Beah Richards Biography ((?)-2000)

Born in Vicksburg, MS; married Hugh Harrell. Addresses: AGENT--Jack Fields and Associates, 9255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1105, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Nationality
American
Gender
Female
Death Details
September 14, 2000
Vicksburg, Mississippi

Famous Works

  • Credits
  • OFF-BROADWAY DEBUT--Grandmother, Take a Giant Step, Jan Hus House, 1956.
  • Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE APPEARANCES
  • Understudy for Lena Younger, A Raisin in the Sun, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, 1959.
  • Viney, The Miracle Worker, Playhouse Theatre, New York City, 1959.
  • Idella Landy, Purlie Victorious, Cort Theatre, New York City, 1961.
  • Sister Margaret, The Amen Corner, Robertson Playhouse, Los Angeles, CA, 1963.
  • the Woman, Arturo Ui, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City, 1963.
  • Sister Margaret, The Amen Corner, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 1965, then Theatre of Being, Los Angeles, 1966.
  • Addie, The Little Foxes, Vivian Beaumont Theatre, New York City, 1967.
  • Lena Younger, A Raisin in the Sun, Inner City Repertory Theatre, Los Angeles, 1968.
  • Lena Younger, A Raisin in the Sun, Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, CT,1983.
  • Also appeared in The Crucible, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, 1972; One Is a Crowd, Inner City Repertory Theatre, 1970, then 1973; A Black Woman Speaks, Inner City Repertory Theatre, 1975, then 1976; Iago,Inner City Cultural Center, 1979; and in An Evening with Beah Richards (one-woman show).
  • Credits; PRINCIPAL FILM APPEARANCES
  • May Scott, Take a Giant Step, United Artists, 1959.
  • Viney, The Miracle Worker, United Artists, 1962.
  • Idella, Gone Are the Days (also known as The Man from C.O.T.T.O.N.
  • and Purlie Victorious), Hammer, 1963.
  • Mrs. Prentice, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Columbia, 1967.
  • Rose Scott, Hurry Sundown, Paramount, 1967.
  • Mrs. Bellamy (Mama Caleba), In the Heat of the Night, United Artists, 1967.
  • Mama Tiny, The Great White Hope, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1970.
  • Charity Tomlin, The Biscuit Eater, Buena Vista, 1972.
  • Florence, Mahogany, Paramount, 1975.
  • Verna, Inside Out, Hemdale, 1986.
  • Miss Hanks, Big Shots, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1987.
  • Credits; PRINCIPAL TELEVISION APPEARANCES; SERIES
  • Rose Kincaid, The Bill Cosby Show, NBC, 1970-71.
  • Aunt Ethel, Sanford and Son, NBC, 1972.
  • MINI-SERIES Cynthia Harvey Palmer, Roots: The Next Generations, ABC, 1979.
  • Credits; PILOTS
  • Grandma Bessie, A Dream for Christmas, ABC, 1973.
  • Grandma, Just an Old Sweet Song, CBS, 1976.
  • Aunt Velvet, Down Home, CBS, 1978.
  • Mona Rainey, Too Good to Be True, ABC, 1983.
  • Edna, Generation, ABC, 1985.
  • Miss Aldrich, Time Out for Dad (also known as Kowalski Loves Ya and Kowalski's Way), NBC, 1987.
  • Katherine, "Barrington," CBS Summer Playhouse, CBS, 1987.
  • Credits; EPISODIC
  • Jamaican woman, "The Curse," The Hitchhiker, HBO, 1986.
  • Carolyn Hurley, 227, NBC, 1986 and 1987.
  • Pockets, Hunter, NBC, 1986 and 1988.
  • Olive Varden, Frank's Place, CBS, 1987.
  • Narcissa, Beauty and the Beast, CBS, 1987, 1988, and 1989.
  • Grandmother Rogers, The Facts of Life, NBC, 1988.
  • Ola Mae, Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 1988.
  • Also Lois, Benson, ABC; Dr. Kildare, NBC; The Big Valley, ABC; I Spy, NBC; Hawaii Five-O, CBS; Ironside, NBC; Room 222, ABC; It Takes a Thief, ABC; OnStage, ABC.
  • Credits; MOVIES
  • Jessie Blake, Footsteps (also known as Footsteps: Nice Guys Finish Last),CBS, 1972.
  • Thelma, Outrage!, ABC, 1973.
  • Lilly Brooks, Ring of Passion, NBC, 1978.
  • Wendell's Grandma, A Christmas without Snow, CBS, 1980.
  • Miz Porter, The Sophisticated Gents, NBC, 1981.
  • Sally Framm, Acceptable Risks, ABC, 1986.
  • Elvira Backus, As Summers Die, HBO, 1986.
  • Also The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, CBS, 1974.
  • Credits; SPECIALS
  • Inner Visions--Beah Richards, PBS, 1978.
  • voice of Zazu, Banjo, the Woodpile Cat (animated), ABC, 1982.
  • Writings;STAGE
  • One Is a Crowd, Inner City Repertory Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 1970.
  • A Black Woman Speaks, Inner City Repertory Theatre, 1975.
  • Writings;OTHER
  • A Black Woman Speaks and Other Poems.