Nell Carter

{{Infobox person

| name = Nell Carter

| image = Nell Carter.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Nell Ruth Hardy

| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|9|13|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2003|1|23|1948|9|13}}

| death_place = Beverly Hills, California, U.S.

| resting_place = Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery

| nationality = American

| other_names = Nell Ruth Carter

| education = A. H. Parker High School

| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|singer}}

| years_active = 1970–2003

| known_for = Nell Harper – Gimme a Break!

| spouse = {{marriage|George Krynicki
|1982|1992|end=divorced}}{{cite journal| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zz4DAAAAMBAJ&q=Nell+Carter+George+Krynicki&pg=PA59| title=Nell Carter Marries Man Who Rescued Her From Emotional Crisis| date=May 31, 1982| journal=Jet| access-date=July 5, 2023| page=59| via=Google Books}}{{cite journal| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7sDAAAAMBAJ&q=Nell+Carter+George+Krynicki&pg=PA59| title=Nell Carter Takes Charge of Life, Love and Career| journal=Jet| date=September 25, 1989| page=59| via=Google Books}}
{{marriage|Roger Larocque
|1992|1993|end=divorced}}

| partner = Ann Kaser (?–2003){{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZIjGHo4kl0C&q=nell+carter+ann+kaser&pg=PA137| title=The Show Must Go On: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series| first=Douglas| last=Snauffer| date=March 10, 2015| publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-0-7864-5504-1| page=137| via=Google Books}}{{cite web| url=http://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/popular_culture/Obituary_of_Nell_Carter_a_Jew-by-Choice.shtml| title=InterFaith Family – Obituary of Nell Carter| access-date=September 4, 2017| archive-date=September 4, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904065622/http://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/popular_culture/Obituary_of_Nell_Carter_a_Jew-by-Choice.shtml| url-status=dead}}

| children = 3

}}

Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy;{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0eJkAAAAMAAJ&q=Nell+Ruth+Hardy|title=Contemporary theatre, film, and television| editor-first1=Thomas| editor-last1=Riggs| date=February 25, 2019| publisher=Gale Research Co.| isbn=978-0-7876-5109-1| via=Google Books}}{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSIhzKnNUf4C&q=Nell+Ruth+Hardy&pg=PA96| title=Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins| edition=5th| first=Adrian| last=Room| date=January 10, 2014| publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-0-7864-5763-2| via=Google Books}} September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American actress and singer.

Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later began work on television. She was best known for her role as Nell Harper on the sitcom Gimme a Break!, which aired from 1981 to 1987. Carter received two Emmy and two Golden Globe award nominations for her work on the series. Prior to Gimme a Break!, Carter won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical in 1978 for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin' as well as a Primetime Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television in 1982.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/24/arts/nell-carter-is-dead-at-54-star-of-ain-t-misbehavin.html|title=Nell Carter Is Dead at 54; Star of 'Ain't Misbehavin'| last=Holden| first=Stephen| date=January 24, 2003| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=February 4, 2020| language=en-US| issn=0362-4331| url-access=subscription}}

Early life

Nell Ruth Hardy{{cite journal| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5HwiAQAAMAAJ&q=Nell+Ruth+Hardy| title=Venus| date=February 25, 2019| journal=Venus Magazine| via=Google Books}} was born on September 13, 1948 in Birmingham, Alabama,{{cite web| url=http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2171| title=Nell Carter| first=Claire M.| last=Wilson| date=March 27, 2023| website=Encyclopedia of Alabama}} one of nine children born to Edna Mae and Horace Hardy. She was born into a Catholic family and raised Presbyterian.{{cite news| url=http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/19245/-pop-soul-belter-nell-carter-54-devoted-convert-to-judaism-dies/| title='Pop-soul belter' Nell Carter, 54, devoted convert to Judaism, dies| last=Pfefferman| first=Naomi| date=January 31, 2009| newspaper=J. The Jewish News of Northern California| access-date=December 2, 2012}}{{cite news| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,76413,00.html| work=Fox News| title=Actress Nell Carter Dies at 54| date=January 23, 2003}} Carter later self-identified as Pentecostal{{cite book| title=Redefining Diva: Life Lessons from the Original Dreamgirl| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nHky6CGQhgQC&q=pentecostal| first=Sheryl Lee| last=Ralph| page=87| publisher=Simon and Schuster| date=March 13, 2012| isbn=978-1-4516-0842-7}} and as Jewish.

