''My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House'' is a 1961 autobiographical novel by
Lillian Rogers Parks written with
Frances Spatz Leighton. The title of the memoir was based on Parks' recollections of thirty years as a seamstress in the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
from 1931–1961 during the administrations of
Hoover,
Roosevelt,
Truman, and
Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
. The book also includes 30 previous years of childhood memories during the
Taft,
Wilson,
Harding,
Coolidge,
Hoover, and
Roosevelt administrations when her mother,
Margaret 'Maggie' Rogers, performed
domestic service
A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...
as head
housemaid at the White House from 1909–1939. The popularity of the book and the depth of its detail caused First Lady
Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
to have all White House domestic employees sign a pledge to not write about their White House experiences.
Film, TV and theatrical adaptations
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
aired the
miniseries
In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
''
Backstairs at the Whitehouse'' in 1979 which was based on the book. In the miniseries Lillian Rogers Parks was portrayed by
Leslie Uggams
Leslie Marian Uggams (; born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. After beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, she garnered acclaim for her role in the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', winning a T ...
. Maggie Rogers was played by
Olivia Cole
Olivia Carlena Cole (November 26, 1942 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress, best known for her Emmy Awards, Emmy Award-winning role in the 1977 miniseries ''Roots (1977 miniseries), Roots''.
Early life and education
Cole was born in M ...
who received an
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
nomination for her performance.
References
External links
Lillian Rogers Parks obituary, ''The Washington Post'', 12 November 1997*
ttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-apr-21-me-leighton21-story.html Francis Spatz Leighton obituary, ''Los Angeles Times'', 21 April 2007.br>
''Backstairs at the White House'', IMDB.com.Clifford, Garry (January 29, 1970). ''Her Tales of White House Life Head for Tv, but Lillian Parks Knows How to Keep a Secret.'' People.com (archive). Accessed July 8, 2019.
1961 American novels
American autobiographical novels
American novels adapted into television shows
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