All: Black History Month (honoring some of my faves)

[SteveFrame]

In Honor of Black History Month I have perused the Internet and found some bios of some of my favorite African-American stars from the soaps. These are some of the ones I remember very fondly.

To me the best black/AA cast every assembled on a soap at one time was on Another World. Wikipedia sums it up this way:

The quote does not include the actress who played Petronia Paley's daughter Thomasina. Also during this time, Joe Morton played twin brothers on the show as well. I absolutely loved every character, and would give any thing to have a cast like that assembled on one show again.

Petronia Paley, John Danelle, and Lisa Wilkinson are other black/AA soap actors I loved but I could not find bios of them.

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Jackée Harry (born August 14, 1956 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an African-American actress. From 1987 to 1994, she was credited as simply Jackée.

Harry began acting after deciding that being a high school history teacher was not her calling. She studied acting at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side in New York City and began her career on the New York stage.

In 1978, she made her first professional acting debut as a chorus girl in the off-Broadway production of A Broadway Musical. She continued to appear in performances on and off Broadway, such as Eubie! and The Wiz. From 1983 to 1986, she played the role of Lily Mason on the daytime soap Another World, acting alongside other African Americans such as Petronia Paley, Michele Shay and a then-unknown Morgan Freeman. In 2003, she was the surprise guest on the Another World Reunion that SOAPnet coordinated and aired. She appeared at former co-star and close friend Linda Dano's request.

In 1985, she gained recognition playing neighborhood vamp Sandra Clark on the sitcom 227, a role for which she received an Emmy in 1987. Harry was the first African American to win an Emmy for the role of supporting actress in a sitcom (Gail Fisher had won an Emmy for supporting actress in a drama back in 1970). For the role of Sandra, Maxim magazine awarded her #5 placement on their TV's Best Nymphos list.

She continued her career appearing in more movies and stage performances. In 1994, she gained more recognition as Lisa Landry, the single mother of Tia Mowry on the sitcom Sister, Sister (1994-1999).

Harry served as a guest panelist on the 2000 revival of To Tell the Truth. In 2005, she appeared on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club 2, losing 39 pounds total after 100 days. She lost 19.3% of her body weight, dropping down to 163 lbs, one of the top weight losses in the history of the show. Harry has kept the weight off through exercise and a healthy diet. She also recently maintains the recurring role of Vanessa, a sprightly, vivacious beautician and friend to Rochelle, in the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. She is also currently on tour promoting 227 for Nick at Nite's TV Land.

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Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr. (October 17, 1950 – December 8, 1996) was an American actor.

Poster from the film Ragtime

Howard Rollins in A Soldier's Story

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he studied theater at Towson State College.

He was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series for his role on Another World. Rollins was also nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Dino De Laurentiis/Miloš Forman motion picture, Ragtime.

In 1984, he starred in director Norman Jewison's film, A Soldier's Story which led to his role as "Virgil Tibbs" on the In the Heat of the Night television series based on Jewison's acclaimed motion picture of the same name.

In 1993, Rollins spent about a month in jail for driving under the influence and reckless driving. Because of continued legal problems, Rollins was ultimately dropped from In the Heat of the Night and was replaced by Carl Weathers. Rollins was invited back as a guest star on several episodes in the seventh season, but further legal problems led to his being totally banned from the county where the series was filmed.

In the last years of his life, Rollins worked hard to address his drug and alcohol problems and began to rebuild his career. He appeared in the TV shows New York Undercover and Remember WENN, in the PBS film Harambee, and in the theatrical film Drunks. His superb acting throughout his career inspired subsequent generations of African American actors, playwrights, and filmmakers.

Rollins died in 1996 after complications from AIDS-related lymphoma [1] [2] and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in his native Baltimore. He had been diagnosed with the condition approximately six weeks earlier.

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Morgan Freeman was born June 1, 1937 in Memphis, Tennesse, to Morgan Porterfield Freeman (a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis) and Mayme Edna, a cleaner; he has three older siblings. Freeman's family moved frequently during his childhood, and had lived in Greenwood, Mississippi, Gary, Indiana, and finally Chicago. Freeman made his acting debut at the age of eight, playing the lead role in a school play. At the age of twelve, he won a state-wide drama competition, and performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee, while in high school. In 1955, he turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, choosing instead to work as a mechanic in the United States Air Force.