At the age of two, Hardy witnessed her father's electrocution when he stepped on a live power line.{{cite book| last=McCann| first=Bob| title=Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television| year=2010| publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-0-786-43790-0| page=74}}{{cite web| url=http://www.legacy.com/ns/news-story.aspx?t=the-highs-and-lows-of-nell-carter&id=690| title=The Highs and Lows of Nell Carter| last=Crowther| first=Linnea| date=January 23, 2012| website=legacy.com| access-date=December 12, 2012}}

As a child, she began singing on a local gospel radio show and was also a member of the church choir. At age 15, she began performing at area coffee houses, and later joined the Renaissance Ensemble that played at coffee houses and gay bars.

On July 5, 1965 at the age of 16, Hardy was raped at gunpoint by a man whom she knew. She became pregnant as a result of the rape and gave birth to daughter Tracy the next year. Finding raising a baby alone too difficult, she sent her child to live with her older sister Willie. She later claimed that Tracy was the product of a brief marriage, but she revealed the truth in a 1994 interview.{{cite journal| last1=Gold| first1=Todd| title=Oh, the Troubles She's Seen| url=http://people.com/archive/oh-the-troubles-shes-seen-vol-41-no-8/| journal=People| access-date=May 7, 2017| date=February 28, 1994}}{{cite web| first=Tom| last=Vallance| title=Nell Carter, Actress of startling contradictions| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/nell-carter-36241.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/nell-carter-36241.html| archive-date=June 18, 2022| url-access=subscription| url-status=live| newspaper=The Independent| location=London| access-date=15 February 2022| date=7 February 2003}}

Career

=Broadway work=

At age 19, Hardy changed her surname to Carter and left Birmingham, Alabama, moving to New York City with the Renaissance Ensemble, where she sang in coffee shops, nightclubs and bathhouses before landing her first Broadway role in 1971.{{cite journal| date=February 10, 2003| title=Stage, Television Star Nell Carter Dies at 54| journal=Jet| volume=103| issue=7| page=49| issn=0021-5996| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7r0DAAAAMBAJ&q=nell+carter+birmingham&pg=PA48}}

Carter made her Broadway debut in the 1971 rock opera Soon, which closed after three performances.{{Cite web |title=Soon |url=https://playbill.com/production/soon-ritz-theatre-vault-0000010070 |access-date=21 July 2024 |website=Playbill}} She was the music director for the 1974 Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective's production of What Time of Night It Is.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} Carter appeared with Bette Davis in the 1974 stage musical Miss Moffat, based on Davis' earlier film The Corn Is Green, but the show closed before reaching Broadway.{{Cite web |title=Miss Moffat (Closed on the road, 1974) {{!}} Ovrtur |url=https://ovrtur.com/public/production/2881215 |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=ovrtur.com}}

Carter became a star for her role in the musical Ain't Misbehavin, for which she won a Tony Award in 1978.{{Cite news |last=Jr |first=Robert Mcg Thomas |date=1978-06-05 |title="Ain't Misbehavin" |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/05/archives/new-jersey-pages-aint-misbehavin-and-da-win-tonys-three-special.html |access-date=2024-07-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} She later won an Emmy for the same role in a televised performance in 1982.{{Cite web |last=Haylock |first=Zoe |date=2018-06-10 |title=Tonys: A Look Back at Black Actors Who Have Won |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/black-tony-awards-acting-winner-1098725/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}

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 Ryan's Hope.{{Cite magazine |last=Shaw |first=Helen |date=2023-04-13 |title=Soap Operas as Guiding Light |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/24/regretfully-so-the-birds-are-theatre-review-white-girl-in-danger |access-date=2024-07-21 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}} When Dreamgirls premiered in late 1981, Jennifer Holliday had taken the lead role.{{Cite web |last=Hetrick |first=Adam |date=26 December 2010 |title="Hard to Say Goodbye": Dreamgirls Tour Concludes in Detroit Dec. 26 |url=https://playbill.com/article/hard-to-say-goodbye-dreamgirls-tour-concludes-in-detroit-dec-26-com-174636 |access-date=21 July 2024 |website=Playbill}}

