movies at the time. She also had roles in 1933's King Kong and 1935's The Littlest Rebel, where she appeared alongside Shirley Temple. Hannah was born in Los Angeles, California, to Robert Washington and Fannie Ford; her aunt was actress and dancer Mildred Washington. Her first known on-screen appearance was in 1926's Sea Horses; her parents were also extras on several of her older films. She was signed as a toddler by Sunset Studios in 1927 to a contract to appear in comedies. She appears to have returned from acting around 1935; she later married and had a son.