Is Cecil Gaines a real person?

Is Cecil Gaines a real person?

The central character, “Cecil Gaines”, is only loosely based on the real Allen.

How old is Cecil Gaines?

Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, the film’s main character, who dedicates his life to becoming a professional domestic worker. Michael Rainey Jr. and Aml Ameen portray Cecil at ages 8 and 15.

How much of the butler is true?

According to Daniels’ foreword in The Butler: A Witness to History, a book by Haygood published to accompany the film, the movie “is set against historical events,” but “the title character and his family are fictionalized.” The skeleton of Allen’s story is there: the childhood on a plantation in the early 1920s, the …

What is Eugene Allen salary?

He went along for an interview and got the job, as a “pantry man” washing dishes and polishing silverware. It paid $2,400 a year (compared with the national average wage that year of $3,400).

Was Eugene Allen’s son A Black Panther?

Eugene and Helene only had one son, Charles. Charles did serve in Vietnam, but is still alive. Louis, the older son in The Butler and a Freedom Rider and early member of the Black Panther Party, is the lens through which much of the film’s depiction of the civil rights movement is seen—he was invented for the film.

How did Gaines get the job at the White House?

A woman told Allen of a job opening in the White House in 1952. He was not even looking for a job at the time, as he was happily employed at a Washington country club. In the film, a White House administrator, impressed with Gaines’ work at a D.C. hotel, immediately offers him the job.

What happened to Charlie Gaines?

In the movie, the Gaines’ youngest son Charlie (Elijah Kelley) dies in Vietnam, requiring Cecil to maintain his composure and poise while confronting Nixon.

Which presidents did Eugene Allen serve?

As a butler, Allen proudly recalled that he “Shook the hand of all the presidents I ever worked for.” And during the 34 years he worked inside the White House, he shook the hands of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan.

What was Cecil’s real name?

Eugene Allen
In 1952, the real Cecil Gaines, Eugene Allen, was working as a waiter at a Washington D.C. country club….Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)

REEL FACE: REAL FACE:
Elijah Kelley Born: August 1, 1986 Birthplace: LaGrange, Georgia, USA Charles Allen Born: 1946

Is Eugene Allen still alive?

Deceased (1919–2010)
Eugene Allen/Living or Deceased

Which presidents did Cecil Gaines serve?

The character of Cecil Gaines was based on Eugene Allen, who served as White House butler for over 30 years and 8 presidents: Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B.

Did Eugene Allen’s son died in Vietnam?

Did the Allens’ son die in the Vietnam War? fact, we discovered that in real life, Eugene and Helene Allen’s only son, Charles, did in fact serve in Vietnam, but he did not die there. He returned home and became an investigator with the State Department (The Washington Post).

Who was Cecil Gaines in the White House?

The fictional Cecil Gaines is based on Eugene Allen who worked at the White House during eight presidential terms from 1952 to 1986. He started as a “pantry man,” was promoted to butler, and then Maître d’hôtel .

Who is Cecil Gaines based on in the Butler?

Synopsis [ change | change source] The fictional Cecil Gaines is based on Eugene Allen who worked at the White House during eight presidential terms from 1952 to 1986. He started as a “pantry man,” was promoted to butler, and then Maître d’hôtel .

How many sons did Cecil Gaines have in real life?

(He was too shy to ask for her number, so she had to track him down.) The couple had only one son, Charles Allen. In the movie, Gaines meets his wife, Gloria, at the Washington hotel where both work before Gaines gets his job at the White House. The fictional Gaines family has two sons.

Where did Cecil Gaines work as a waiter?

The skills he gained on the plantation prepared him to work as a waiter at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia and then at a Washington, D.C. country club, followed by his position as butler in the White House. Was the real Cecil Gaines’ mother raped and father shot on the plantation?