Freeman moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, and worked as a transcript clerk at Los Angeles Community College. During this time, he also lived in New York City, working as a dancer at the 1964 World's Fair, and in San Francisco, where he was a member of the Opera Ring music group. Freeman made his acting debut in a touring company version of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and also appeared as an extra in the 1965 film, The Pawnbroker. He made his off-Broadway debut in 1967, opposite Viveca Lindfors in The Niggerlovers, before debuting on Broadway in 1968's all-black version of Hello, Dolly!, which also starred Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway.

Although his first credited film appearance was in 1971's Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow?, Freeman first became known in the American media through roles on the soap opera Another World and the PBS kids' show The Electric Company, which he claimed he should have left earlier than planned.“ It was my idea to just do The Electric Company for a couple of years and go on. But, you get trapped by that money thing. It's golden handcuffs. It gets a lot of people, including soap opera actors and commercial actors. Then, they don't want to see you in serious work. That was going to be me, having people come up to me saying "My kids love you!". I was there three years too long. [1] ”

Beginning in the mid-1980s, Freeman began playing prominent supporting roles in a number of feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise and fatherly characters. As he gained fame he went on to bigger roles in films such as the chauffeur Hoke in Driving Miss Daisy, and Sergeant Major Rawlins in Glory (both 1989). In 1994 he portrayed Red, the redeemed convict in the acclaimed The Shawshank Redemption. His star power was already confirmed as he starred in some of the biggest films of the 1990s, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Se7en, and Deep Impact.

Freeman is recognized for his distinctive voice, making him a frequent choice for narration. In 2005 alone, he provided narration for two of the most successful films of the year, War of the Worlds and the Academy Award-winning documentary film, March of the Penguins. After three previous nominations (a supporting actor nomination for Street Smart, 1987, and leading actor nominations for Driving Miss Daisy, 1989, and The Shawshank Redemption, 1994), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Million Dollar Baby at the 77th Academy Awards.

In 1997, Freeman, together with Lori McCreary, founded the movie production company Revelations Entertainment, and the two head its sister online movie distribution company ClickStar. Freeman also hosts the channel "Our Space" on Clickstar, with specially crafted film clips where he shares his love for the sciences, especially space exploration and flight.

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Al Freeman, Jr. (born March 21, 1934, in San Antonio, Texas) is an African-American actor and director.

Freeman has made appearances in many films, such as My Sweet Charlie, Finian's Rainbow, and Malcolm X, and television series' such The Cosby Show, Law & Order, and Homocide: Life on the Street. He is mostly recognized for his portrayal of Police Captain Ed Hall on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live, a role he played from 1972 through 1985, with recurring roles in 1988 and 2000. He won an Emmy award as best supporting actor for that role. He left the show briefly to appear in the network's controversial sitcom Hot L Baltimore. During that period, "Ed" was played by another actor, Arthur Pendleton.

He was also a director of One Life to Live, and was one of the first, if not the first, African-Americans who directed a soap opera.

After leaving One Life to Live, Freeman appeared in the motion picture Down in the Delta.

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Ellen Holly (born January 16, 1931) is an African-American actress.

She began her career on stage, but began making films and appearing on TV. She appeared on In the Heat of the Night (TV series) and Naked City, but is best remembered by long-time soap fans as actress-turned-Judge Clara "Carla" Hall on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, a role she played from 1968 to 1980, and again from 1983 to 1985.

She came to the attention of Agnes Nixon, the creator of One Life to Live, after writing a letter to the editor of the New York Times about what it was like to be a light-skinned Negro. Miss Nixon crated the role of Carla and offered Miss Holly a role on her new show.

When she began on One Life to Live in October 1968, it was not revealed to the audience that she was an African-American. Her character, a touring actress, had an Italian surname. Later, a Caucasian physician, Dr. James Craig (then played by Robert Milli) became engaged to marry her. But she was falling for an African-American doctor (played by playwright Peter DeAnda) on the show. When the two kissed on screen, it was reported that the switchboards at ABC were busy by fans who thought that the show had shown an African-American and Caucasian kissing.

Carla, her One Life to Live character, later married an African-American police officer, Ed Hall (played mostly by Al Freeman, Jr.) and adopted a son. She and Ed later divorced, and she remarried a new physician in Llanview, the setting of One Life to Live.

After the death of her second husband, her character became involved romantically (both on screen and in real life) with the character Alec Lownes (played by Roger Hill).

After her dismissal from One Life to Live in 1985, Miss Holly played a judge on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light.

