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S. Epatha Merkerson Biography (1952-)

Full name, Sharon Epatha Merkerson; born November 28, 1952, in Saginaw, MI; daughter of Ann Merkerson (a postal worker); married Toussaint L. Jones (a social worker and therapist), March 1994. Addresses: Manager: Blueprint Artist Management, 5670 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2525, Los Angeles, CA 90036, or1438 N. Gower St., Building 15, 2nd Floor, Box 17, Los Angeles, CA 90028.; Publicist: PMK/HBH Public Relations, 650 5th Ave., 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10019.

Nationality

American

Gender

Female

Occupation

Actress

Birth Details

November 28, 1952

Saginaw, Michigan, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Television Appearances
• Series
• Reba the mail lady, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, CBS, 1986
• Captain Margaret Claghorn, Mann & Machine, NBC, 1992
• Ms. St. Marth, Here and Now, NBC, 1992-1993
• Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, Law & Order, NBC, 1993-
• Miniseries
• Lani, coworker, "I'm OK, It's You I'm Not Sure About," A Girl Thing, Showtime, 2001
• Movies
• Equal Justice, 1990
• Louise Waters, It's Nothing Personal (also known as Nothing Personal), NBC, 1993
• Alice, "A Place for Annie," Hallmark Hall of Fame, ABC, 1994
• Ruby, A Mother's Prayer, USA Network, 1995
• Barbara Caffrey, Breaking Through (also known as After the Silence), 1996
• Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, Exiled (also known as Exiled: A Law& Order Movie), NBC, 1998
• Beverly Hawkins, An Unexpected Life, USA Network, 1998
• Nanny, Lackawanna Blues, HBO, 2004
• Pilots
• Jimmy, Elysian Fields (also known as The CBS Summer Playhouse), CBS, 1989
• Melba, Moe's mother, Moe's World, ABC, 1992
• Specials
• Reba the mail lady, A Special Evening of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, CBS,1987
• Reba the mail lady, Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (also known as Christmas Special, Christmas at Pee Wee's Playhouse, andPee-Wee Herman's Christmas Special), CBS, 1988
• Ruth Clayton, "Summer Stories: The Mall," ABC Afterschool Specials, ABC, 1992
• Voice of Eslanda Robeson, Paul Robeson: Here I Stand, PBS, 1999
• Host, Art in the Twenty-First Century (documentary), PBS, 2001
• Episodic
• Book club member, "Bookworm," The Cosby Show, 1988
• Denise Winters, "Mushrooms," Law & Order, 1991
• Mama Bouchard, "I Witness," South Beach, 1993
• Herself, Larry King Live, CNN, 2000
• Dr. McCaskill, "Dark Side of the Moon," Frasier, NBC, 2000
• Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, "Badge," Law & Order: Criminal Intent, NBC, 2002
• TV Land Moguls, TV Land, 2004
• Film Appearances
• All That Jazz, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1979
• Prizzi's Honor, ABC Motion Pictures, 1985
• (As Epatha Merkinson) Dr. Jamison, She's Gotta Have It, 1986
• Postcards from the Edge, Columbia, 1990
• Elsa, Jacob's Ladder (also known as Dante's Inferno), TriStar, 1990
• Rachel, Loose Cannons, TriStar, 1990
• Jolena, Navy SEALS, Orion, 1990
• Tarissa Dyson, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (also known as T2, El Exterminator 2, T2--Terminator 2: Judgment Day, T2: Extreme Edition, T2: Ultimate Edition, and Terminator 2--Le jugement dernier), TriStar, 1991
• Nea, Random Hearts, Sony Pictures Releasing, 1999
• Lessie Watson, The Rising Place, 2001
• Maggie, Radio, Sony Pictures Releasing, 2003
• Doctor #1, Jersey Girl, Miramax, 2004
• Stage Appearances
• Second Thoughts, Black Theatre Festival U.S.A., Mitzi E. NewhouseTheatre, New York City, 1979
• Understudy for female roles, Spell #7, Public Theatre, New York City, 1979
• Understudy, Tintypes, Theatre of St. Peter's Church, New York City, 1980, then John Golden Theatre, New York City, 1980-1981
• Pianist, Jazz Set, Henry Street Settlement's New Federal Theatre,New York City, 1982
• Woman #2, Home, Alley Theatre, Houston, TX, 1982
• Incandescent Tones, New Federal Theatre, 1983
• Understudy, Puppetplay, Theatre Four, New York City, 1983-1984
• Louise Cline, The Harvesting, Circle Repertory Theatre, New York City, 1984
• Rula, Every Goodbye Ain't Gone, Colonnades Theatre Lab, New York City, 1984
• Jenny, Hospice, Colonnades Theatre Lab, 1984
• Understudy, Balm in Gilead, Minetta Lane Theatre, New York City, 1984-1985
• Shepard Sets, Syracuse Stage, Syracuse, NY, 1985
• The Dream Team, Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, CT, 1985
• A Raisin in the Sun, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Philadelphia, PA, 1985
• Home, The Whole Theatre, Montclair, NJ, 1985-1986
• Billie Holiday, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Westside Arts Theatre, New York City, 1987
• Adele, Moms, Hudson Guild Theatre, New York City, 1987
• Dawn, Three Ways Home, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, and AstorPlace Theatre, New York City, both 1988
• Bernice, The Piano Lesson, Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1989, then Walter Kerr Theatre, New York City, 1990, later Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, 1990
• Janet, Secrets to Square Dancing, Playwrights Horizons, New York City, 1991
• Margaret Fletcher, I'm Not Stupid, Playwrights Horizon, 1991
• The Old Settler, Studio Theatre, Washington, DC, 1998
• Hester Smith, Fucking A, Joseph Papp Public Theatre/Anspacher Public Theatre, New York City, 2003
• RECORDINGS
• Video Games
• Voice of Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, Law & Order: Dead on the Money, 2002
• Voice of Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, Law & Order II: Double or Nothing, 2003

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals

• Essence, March, 1996, p. 60; September, 2003, p. 122
• People Weekly, August 13, 2001, p. 93