Danitra Vance

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Danitra Vance (born July 13, 1954 in Chicago , Illinois ; † August 21, 1994 in Markham , Illinois) was an American comedian and actress who mainly worked as a cast member of the 11th season of the NBC Sketch Show Saturday Night Live and through her collaboration in films such as Sticky Fingers (1988), Limit Up (1990) and Jumpin 'at the Boneyard (1992).

Career

Vance graduated from Thornton Township High School in 1972 , where she acted in theater and was a member of the Debating Club . She later studied at Roosevelt University . After graduating with honors, she went to London to attend the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art , from which she graduated with a Master of Fine Arts .

The African-American Yvonne Hudson was a recurring, by name not mentioned, extra in the 4th and 5th seasons of the SNL show, who got bigger episode roles from the 6th season. In 1985, however, Vance became the first woman with African roots to become a permanent member of the ensemble. Not only was she the only member with a learning disability : according to Al Franken's book Live from New York: The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live , she had dyslexia , and therefore difficulties with text learning and reading so-called cue cards . At least once she had to cover up her difficulties with improvisation. She was also the first lesbian member (although her sexual orientation was not revealed until after her death) and, to date, the first black lesbian comedian on the SNL cast. She stays on the advice of Harlem Watts Jackson, an underage mother , largely because of her skit That Black Girl , a parody of the 1960s sitcom That Girl , and her role as Cabrini Green Pregnant there, in memory. These two characters became recurring characters on the show.

By the time Vance made its first appearance on SNL, critics and fans were calling for the show to be canceled, the quality of which continued to deteriorate. They were utterly disappointed with Lorne Michaels, who had just returned to SNL after the failure of his ABC sketch show The New Show . Vance himself was frustrated that she was repeatedly cast in roles that followed clichéd stereotypes of black women, e.g. B. waitresses, nurses, secretaries and unmarried mothers who were dependent on welfare such as the role of the aforementioned "Cabrini Green Jackson". Vance also had to play roles as typical black housekeepers or house slaves in skits about the American Civil War . In an episode hosted by Oprah Winfrey in the spring of 1986, Vance played z. B. Lorne Michael's personal slave (her role was based on Celie, a slave from the movie The Color Purple ). In this role she persuades Michaels to beat Oprah to play stereotypical black women. Oprah then puts Lorne in a headlock and opens the show with the well-known exclamation “Live from New York, it's Saturday Night! ". In the same episode, Vance sings “I play the maids” , a parody of the play “ I Write the Songs ” , in which she celebrates her frustration that black actresses like her are repeatedly cast as housekeepers in film and television. Ironically, Vance had also impersonated Cicely Tyson (on the Pee-Wee Herman Thanksgiving special) . Cicely was known for never playing roles where African American women were stereotyped, and as the host of the fourth season (1978-1979), for example, was shocked and outraged that Garrett Morris was given inferior roles.

Vance decided to leave the show at the end of the 1986 season along with many other members who had been fired. Among them were Joan Cusack , Robert Downey Junior , Randy Quaid , Anthony Michael Hall , and Terry Sweeney .

Recurring characters on SNL

  • That Black Girl, a black actress who seeks a chance for success even though she is repeatedly not chosen because of her race. This character was a parody of the 1960s and '70s sitcom That Girl by Marlo Thomas .
  • Cabrini Green Jackson, an underage mother and motivational speaker who gives advice to pregnant women.

Imitations

Work outside the SNL

Vance received the 1986 NAACP Image Award , and later won an Obie Award for her appearance in the theater performance of Spunk , a collection of short stories by Zora Neale Hurston . That same year, Vance was in the original cast of George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum ; When Great Performances re-held the play in 1991, they repeated some of their performances.

Vance starred alongside Nancy Allen in Limit Up : a ghost named Nike. She played supporting roles in The War of the Roses and Little Man Tate , and a major role in Jumpin 'at the Boneyard , whereupon she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award .

death

Vance was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990 and underwent a unilateral mastectomy . She used this experience in a solo sketch "The Radical Girl's Guide to Radical Mastectomy". The cancer returned in 1993, and she died the following year in Markham, Illinois . She was survived by her longtime companion, Jones Miller.

Filmography

Movies

  • 1988: $ 900,000 too much (Sticky Fingers)
  • 1989: A Diabolical Career (Limit Up)
  • 1989: The War of the Roses (The War of the Roses)
  • 1991: Hangin 'Out - 4 Homeboys on the move (Hangin' with the Homeboys)
  • 1991: Little Man Tate (Little Man Tate)
  • 1992: Manny and Dan - Live and Die in the Bronx (Jumpin 'at the Boneyard)

watch TV

  • 1985–1986: Saturday Night Live (TV series, 18 episodes)
  • 1987: Miami Vice (TV series, one episode)
  • 1989: Jackie and Denise - A friendship for life and death ( The Cover Girl and the Cop , TV movie)
  • 1989: Trying Times (TV series, episode)
  • 1990: Sisters (TV movie)
  • 1991: Great Performances (TV series, episode The Colored Museum)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Brantley, Ben : Danitra Vance, 35, an Actress; Worked at Shakespeare Festival . The New York Times . August 23, 1994. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
personal data
SURNAME Vance, Danitra
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American comedian and actress
DATE OF BIRTH July 13, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois , United States
DATE OF DEATH August 21, 1994
Place of death Markham , Illinois , United States