An accomplished writer as well as actress, she wrote many of the storyline for Carla on One Life to Live. She was one of the few African-American writers in the soap opera genre. She later wrote a book, One Life: The Autobiography of an African American actress.

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Deborah Morgan (born September 20, 1956) is an American film and television actress. She may be best known for her role as Angie Baxter Hubbard on All My Children.

Morgan was born in Dunn, North Carolina and moved to New York City when she was three months old. Her father, George Morgan, Jr. died of leukemia when she was eight, and she was raised by her mother, Lora Morgan, who worked as a secretary. Morgan attended parochial school. She is the ex-wife of actor Charles S. Dutton.

Morgan's earliest recurring role was on What's Happening!! from 1976 to 1977 as Diane Harris. In 1979, she received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Alex Haley's great-aunt Elizabeth Harvey on the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generations, and her guest-starring role as Jackson's ex-girlfriend turned prostitute on The White Shadow. Her most famous role was on the soap All My Children, a role she originally played from 1982 to 1990. Her portrayal of Angie struck a chord with many black viewers across America; she and her love interest, Jesse Hubbard (Darnell Williams), became the first African-American "supercouple" on the daytime serials.

After leaving All My Children, Morgan played the role of Chantal Marshall on the NBC soap opera, Generations, replacing actress Sharon Brown and remained with the show until it ended. She then reprised her role as Angie on Loving and The City. From 1997 to 1998, she played Dr. Ellen Burgess on Port Charles. In the early 2000s, she played lead character Lora Gibson, opposite Lea Thompson, on the Lifetime series For the People. She also played the role of The Seer in the 4th season of Charmed.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Morgan became a de facto symbol for the possibilities for black women as all of her soap opera roles involved her playing a successful doctor. In the late 90's she garnered much acclaim from movie critics for her portrayal of clairvoyant Mozelle Batiste Delacroix in director Kasi Lemmons' Eve's Bayou. For her portrayal, she won a Chicago Film Critics Association Award and an Independent Spirit Award and was nominated for an Image Award.

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Darnell Williams (born March 3, 1955 in London, UK) is a renowned soap opera actor.

Williams played Jesse Hubbard on All My Children from 1981 to 1988, when his character was shot and killed. His character became involved in a love affair with upper middle class Angie Baxter (Debbi Morgan). The characters eventually married and thus Darnell Williams was one-half of the first African-American supercouple on American soap operas. Williams won two Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on All My Children in the 1980's.

He returned to soaps as Jacob Foster on Loving and The City. He reprised his Jesse role on All My Children, albeit in angel form, when he welcomed Gillian Andrassy (Esta TerBlanche) into Heaven in 2001.

He had a recurring role as the counsellor on the primetime drama Felicity.

Currently he works as a director and acting coach for All My Children.

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Victoria Rowell (born May 10, 1960 in Portland, Maine) is a two time Emmy Award-nominated and a ten time NAACP Image Award-winning American actress. She is best known for her roles as Drucilla Barber Winters on The Young & The Restless and as Dick Van Dyke's pathologist, Dr. Amanda Bentley on Diagnosis: Murder.

Rowell was a foster child for the first eighteen years of her life. Rowell's biological mother Dorothy Rowell was white, and her father was African-American. [1] She never knew her father or anything about him, except his last name is Wilson and he lives in Washington, and is involved in the real-estate business.[2]

Aged 16 days, Victoria and her two sisters Sheree and Lori were given away by Dorothy to the state child services unit. They went into five foster homes, ending up on Lebanon, Maine with Robert and Agatha Armstead. Whilst living here Victoria started ballet aged 8, and after an audition she received a Ford Foundation scholarship to study at the Cambridge school of ballet. A professional dancer since the age of 17, Rowell received scholarships to the School of American Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre and the Dance Theatre of Harlem [3]

After dancing with the American Ballet Theatre II and the Juilliard School of Music Dance Extension program with Anthony Tudor, Rowell accepted guest artist teaching posts in New England [4]

In the 1980s, she became a well-known model. She started taking acting lessons on the side while modelling, and she earned guest-starring roles on television shows like The Cosby Show. In 1990, she was cast as street urchin-turned-fashion model Drucilla Barber on the long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless. This role proved to be lucrative for Rowell, as she was nominated for two Daytime Emmy awards (1996 and 1997). She also won ten NAACP Image Awards for her portrayal of Drucilla (see NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series for the years in which she won). She played the role until 1998, and returned briefly in 2000. She is now currently playing the role, having returned to the show again in 2002. It was announced that Rowell has asked to be released from her contract with Y&R; the show "accommodated that request." Her final air-date will be in April 2007.[5]