Carter's additional Broadway credits include Dude and the 20th-anniversary production of Annie, in which she played Miss Hannigan.{{Cite web |last1=Viagas |first1=Robert |last2=Lefkowitz |first2=David |date=5 January 1998 |title=Sally Struthers Takes Over as Miss Hannigan in Annie Tour Jan. 5 |url=https://playbill.com/article/sally-struthers-takes-over-as-miss-hannigan-in-annie-tour-jan-5-com-72717 |access-date=21 July 2024 |website=Playbill}}

=Film and television=

In 1979, Carter had a part in the Miloš Forman-directed musical adaptation of Hair and her voice is heard on the film's soundtrack.{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbBz3C4Gr0EC&q=nell%20carter%20hair%20soundtrack&pg=PA871| title=The Oxford Companion to the American Musical| page=871| last=Hischak| first=Thomas S.| date=2008| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-533533-0| language=en}}

In 1981, she took a role on the NBC action comedy television series The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo{{cite journal| title=Nell Carter Joins 'Lobo' Series, And Ratings Go Up| journal=Jet| date=May 21, 1981| volume=60| issue=10| page=54| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbYDAAAAMBAJ&q=Nell+Carter&pg=PA54| access-date=May 7, 2017| issn=0021-5996}} before landing the lead role of Nell Harper on the sitcom Gimme a Break!.

=''Gimme a Break!''=

Carter became best known to audiences for her lead role in the NBC television series Gimme a Break!, in which she played a housekeeper for a widowed police chief (Dolph Sweet) and his three daughters. The show earned Carter nominations for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award. A total of 137 episodes of Gimme a Break! were produced over a run of six seasons, airing from 1981 to 1987.

In August 1987 after the cancellation of Gimme a Break!, Carter returned to the nightclub circuit with a five-month national tour with comedian Joan Rivers.{{cite journal| title=Nell Carter Returns To Nightclubs After TV Show| journal=Jet| date=August 17, 1987| volume=72| issue=21| page=29| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lLEDAAAAMBAJ&q=Nell+Carter+gimme+a+break&pg=PA29| access-date=May 7, 2017| issn=0021-5996}}

=Further television work=

In 1989, Carter played the assistant to a banquet-hall owner in an unsuccessful pilot for NBC titled Morton's by the Bay, which aired as a one-time special that May. In October, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Game 4 of the 1989 World Series in San Francisco.{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-13-vw-24-story.html| title=Baseball Season: Rite of Spring on Our Field of Dreams| date=April 13, 1992| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| language=en-US| access-date=February 4, 2020}}

In 1990, Carter starred in the CBS comedy You Take the Kids. The series, which was perceived as the black answer to Roseanne with its portrayal of a working-class black family, featured Carter as a crass, no-nonsense mother and wife.{{cite magazine| last1=Tucker|first1=Ken|title=You Take The Kids| url=http://ew.com/article/1990/12/14/you-take-kids/| magazine=Entertainment Weekly| access-date=May 7, 2017| date=December 14, 1990}} You Take the Kids faced poor ratings and reviews and only ran from December 1990 to January 1991.{{cite journal| title='You Take The Kids' Put On Hiatus By CBS| journal=Jet| date=January 28, 1991| volume=79| issue=15| page=62| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbsDAAAAMBAJ&q=nell+carter+you+take+the+kids&pg=PA61| access-date=May 7, 2017| issn=0021-5996}}

During the early 1990s, Carter appeared in low-budget movies, television specials and game shows such as Match Game '90 and To Tell the Truth. She costarred in Hangin' with Mr. Cooper from 1993 to 1995.

