Hattie McDaniel had to leave the show after starring in 6 episodes because she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Coincidentally, Hattie McDaniel and Louise Beavers, who both played the title character on the series, died exactly ten years apart: McDaniel on October 26, 1952 and Beavers on October 26, 1962.
The television series was based on the radio series that ran on CBS Radio from 1945 to 1954. Over the course of the series, Beulah was played by five different actors, the first two of whom were white men: Marlin Hurt from 1945 to 1946, Bob Corley in 1947, Hattie McDaniel from 1947 to 1952 (who also played the role on television in 1952), Lillian Randolph from 1952 to 1953 and her elder sister Amanda Randolph from 1953 to 1954.