In addition to playing roles in movies such as Dumb & Dumber, Barb Wire, and Eve's Bayou, Rowell also played the role of Dr. Amanda Bentley on the mystery series Diagnosis: Murder, all the while she was still on The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless - Drucilla Winters (1990 - 1998; 2000; 2002 - 2007)

Pacific Palisades - Joanna Hadley (1997)

Another Midnight Run - Hotel Guest (1994)

Tribes - Frankie (1990)

Cottonmouth - Rene (2000)

Vampires Anonymous - Taffeta Monroe (2000)

She is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

In 1990, Rowell founded the "Rowell Foster Children Positive Plan", which gives emotional support and financial aid to foster children, especially to those who aspire to become actors and dancers - the road Rowell took

In 2003, Rowell was a special guest on the talk show Dr. Phil, in which she gave an emancipated foster child a job, medical and dental care, and a scholarship from her foundation

In May 2006, Rowell was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Southern Maine in recognition of her work for the benefit of foster children.

Rowell married Tom Fahey in 1989. Before the couple divorced the following year, they had a daughter Maya. She later dated jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. The couple have a son Jasper who played her son CJ in "Diagnosis: Murder"

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Nathan Purdee (born August 6, 1950 in Tampa, Florida) is an American serial actor.

He first rose to prominence as Nathan Hastings on The Young and the Restless, a role he played from 1985 to 1992. His involvement on Y&R (he was one of only two black cast members on the show in the late 1980s) paved the way for more African American additions to the cast. He left Y&R in 1992 to start the role of District Attorney Hank "the connon" Gannon on One Life to Live, a role he would play until 2003.

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Timothy Stickney (born January 31, 1965) is an American actor.

Stickney has made many appearances in many made-for-tv films, and has worked alongside actors such as Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro. Currently, he is mostly recognized for his role as bad guy Randall James "R.J." Gannon on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live, a role originated in 1994. In 2006 his role as RJ was bumped down from contract to recurring. However, "R.J." still has a shot in the opening credits, along with onscreen love interest Lindsay Buchanan. He learned to juggle when he was in junior high school and one of his first performances was in a school play called Chuck and Larry. He starred in many musicals at Dickinson High School before moving to New York City to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

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Blair Underwood (born August 25, 1964, in Tacoma, Washington) is an American television and film actor.

Underwood was born in Tacoma, Washington to Frank and Marilyn Underwood. His father was a United States Army colonel, and as such during Blair's childhood they lived on bases in the United States and Germany.[2] Blair attended Petersburg High School in Petersburg, Virginia. He went on to attend the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Underwood's 1987 appearance on The Cosby Show landed him a short stint on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, which eventually led to his Golden Globe-nominated performance on the TV series L.A. Law. Underwood broke into film with roles in Krush Groove, Just Cause, and Deep Impact. He also had a supporting role as a geneticist in Gattaca. In 2000, he played the lead role in the short-lived television series City of Angels. In 2003, he guest starred in four episodes[2] on the popular HBO series Sex and the City playing Cynthia Nixon's love interest. In 2004, he played the role of Roger De Souza opposite Heather Locklear in NBC's LAX.[3] He also has appeared in a guest role as a grade-school teacher on the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine. In 2007, he guest starred in an episode of the NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[4]

Underwood has received four NAACP Image Awards[4] for such roles as in the docudramas Murder in Mississippi and Heat Wave.

Underwood was voted one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2000, and one of TV Guide's "Most Influential Faces of the 90s".

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Kristoff St. John (born July 15, 1966 in New York City), is an Emmy Award-winning American actor, best known for his role as Neil Winters in the higest rated daytime drama The Young and the Restless. However his first major soap role was Adam Marshall in the NBC soap opera Generations.

His father, actor Christopher St. John, appeared in movies such as Shaft.

In 1992, St. John won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series for his role in The Young and the Restless. Over the years, he has also won numerous NAACP Image Awards.

In 2005, St. John became a special host for TV Guide Channel.

St. John is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. He posed nude for PETA's "Don't Wear Fur" Campaign. [1]

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Michael B. Jordan (born February 9, 1987 in Santa Ana, California) is an American actor. He joined the cast of soap opera All My Children in March 2003 playing the role of Reggie Porter (later Reggie Montgomery), a troubled teenager, until June 2006. Jordan was released from his contract from the soap after three years due to lack of airtime, and last aired on June 5, 2006.

