Nell Carter

Nell Carter
Born	Nell Ruth Hardy September 13, 1948(1948-09-13) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Died	January 23, 2003(2003-01-23) (aged 54) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress/Singer
Years active	1979–2003
Spouse	George Krynicki (1982-1992) Roger Larocque (1992-1993)

Nell Carter (September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer, and film, stage, and television actress. She won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin', as well as an Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television. She also received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her starring role in the long-running 1980s’ sitcom Gimme a Break!.

Biography

Early life

Born Nell Ruth Hardy to Horace and Edna Mae Hardy in Birmingham, Alabama, Carter was one of nine children. She overcame adversity and personal hardships before finding success as an actress. Her father died in an accident with a power line. A man raped her when she was 16, and she became pregnant from the attack, giving birth to a daughter, Tracy.

Career

She was in the 1971 rock opera Soon, which closed after three performances. Carter appeared alongside Bette Davis in the 1974 stage musical Miss Moffat, based on Davis' earlier film The Corn Is Green. The show closed before making it to Broadway. She broke into stardom in the musical Ain't Misbehavin, for which she won a Tony Award in 1978. She also won an Emmy for the same role in a televised performance in 1982. Additional Broadway credits included Dude and Annie.

In 1979, she had a part in the Miloš Forman-directed musical film adaptation of Hair. Her vocal talents are showcased throughout the motion picture soundtrack. One of the more memorable moments in the film involves her rendition of the song "White Boys" where she can be seen dancing playfully as she performs the song (alongside Ain't Misbehavin co-star, Charlayne Woodard).

In 1978, Carter was cast as Effie White in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, but departed the production during development to take a television role on the ABC-TV soap opera, Ryan's Hope in New York. When Dreamgirls premiered in late 1981, Jennifer Holliday had taken over the lead. Carter also took a role on television's The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, before landing a steady role as housekeeper Nell Harper on the sitcom Gimme a Break!, for which she earned Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations. The popular show lasted from 1981 to 1987. Carter's wardrobe designer for Gimme a Break! was James Hopkins of Jopkin Design, providing designs for the show as well as for Carter's personal wardrobe and stage performances.

Within a couple of a years after Gimme a Break!, Carter pursued new TV series projects. In 1989, she shot a pilot for NBC entitled Morton's By the Bay, which aired as a one-time special in May of that year. In this, Carter played the assistant to the owner of a banquet hall, and the focus was on her and her mad-cap staff. Alan Ruck and Jann Karam co-starred. NBC passed on the series development. The following year, Carter surfaced as the star of the CBS comedy You Take the Kids. The series, which was percieved as being the black answer to Roseanne due to its portrayal of a working-class African-American family, featured Carter as a crass, no-nonsense mother and wife. You Take the Kids faced poor ratings and reviews, and had a month's run from December 1990 to January 1991.

During the early 1990s, Carter appeared in low-budget films, TV specials, and on game shows such as Match Game '90 and To Tell the Truth. She also co-starred in Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. She appeared as a special guest star on the pilot episode of the new WB show Reba and continued with the show, making a total of three appearances in season one.

In the mid-1990s, Carter appeared on Broadway in a revival of Annie as Miss Hannigan. She was very upset when commercials promoting the show used a different actress, Marcia Lewis, a white actress, as Miss Hannigan. The producers claimed that the commercials, which were made during an earlier production, were too costly to reshoot. Carter felt that racism played a part in the decision. "Maybe they don't want audiences to know Nell Carter is black",^[1] she told the New York Post. However, the ads did mention that Carter was in the show. "It hurts a lot", Carter told the Post, "I've asked them nicely to stop it — it's insulting to me as a black woman."^{[citation needed]} Carter was later replaced by another white actress, Sally Struthers.

In 2002, Carter made two appearances on the show Ally McBeal. The following year had her rehearsing for a production of Raisin, a stage musical of A Raisin in the Sun in Long Beach, California, and filming a movie, Swing.

Personal life

After Gimme a Break! began, Carter's life took a turbulent turn. She married mathematician and lumber executive George Krynicki, and converted to Judaism in 1982 (she had been born Roman Catholic and raised Presbyterian).^[2][3][4] She attempted suicide in the early 1980s, and entered a drug detoxification facility around 1985. Her brother, Bernard, died of AIDS in 1989.

Carter had three children: daughter Tracy and two sons, Daniel and Joshua. She adopted both her sons as newborns over a four-month period. She attempted to adopt twice more but both adoptions fell through. In one case she brought home a child, Mary, but the birth parents demanded money before they would sign the adoption papers. In her final attempt, she allowed a young pregnant woman to move into her home with the plan that she would adopt the child, but the mother decided to keep her baby.

In 1992, Carter had surgery to repair two aneurysms. She divorced Krynicki and married Roger Larocque the same year, divorcing Larocque the next year. She declared bankruptcy in 1995 and again in 2002. She also endured three miscarriages.

