When she couldn't make it in Hollywood, Butterfly moved to New York and struggled to make ends meet with a series of menial jobs. She then returned to Broadway in 1968 for Curley McDimple. Her success in that production led to her own show called McQueen and Friends. She was also highly acclaimed in her role as an elevator operator in Three Men on a Horse. Butterfly also returned to school, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York College in 1975.
After essentially fading from public view, Butterfly was in the news again when she sued Greyhound Buslines in 1980. While standing in a bus station to eat a snack, she had been accosted by a guard who thought she was a pickpocket. She was thrown onto a bench and several of her ribs were injured. After a four-year court battle, she was awarded $60,000.
Butterfly spent the remainder of her life in New York and Georgia. She was a community volunteer in both places, devoting herself entirely to helping others. She died in 1995 after being badly burned while attempting to light a kerosene heater. The communities she served mourned the loss of this generous woman.
Movies:
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Cabin in the Sky (1943)
Duel in the Sun (1946)
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