Jordan's other credits include guest starring appearances on The Cosby Show, The Wire as Wallace and Hardball (2001).

Jordan currently resides with his family in New Jersey.

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Tanisha Lynn Eanes, known professionally as Tanisha Lynn (born September 14, 1978 in Houston, Texas) is an American soap opera actress.

Lynn is best known for her portrayal of Danielle Frye, the daughter of Derek Frye (formerly William Christian, currently Charles Parnell) and Mimi Reed (Shari Headley), a role which she played from March 2004 until January 2007. Although rumors about Lynn's status with the show have been circulating for some time, due to her lack of storyline, it was reported at Pine Valley Bulletin: Ins and Outs in January 2007 that Lynn had taped her final scenes in December 2006 and will last air in late January.

Her other appearances include:

Robot Stories

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

My Wife and Kids

As Audrey in Shakespeare's As You Like It at Worth Street Theater Company.

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Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970 in Oakland, California) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor and former male fashion model with Irene Marie Models, best known for his role as Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless, which he originally played from 1994 to 2002.

In 1994, he was in Toni Braxton's music video, How Many Ways.

Moore was born to a Caucasian mother of Dutch descent and an African-American father. As a child Moore lived in the Netherlands with his mother. His first language is Dutch and didn't learn to speak English until he was five years old.

Moore is a graduate of Santa Clara University, where he majored in Communications. While pursing his undergraduate degree, he modeled to pay his bills.

He was the host of the syndicated version of the series Soul Train from 1999 until 2003, and appeared in the 2000 feature film The Brothers. In November 2004, he returned to The Young and the Restless as Malcolm Winters, after a few months he dropped back to recurring status and left in September 2005. He also portrayed Det. Jesse Reese on the television series Birds of Prey from 2002 to 2003.

Moore played the role of Emery Simms in the 2004 film "Motives" alongside Vivica Fox and Golden Brooks. According to IMDB, the sequal "Motives 2" is set to release in 2007 starring Shemar.

He currently portrays FBI Special Agent Derek Morgan on the CBS television show Criminal Minds. He also acted in a supporting role in the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

He has won legions of fans for his high-profile modeling, often shirtless and in erotic shots, and his status as daytime's first black soap hunk.

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Tonya Lee Williams (born Tonya Maxine Williams on July 12, 1957 in London) is a black Canadian actress, best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless, from 1990 to 2005.

Williams and her family lived in London and Kingston, Jamaica while she was a young child. At age 5, she contracted rheumatic fever; she and her mother went to live in Birmingham, United Kingdom. In 1969, she and her family settled in Oshawa, Ontario. As a teenager, she modeled in Eaton's catalogues and danced on a television series called Boogie! which ran on CityTV. In 1977, Williams was crowned Miss Black Ontario.

Her television debut was as a host of the Canadian children's show Polka Dot Door after graduating from Ryerson University. Appearances on the television series Check it Out! and Generations followed. Her involvement on Generations snagged her a role on The Young and the Restless, and has become her most lucrative role. Williams won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 2000.

She also appeared on A Very Brady Christmas as Cindy's roommate.

In March 2004, she hosted the special event programming Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee, on the CBC. She is an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Williams is also the founder and president of the [1] ReelWorld Film Festival, an annual film festival in Toronto that features talent from diverse visible communities.

Williams was married to Robert Simpson from 1983 to 1991. She has never remarried.

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As I find more I will add them. If you find others you like add them or talk about them. Would love to hear any thoughts you have on them.

Incidentally, The Brighter Day was the first soap opera to hire a black/African-American actor and put him on contract. That was in 1962. Unfortunately the show was cancelled shortly after, but did not have anything to do with him.

[Tishy]

Interesting read. I didn't realize all the work that Victoria Rowell has done. I knew she wasinvolved with forster care, but not to the extent that she is. What an amazing woman

[poohbear19]

Thank you for putting this up, it was nice to read about some of the African American actor/actress that I have enjoyed over the time in soaps. I have to say, Victoria Rowell and Debbie Morgan are definitely my favorite soap actresses.