Appearing emotional and tearful on an episode of the Sally Jessy Raphael Show, Carter explained how she went to a Liza Minnelli concert during a turbulent time of her life. Carter told Raphael how Minnelli, seeing Carter in an agonized state, ran offstage to tell her sister, Lorna Luft, to go out and take Carter backstage so that she could get some help. Minnelli and Luft helped get Carter into rehab for her cocaine problem, which she conquered.

Death

Having previously survived two brain aneurysms, Carter died at the age of 54 on January 23, 2003, from heart disease complicated by diabetes in her Beverly Hills home that she shared with her friend Ann Kaser, and her two 13-year-old boys, Joshua and Daniel. Her daughter Tracy Ruth lived away from their California home. She is interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Filmography

• 2003: Swing .... Grace
• 2002: Ally McBeal .... Harriet Pumple (2 episodes, 2002)
• 2002: Back by Midnight .... Waitress
• 2001: Reba .... Dr. Susan Peters (3 episodes, 2001)
• 2001: Seven Days .... Lucy (1 episode, 2001)
• 2001: Touched by an Angel .... Cynthia Winslow (2 episodes, 2001)
• 2001: Blue's Clues .... Mother Nature (1 episode, 2001)
• 1999: Sealed with a Kiss (TV) .... Mrs. Wheatley
• 1999: Perfect Fit .... Mrs. Gordy
• 1999: We Wish You a Merry Christmas (V) (voice) .... Mrs. Claus
• 1999: Special Delivery
• 1997: Sparks .... Barbara Rogers (1 episode, 1997)
• 1997: Brotherly Love .... Nell Bascombe (1 episode, 1997)
• 1997: Spider-Man .... Glory Grant (2 episodes, 1995–1997)
• 1997: Fakin' Da Funk .... Claire
• 199?: The Blues Brothers Animated Series .... Betty Smythe (1 episode) (voice)
• 1996: The Proprietor .... Millie Jackson
• 1996: Can't Hurry Love .... Mrs. Bradstock (1 episode, 1996)
• 1995: The Grass Harp .... Catherine Creek
• 1992: Hangin' with Mr. Cooper ... P.J. Moore / ... (42 episodes, 1992–1995)
• 1995: Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child TV series .... Mary (unknown episodes)
• 1995: The Crazysitter .... The Warden
• 1992: Bébé's Kids (voice) .... Vivian
• 1992: Jake and the Fatman .... Ethel Mae Haven (1 episode, 1992)
• 1992: Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story (TV) .... Lucille Gathers
• 1992: Maid for Each Other (TV) .... Jasmine Jones
• 1990: You Take the Kids .... Nell Kirkland (6 episodes, 1990–1991)
• 1989: 227 ... Beverly Morris (1 episode, 1989)
• 1986: Amen .... Bess Richards (1 episode, 1986)
• 1982: The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour (1 episode, 1982)
• 1981: Gimme a Break! .... Nellie Ruth 'Nell' Harper (137 episodes, 1981–1987)
• 1981: Modern Problems .... Dorita
• 1981: Scanners .... Alisha Hendricks
• 1980: The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo .... Sgt. Hildy Jones (15 episodes, 1980–1981)
• 1981: Back Roads .... Waitress
• 1979: Hair .... Ain't Got No/White Boys
• 1978: Ryan's Hope .... Ethel Green (11 episodes, 1978–1979)
• 1978: Cindy (TV) (as Nell-Ruth Carter) .... Olive

References

1. ^ Nell Carter, Ain't Misbehavin' Star, Dead at 54 - Playbill
2. ^ http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/19245/-pop-soul-belter-nell-carter-54-devoted-convert-to-judaism-dies/
3. ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3984109.html?refid=gg_x_02
4. ^ "Actress Nell Carter Dies at 54". Fox News. January 23, 2003. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,76413,00.html. 

• Stephen Holden (24 January 2003). "Nell Carter Is Dead at 54; Star of 'Ain′t Misbehavin′'". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE3DC1639F937A15752C0A9659C8B63&scp=1&sq=nell+carter&st=nyt. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
• Naomi Pfefferman (31 January 2003). "Pop-soul belter' Nell Carter, 54, devoted convert to Judaism, dies". L.A. Jewish Journal. http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/19693/edition_id/400/format/html/displaystory.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 

External links

Biography portal

• Nell Carter at the Internet Movie Database
• Nell Carter at the Internet Broadway Database
• Nell Carter at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Nell Carter at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Carter, Nell
Alternative names	Hardy, Nell Ruth (birth name)
Short description	actress & singer
Date of birth	September 13, 1948
Place of birth	Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America
Date of death	January 23, 2003
Place of death	Beverly Hills, California, United States of America