Minnie Devereaux facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Minnie Devereaux
Devereaux and Mabel Normand on cover of Mack Sennett Weekly, 1917
Born	c. 1869 Oklahoma
Died	June 5, 1923(1923-06-05) (aged 53–54) Los Angeles, California
Other names	Minnie Provost Minerva Burgess Minnie Ha-ha Indian Minnie
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1913–1923

Minnie Devereaux (born around 1869, died 1923) was an American actress who starred in silent films. Silent films were movies made without recorded sound, so actors used their expressions and body language to tell the story. Minnie was a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma.

She was also known by names like "Minnie Provost," "Indian Minnie," or "Minnie Ha-Ha." Minnie acted in at least 14 movies. Her first film was Old Mammy’s Secret Code in 1913, and her last was The Girl of the Golden West in 1923. Some people thought she was the daughter of a Cheyenne chief named Plenty Horses. However, her father was often confused with another person named Plenty Horses, who was from the Lakota tribe and born in the same year as Minnie. In a 1917 interview, Minnie said her Cheyenne parents ran away from General Custer's Army during the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which happened when she was eight years old.

Minnie's Early Life

Minnie Provost was born in the Oklahoma Territory in a small town called Canadian, Oklahoma. Movie magazines said she studied at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. This was a special boarding school in Pennsylvania for Native American students. Her name on the school records was Minerva Burgess, and it showed she was of both Cheyenne and Arapaho heritage. Her father was listed as "Plenty of Horses." This is not the same person as the famous Plenty Horses.

Minnie's Acting Career

Starring in Fatty and Minnie He-Haw

Minnie Devereaux starred with actor Roscoe Arbuckle in the 1914 silent comedy movie Fatty and Minnie He-Haw. Arbuckle also directed this film. In the movie, Minnie played a Native American woman named Minnie He-Haw. Arbuckle's character is rescued by her tribe, and he reluctantly marries her.

Later, Arbuckle's character tries to be with a white woman in town, played by his real-life wife Minta Durfee. But Minnie He-Haw finds out he's being disloyal! The tribe gets very angry and plans to burn him. However, Minnie He-Haw saves him because she loves him. She chases him, but he eventually gets away into the hills, with angry warriors following him.

Other Movies Minnie Made

Minnie Provost worked with famous producer Mack Sennett, who was known as the "king of comedy." They worked together on Fatty and Minnie He-Haw. She also appeared in Sennett's 1918 film Mickey and the 1922 film Suzanna. Both of these movies were directed by F. Richard Jones.

In 1920, Minnie worked with director James Cruze on Food for Scandal. This movie was based on a play called A Picture of Rare Delight. Minnie was a very popular actress and worked with many different movie companies. These included Kay-Bee Pictures, the New York Motion Picture Company, and Sennett's Keystone Studios.

Food for Scandal (1920) review in Moving Picture World

Minnie's Reputation and Challenges

Minnie Devereaux was known as a professional actress who was very good at her job. She could perform both funny "slapstick comedy" (like exaggerated physical humor) and serious "melodrama" (movies with lots of emotion and drama).

However, Minnie often faced typecasting. This means she was given roles that were similar and based on her appearance or background. Her roles often focused on her larger size and her Native American heritage. Reviews from that time sometimes used the term "squaw" to describe her characters, which is not a respectful word.

A film critic named Peter Milne even criticized Minnie for her age and looks. He called her "ancient" in his review of Mickey. At that time, Minnie was only 49 years old.

In an article in Photoplay magazine, Minnie shared a story about a difficult experience she had with a white woman. On a crowded streetcar, the woman purposely took up extra space so Minnie couldn't sit near her. Minnie told the streetcar conductor, who asked the woman to move her things. The woman replied that she would rather stand than sit next to someone like Minnie.

Despite these challenges, many people in the film industry respected Minnie's intelligence, dignity, and acting skills. Motion Picture Magazine shared a story about actor Bertram Grassby meeting Minnie. He said, "During the conversation, the name of Minnie, a fat, old Indian woman who has almost become a moving picture institution, was mentioned and he commented laughingly on her way of always saying and doing the unexpected."

In that story, Grassby tipped his hat to Minnie, and she jokingly asked him what that meant. Minnie was known for often making fun of other actors and directors while they were making movies.

Minnie's Filmography