[JoelMTL]

For some unexplainable reason (IMO) daytime writers and producers have always had difficulty in creating and sustaining interesting stories involving black actors over the years. I'm a white 30 yr old male and I don't care if the characters are white, black, 18 years old, 58 years old...the number one importance in a show is good story. I think during black history month, we'd be remiss to not point out the impact GENERATIONS had on daytime television. It ran for less than two years, but it is one definite example of a program that wrote stories for the entire cast without necessarily looking at color. There were some stories that dealt with racial issues, but it wasn't all about that. It was a true soap opera with all the elements. The cast they assembled, black and white were excellent. Sally Sussman's efforts were commendable and within months of GENERATIONS, other shows started getting more african-americans on their shows. Off the top of my head, the actors who helped make this show a gem:

Jonelle Allen

Joan Pringle

James Reynolds

Debbi Morgan

Kristoff St. John

Kelly Rutherford

Anthony Addabo

Linda Gibboney

Lynn Hamilton

Patricia Crowley and more.....

[bellcurve]

Dominique Jennings was fantastic as Virginia on SUNSET BEACH. Where the hell is she?

[SteveFrame]

It is my understanding from several sources that she is pretty much only doing voice over work now.

Here is an article about her:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_...34/ai_111203596

Here is a link to a set of articles about her from her soap days that you might find interesting:

http://www.angelfire.com/ri2/IntJennings/

Not sure what she is exactly doing now. IMDb has nothing listed for her since 2005.

[SteveFrame]

One of the posts above reminded me of some other faves. I checked to see what I could find on some of them:

Jonelle Allen (born July 18, 1944) is an American actress, singer, and dancer.

Born in New York City, Allen grew up in Harlem's Sugar Hill among neighbors that included Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins, and Johnny Hodges, all of whom had an influence on her career choice. She made her Broadway debut at the age of six in The Wisteria Trees, Joshua Logan's Americanized adaptation of The Cherry Orchard starring Helen Hayes. As a child she also made regular appearances on a local children's television series, The Merry Mailman, hosted by Ray Heatherton.

Allen returned to Broadway for a 1955 revival of Finian's Rainbow. She was in the cast of the original off-Broadway production of Hair at Joseph Papp's Public Theater and also appeared in George M! before receiving critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination for Two Gentlemen of Verona, which earned her New York Drama Critics' Circle, Drama Desk, Theatre World, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance. Despite her success, it proved to be her last Broadway appearance to date.

Allen's film credits include Cotton Comes to Harlem, The Hotel New Hampshire, and The River Niger, for which she won an NAACP Image Award. She had a regular role in the dramatic series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman from 1993-97. Other television appearances include Barney Miller, The Love Boat, All in the Family, Trapper John, M.D., Hill Street Blues, Cagney and Lacey, and ER.

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James Reynolds (born August 10, 1946 in Oskaloosa, Kansas) is an American actor.

Reynolds plays Abe Carver on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. He was a regular from 1981 to 2003, and has returned since his "death" in 2004.

After serving as stalwart police Commander Abe Carver on Days of Our Lives for nine years, Reynolds moved to the new series, Generations in 1991 to play powerful business tycoon Henry Marshall. He was rewarded for his powerful portrayal with an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. With the subsequent demise of that series, Reynolds was invited to return to Days where he was promoted in rank to Commander and named the top law enforcement official in Salem, the mythical community which is home to Days. Reynolds has subsequently established Abe Carver as the longest running African-American character in television history, and Reynolds, of course, is the only African-American actor to portray a single character for so many years.

In high school, the subjects James enjoyed most were English and History. With a small student body, there was never any shortage of extracurricular activities and, in addition to performing in many school plays, he became very active in sports, playing football, basketball, and track.

Following graduation from high school, Reynolds joined the Marines. After boot camp he was assigned to the Information Service Office where, first stationed in Hawaii, he became a reporter for the service newspaper, The Windward Marine. Later he was sent to Vietnam and served for almost a year with a variety of units in and around Chu Lai, adding battlefield reporting to his combat duties, until a wound resulted in his discharge.

Returning to the States, Reynolds enrolled in Topeka's Washburn University, majoring in prelaw and journalism. Advised that the best place on campus to meet girls was the theater department, he began auditioning and performing in plays. In addition to his improved social life, Reynolds reaped another unexpected benefit -- he discovered a passion for acting. He went on to appear not only in regular campus productions of musicals and dramatic plays, but with local theater groups as well.

One of Reynolds' greatest honors is being named to the Kansas Historical Society's list of famous Kansans, a list that includes such notables as President Dwight Eisenhower, Amelia Earhart, Langston Hughes, Barry Sanders, and many others.

