Post by Bluejay on Mar 1, 2006 22:25:43 GMT -5
-- Veteran actress Rosetta LeNoire, known for her
portrayal of Mother Winslow on ABC's "Family Matters," died March 17, 2002 of natural causes at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey. She was 90, Variety reports.
Born in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City, she took music lessons from legend Eubie Blake at age 13 and by 15 was a chorus girl working with her godfather, dancing great Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
She was directed by Orson Welles in his landmark, all-black version of "Macbeth" in the 1930s, and in 1939 made her Broadway debut in Mike Todd's "The Hot Mikado." Other Broadway credits included "A Streetcar Named Desire," "The Sunshine Boys," "Lost in the Stars," "Destry Rides
Again," "I Had a Ball," "Sophie," the revival of "Cabin in the Sky" and "Anna Lucasta," in which she toured and then co-starred in the film version with Sammy Davis Jr.
Other feature credits include "Moscow on the Hudson," "The Sunshine Boys," "Playing for Keeps," "Daniel," "Whatever It Takes" and "Brewster's Millions." TV credits include "The Guiding Light" and "A World Apart." She played Nell Carter's mother on NBC's "Gimme a Break"and was on "Family Matters" for eight seasons.
In 1999, she was honored by President Clinton as a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. She also received the Kennedy Center Black Playwright's Award for Excellence in developing new works and the Richard L. Coe Award for extending the boundaries of theater.
She is survived by a son, a brother, a sister, two grandchildren and two great- grandchildren.
Our hearts go out to Rosetta and her friends and family.
