Actress. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, she was graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1956. She made her Broadway debut in 'The Wayward Stork' in 1966. At that time, she co-founded the Negro Ensemble Company. Her film career began when she was tapped by Charlton Heston in 1971 to co-star in 'The Omega Man' with him, for which she received an Image Award nomination. She made over thirty films in her career including 'Uptown Saturday Night' in 1974, 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension' in 1984, and 'Tales from the Hood' in 1995. She also appeared in more than forty television programs, including 'Barney Miller,' 'Police Story,' 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show,' 'China Beach,' 'Thirtysomething,' 'Cagney & Lacey,' 'Hill Street Blues,' and 'General Hospital' for which she received both an Emmy and Image Award nomination. Throughout was her absolute refusal to portray any kind of stereotyped role. She was nominated for an Emmy for her work in 'Go Tell it on the Mountain' in 1984. In 1987, she received the Phoenix Award from the Black American Cinema Society in honor of her achievements. She was inducted into the Black Filmmaker Hall Of Fame in 1992. Her last role was in the posthumously released 1996 television movie, 'Circle of Pain.' She succumbed to cancer at the age of 56.
Actress. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, she was graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1956. She made her Broadway debut in 'The Wayward Stork' in 1966. At that time, she co-founded the Negro Ensemble Company. Her film career began when she was tapped by Charlton Heston in 1971 to co-star in 'The Omega Man' with him, for which she received an Image Award nomination. She made over thirty films in her career including 'Uptown Saturday Night' in 1974, 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension' in 1984, and 'Tales from the Hood' in 1995. She also appeared in more than forty television programs, including 'Barney Miller,' 'Police Story,' 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show,' 'China Beach,' 'Thirtysomething,' 'Cagney & Lacey,' 'Hill Street Blues,' and 'General Hospital' for which she received both an Emmy and Image Award nomination. Throughout was her absolute refusal to portray any kind of stereotyped role. She was nominated for an Emmy for her work in 'Go Tell it on the Mountain' in 1984. In 1987, she received the Phoenix Award from the Black American Cinema Society in honor of her achievements. She was inducted into the Black Filmmaker Hall Of Fame in 1992. Her last role was in the posthumously released 1996 television movie, 'Circle of Pain.' She succumbed to cancer at the age of 56.
Bio by: Iola
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