Deeply committed to his charitable work, Reynolds has been involved in more than 300 fund raising events in the last ten years. He annually hosts a "Bowl-a-thon" in Los Angeles to benefit the National Asthma Center and a celebrity basketball game in South Pasadena for the city's schools.

His son Jed is a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

James is listed in Who's Who in Entertainment, Who's Who Among African-Americans, Who's Who in Business, and Who's Who International.

Reynolds is an active sportsman, enjoying basketball and racquetball on his days off. He, his wife Lissa Layng Reynolds and son Jed make their home in suburban Los Angeles.

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Lynn Hamilton (born April 25, 1930 in Yazoo City, Mississippi) is an African-American actress, who made her film debut in John Cassavetes' Shadows (1959).

She may be best known for her role as "Donna Harris", a role she played infrequently on the sitcom Sanford and Son, from 1972 to 1977 as Fred Sanford's mature girlfriend.

Hamilton also had a recurring role on The Waltons, and appeared on the sitcom 227 and the serials Generations and Port Charles.

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Renée Jones (born October 15, 1958) is best known for her role as Dr. Lexie Carver on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives, starting in 1993. Jones, 48, has been fired and will last air January 22, 2007. She has been nominated five times for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series for the role.

Born into a large family of five siblings, she grew up in Georgia and New York. She worked as a secretary before chucking her clerical duties and, at the age of 19, signed with the prestigious Ford Models agency and later made her acting debut on the primetime series The White Shadow.

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Cathy Janeen Doe (born on November 13, 1980. in Tallahassee, Florida) is an American actress. She is credited also as Cathy Doe. Doe graduated from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida with a Bachelors of Science degree in journalism.

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Tonya Pinkins (born May 30, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress.

She is probably best known for playing the character of Livia Frye on the soap opera All My Children -- a role she originated in 1991. After leaving the show in 1995 she made a return in 2003, and was later put on contract with the show from March 2004 until June 2006, when she was downgraded to recurring status.

Pinkins is a Tony Award winner for her performance as Sweet Anita in Jelly's Last Jam and nominated for her role in Play On. Her additional Broadway credits include The Wild Party, House of Flowers, Above the Rim and most recently playing the title role in Caroline, or Change, for which she was again nominated for a Best Leading Actress in a Musical Tony.

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Tichina Arnold (born June 28, 1971 in Queens, New York) is an American actress best known for her role on Martin playing Pamela James, as Rochelle on Everybody Hates Chris and as Nicole on the sitcom One on One. Other roles she is recognized for include Crystal in the big-screen version of Little Shop of Horrors, along with her future Martin castmate Tisha Campbell, and for 2 years as troubled-teen character Zena Brown on the daytime soap opera, Ryan's Hope and Sharla Valentine on "All My Children. She was nominated for an Emmy for her work on Ryan's Hope at the age of 16. Her most current role is playing Rochelle in the Golden Globe nominated Everybody Hates Chris.

Arnold is also a raspy, powerhouse vocalist capable of dipping deep into the contralto range. Her vocals are featured on the soundtrack to the movie adaption of Little Shop of Horrors. In 1992, Arnold contributed background vocals to "Push", a single from singer and fellow actress Tisha Campbell's debut album. The two long-time friends also duetted in 1997 on a cover of The Emotions' "Don't Ask My Neighbor" from the soundtrack of the farcial comedy Sprung. Recently, she has lent her voice to several underground house/dance mixes which garnered her some popularity in the alternative club scenes of Los Angeles, CA.

With her starring role on Everybody Hates Chris, she and two of her friends/fellow vocalists pitched a possible theme song for the show. Although the song was ultimately not used for the series, an excerpt of the song in which Arnold and her vocalists sing the phrase, "Everybody Hates Chris" is heard at the end of every episode. During season one, another take of the excerpt was used at the end of every act-break before going into commercial. This was ultimately abandoned during the second season.

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Keith Hamilton Cobb (born 28 January 1962) is an American actor, best known for his role as the ruthless Tyr Anasazi in the science-fiction series Andromeda from 2000 to 2002 and his role as Damon Porter on The Young and the Restless from 2003 to 2005. He also appeared in two episodes of the Beastmaster television series in 1999.

Cobb was born in Tarrytown, New York; he graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1987. A classically trained actor, he appeared in a number of Shakespeare productions in the New York area before breaking into television in the mid 1990s. One of his first movies was the 1995 Daniel Robert Cohn film Eyes Beyond Seeing in which he plays a mental patient who claims to be Jesus Christ.

