Esther Rolle
Esther Rolle (born November 8, 1920 in Pompano Beach , Florida , † November 17, 1998 in Culver City , California ) was an American actress .
Life
Esther Rolle was the tenth of 18 children. Her older sisters Estelle Evans (1906–1985) and Rosanna Carter (1918–2016) also became actresses. She attended Booker T. Washington High School in Miami, Florida and graduated from Blanche Ely High School. She initially studied at Spelman College in Atlanta before moving to New York City. She attended Hunter College, The New School for Social Research, and Yale University, and was a member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. fraternity. For many years, Role did a traditional job in New York City's Garment District before turning to acting.
Rolle died of complications from diabetes in November 1998 at the age of 78.
Career
Dance : Role was a member of Asadata Dafora's dance troupe, Shogolo Oloba (later renamed Federal Theater African Dance Troupe). She became the troupe's director in 1960.
Theater : Her first acting roles were on stage; She made her New York stage debut in 1962 as "The Blacks". Rolles most prominent role was in Don't Play Us Cheap from 1973 in the role of Miss Maybell.
Film and Television : Rolles made her on-screen debut with a minor role as a churchgoer in Nothing but a Human (1964). It appeared in Gordon Parks' The Learning Tree (1969). She has also appeared in a number of feature films and television films, including her appearances as a kind-hearted housekeeper in Miss Daisy and Her Chauffeur, and as the White House cook in A President Just In Case . A memorable role was that of Aunt Sarah in Rosewood Burning from 1997. She was best known in the USA, however, especially in the 1970s for the role of Florida Evans in two television series: This character was in the first two seasons of the sitcom Maude seen for the first two seasons as the funny housekeeper of Beatrice Arthur's main character. The Florida Evans character was so popular that the character eventually got its own series, Good Times , in which she and her family were the focus. For Good Times , which ran for six seasons until 1979, Rolle was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in the Musical / Comedy category in 1975 .
Music : In 1975, Rolle released an album called The Garden of My Mind .
In 1990 she became the first woman to receive the NAACP Chairman's Civil Rights Leadership Award.
Filmography
- 1965: Nothing But a Man
- 1971: The Bold Ones: The Senator (TV series, episode)
- 1971: Love, Lie, Passion ( One Life to Live , TV series, an episode)
- 1972–1974: Maude (TV series)
- 1974–1979: Good Times (TV series)
- 1973: Don't Play Us Cheap
- 1973: A Case for Cleopatra Jones (Cleopatra Jones)
- 1978: Mein deutscher Soldat ( Summer of My German Soldier , TV movie)
- 1979: The Incredible Hulk ( The Incredible Hulk , television series, one episode)
- 1982: Flamingo Road (TV series, 3 episodes)
- 1982: The New Odd Couple (TV series, episode)
- 1983: Fantasy Island (TV series, episode)
- 1983; 1985: Love Boat ( The Love Boat , TV series, 2 episodes)
- 1985: Murder is Her Hobby ( Murder, She Wrote , TV series, an episode)
- 1989: American Playhouse
- 1989: Big Bad Man (The Mighty Quinn)
- 1989: Miss Daisy and her chauffeur (Driving Miss Daisy)
- 1993: House of Cards (House of Cards)
- 1994: Scarlett
- 1995: An American Quilt (How to Make an American Quilt)
- 1996: A President Just in Case (My Fellow Americans)
- 1997: Rosewood Burning (Rosewood)
- 1997: Touched by an Angel ( Touched By An Angel , television series, one episode)
- 1998: Poltergeist - The uncanny power ( Poltergeist: The Legacy , TV series, an episode)
- 1998: Down in the Delta
- 2000: Train Ride
Web links
- Esther Rolle in theInternet Movie Database(English)
Individual evidence
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Rolle, Esther |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | US-american actress |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 8, 1920 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Pompano Beach , Florida |
DATE OF DEATH | November 17, 1998 |
Place of death | Culver City , California |