In the mid-1990s, Carter appeared on Broadway in a revival of Annie as Miss Hannigan. She was upset when commercials promoting the show used white actress Marcia Lewis as Miss Hannigan. The producers stated that the commercials, which were created during an earlier production, were too costly to reshoot. However, Carter felt that racism played a part in the decision. She told the New York Post: "Maybe they don't want audiences to know Nell Carter is black. ... It hurts a lot. I've asked them nicely to stop it—it's insulting to me as a black woman."{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |date=January 23, 2003 |title=Nell Carter, Ain't Misbehavin' Star, Dead at 54 |journal=Playbill |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/nell-carter-aint-misbehavin-star-dead-at-54-com-111157 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126061512/http://playbill.com/news/article/77475.html |archive-date=January 26, 2009}}{{cite journal| title=Nell Carter Speaks Out on Annie Commercials| url=http://www.playbill.com/article/nell-carter-speaks-out-on-annie-commercials-com-70455| journal=Playbill| access-date=May 7, 2017| date=May 22, 1997}} Carter was later replaced by Sally Struthers.

=Later years=

In 2001, Carter appeared as a special guest star on the pilot episode of Reba and continued with the show, making three appearances in Season 1. The following year, Carter made two appearances on Ally McBeal and a guest appearance on Blue's Clues.

In 2002, she rehearsed for a production of Raisin, a stage musical based on A Raisin in the Sun in Long Beach, California. She appeared in the 2003 film Swing. Her final onscreen appearance was in the comedy film Back by Midnight, released in 2005, two years after her death.{{IMDb name|0141846}}

Nell's final recording project was a duet with Jay Levy, produced by Jay Levy for the 1998 Warner/Rhino Album To Life!: Songs of Chanukah and Other Jewish Celebrations.{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/to-life%21-songs-of-chanukah-and-other-jewish-celebrations-mw0000043504 | title=To Life!: Songs of Chanukah and Other Jewish C... | AllMusic | website=AllMusic }}

Death

On January 23, 2003, at the age of 54, Carter collapsed and died at her home in Beverly Hills.{{cite web| url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/carter-hardy-nell-1948-2003/| title=Nell Hardy Carter (1948-2003)| website=BlackPast| first=Michelle| last=Dartis| date=March 6, 2015}}{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/23/nell.carter.obit/| title=Actress-singer Nell Carter dies| date=January 23, 2003| website=CNN}} Her son Joshua discovered her body that night.{{cite news| last1=Holden| first1=Stephen| title=Sitcom star collapses at home, dies at 54 – Gimme a Break!, Ain't Misbehavin – brought her fame| url=http://m.sfgate.com/news/article/Sitcom-star-collapses-at-home-dies-at-54-2638262.php| newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle| access-date=May 7, 2017| date=January 23, 2003}} Per a provision in Carter's will, no autopsy was performed. Using blood tests, X-rays and a cursory physical examination, the Los Angeles County coroner's office ruled that Carter's death was the likely result of "probable arteriosclerotic heart disease, with diabetes a contributing condition."{{cite news| last1=Boehm| first1=Mike| title=Ruling In Nell Carter's Death| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-mar-05-et-quick5.1-story.html| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| access-date=May 7, 2017| date=March 5, 2003}}

Carter's partner Ann Kaser inherited her property and custody of her two sons.{{cite news| url=https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Actress-Nell-Carter-Died-Naturally-10490461.php| title=Actress Nell Carter Died Naturally| date=May 5, 2003| newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer| access-date=July 5, 2023}} Carter is interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.{{cite book| last1=Wilson| first1=Scott| last2=Mank| first2=Gregory William| title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons| year=2016| publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-476-62599-7 |page=122| edition=3rd}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rwZ_BwAAQBAJ&q=Nell+carter+hillside+memorial+park&pg=PA218|title=Chronicles of Old Los Angeles: Exploring the Devilish History of the City of the Angels| first=James| last=Roman| date=March 1, 2015| publisher=Museyon| isbn=978-1-9408-4200-4| via=Google Books}}{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTWSCgAAQBAJ&q=Nell+carter+hillside+memorial+park&pg=PA307| title=Hollywood Death and Scandal Sites: Seventeen Driving Tours with Directions and the Full Story| edition=2d| first=E. J.| last=Fleming| date=September 18, 2015| publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-1-4766-1850-0| via=Google Books}}

Personal life

Carter attempted suicide in the early 1980s, and around 1985 she entered a drug-detoxification facility to break a longstanding cocaine addiction. Her brother Bernard died of complications from AIDS in 1989.