Cobb is a consistent character actor. The character he played briefly in Beastmaster is very similar to his Tyr Anasazi character in the Andromeda television series. Cobb is a very muscular and fearsome looking actor who appears to fit the warrior's role, but has never played the "big dumb guy;" rather his characters are best described as thoughtful philosophical warriors.

Currently, he plays the recurring role of Quincy, a gay activist on LOGO Network's Noah's Arc.

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Other faves that I want to mention:

John Danelle who played Frank on AMC. He and Lisa Wilkinson who played his wife Nancy on AMC were some of my early faves.

Loved Michelle Shay who played Henrietta on Another World. She has such great chemistry with Morgan Freeman's character Roy. And she made a wonderful rival for the great Petronia Paley who was a fave on both Another World and Guiding Light

Vernoica Redd who played Mamie. She was wonderful.

Lauren Martin-Harkins who played Camille on ATWT. Absolutely loved her. I wish she would come back to soaps.

[Brandeis]

Who was the now deceased "Cash" woman from GH? I believe she deserves recognition.

[SteveFrame]

I can't believe I forgot these two. They are my absolute faves. They both played Sadie on OLTL:

Lillian Hayman (July 17, 1922 — October 25, 1994) was an African-American actress, best known for her work on the television soap opera One Life to Live.

Hayman first acted on the Broadway stage. She won the 1968 Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, playing the mother of Leslie Uggams's character in the play Hallelujah, Baby! This performance attracted the casting agents for One Life to Live, who cast her as Sadie Gray. This role would become Hayman's most identifiable, and she acted on the serial from 1968 until 1986, when her option was not picked up by then-executive producer Paul Rauch. She didn't even know that she was fired until someone told her in the parking garage as she left the studio, "Mr. Rauch wants you to know that you just worked your last day."

Miss Hayman briefly left the cast of One Life to Live to appear in the primetime musical comedy series Leslie starring Leslie Uggams. The role of Sadie was recast.

Hayman also portrayed Lucrezia Borgia in the 1975 film Mandingo and its 1976 sequel, Drum.

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Esther Rolle (November 8, 1920 – November 17, 1998) was a Bahamian American actress. The daughter of Bahamian immigrants, Rolle was born in Pompano Beach, Florida and attended Spelman College.

One of Rolle's most prominent early turns was as Miss Maybell in the 1973 Melvin Van Peebles cult classic, Don't Play Us Cheap. Rolle is best known, however, for her role as Florida Evans, the character she played on two successful 1970s sitcoms: Maude and its spinoff, Good Times. She was nominated in 1975 for the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy Golden Globe Award for her role in Good Times. Although Good Times was successful, Rolle fought for more relevant themes and scripts. In a stand-off with the show's producer Norman Lear, Rolle quit, and the series continued without her. She returned for the show's final season.

After Good Times, she performed in a number of made-for-television movies and feature films, including Driving Miss Daisy and My Fellow Americans. She had a major role in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings based on Maya Angelou's memoir of the same name, and has the distinction of having won the very first Emmy Award for the category “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie,” in 1979 for her work in the television movie Summer of My German Soldier. Another memorable role was that of Aunt Sarah in the 1997 film Rosewood. Her last film, Train Ride was released after her death in 2000.

Rolle died 17 November 1998, in hospital in Culver City, a community in Los Angeles, due to complications from diabetes just ten days after her 78th birthday. She left her Emmy Award and estate to an institution for African American rights.[citation needed]

Rolle was a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

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And Brandeis you are thinking about Rosalind Cash. Can't believe I forgot her either. I loved her too.

Rosalind Cash (December 31, 1938 – October 31, 1995) was an American actress. Her career endured on stage, screen, and television, despite her staunch refusal to portray stereotyped "black" roles. Cash was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the Public Broadcasting Service production of Go Tell it on the Mountain. She graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1956.

Her trademark was her "dreadlocks".

[EricaKane4life]

Hey Steve Frame thanks for posting this! You always have great topics and great posts.

I love all the actors you listed, I just wish AW had been as savvy in writing black characters

as AMC and Y&R were back in the day.

I think the soaps are lacking diversity right now and thats hurting daytime as well. Still pissed

that Rowell is leaving Y&R.

[Brandeis]

Thank you Steve Frame, yes that's her! Don't feel bad about forgetting her - I couldn't remember her first name and almost called her June Carter Cash.