Carter married mathematician and lumber executive George Krynicki, and she converted to Judaism in 1982. She filed for divorce from Krynicki in 1989 and the divorce was finalized in 1992.

Carter had three children: daughter Tracy and sons Joshua and Daniel. She adopted both Joshua and Daniel as newborns over a four-month period. She attempted to adopt twice more, but both adoptions failed. In her first 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 the baby. Carter also had three miscarriages.

In 1992, Carter had surgery to repair two aneurysms. She married Roger Larocque in June 1992{{cite journal| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g7kDAAAAMBAJ&q=Nell+Carter+George+Krynicki&pg=PA34| title=Nell Carter's Wedding| journal=Jet| page=34| date=June 22, 1992| volume=82| number=9| via=Google Books}} but divorced him the next year. Carter declared bankruptcy in 1995 and again in 2002.

Stage credits

Soon (1971), Broadway
The Wedding of Iphigenia (1971), off-Broadway
Dude (1972), Broadway
Miss Moffat (1974), closed on the road
Be Kind to People Week (1975), off-Broadway
Tom Eyen's Dirtiest Musical (1975), off-Broadway
Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope (1976), San Francisco
Ain't Misbehavin' (1978), Manhattan Theatre Club, Broadway and U.S. national tour
One Night Only (1979), workshop
Black Broadway (1979), Avery Fisher Hall
Black Broadway (1980), The Town Hall
Ain't Misbehavin' (1988), Broadway
Hello, Dolly! (1991), Long Beach Civic Light Opera
Annie (1997), Broadway and U.S. national tour
South Pacific (2001), Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
The Vagina Monologues (2001), Madison Square Garden

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
1979 \| Hair \| Central Park Singer \|
1981 \| Back Roads \| Waitress \|
1981 \| Modern Problems \| Dorita \|
1982 \| Tex \| Mrs. Peters \|
1992 \| Bebe's Kids \| Vivian \| Voice
1995 \| The Crazysitter \| The Warden \|
1995 \| The Grass Harp \| Catherine Creek \|
1995 \| The Misery Brothers \| Courtroom Singer \|
1996 \| The Proprietor \| Millie Jackson \|
1997 \| Fakin' da Funk \| Claire \|
1999 \| Follow Your Heart \| Bus Driver \|
1999 \| Special Delivery \| \|
2001 \| Perfect Fit \| Mrs. Gordy \|
2003 \| Swing \| Juan Gallardo \| released posthumously
2005 \| Back by Midnight \| Waitress \| released posthumously

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1979

| Hair

| Central Park Singer

1981

| Back Roads

| Waitress

1981

| Modern Problems

| Dorita

1982

| Tex

| Mrs. Peters

1992

| Bebe's Kids

| Vivian

| Voice

1995

| The Crazysitter

| The Warden

1995

| The Grass Harp

| Catherine Creek

1995

| The Misery Brothers

| Courtroom Singer

1996

| The Proprietor

| Millie Jackson

1997

| Fakin' da Funk

| Claire

1999

| Follow Your Heart

| Bus Driver

1999

| Special Delivery

2001

| Perfect Fit

| Mrs. Gordy

2003

| Swing

| Juan Gallardo

| released posthumously

2005

| Back by Midnight

| Waitress

| released posthumously

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
1978 \| Cindy \| Olive \| TV movie
1978–1979 \| Ryan's Hope \| Ethel Green \| 11 episodes
1980–1981 \| The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo \| Sergeant Hildy Jones \| 15 episodes
1981–1987 \| Gimme a Break! \| Nellie Ruth 'Nell' Harper \| 137 episodes
1982 \| The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour \| \| Episode: #1.3
1986 \| Nell Carter: Never Too Old to Dream \| Host \| Television Special
1985 \| Santa Barbara \| Herself \| Episode 240
1986 \| Amen \| Bess Richards \| Episode: "The Courtship of Bess Richards"
1986 \| Rosie \| Mrs. Downey \| Episode: "I Dream of Natalie"
1989 \| 227 \| Beverly Morris \| Episode: "Take My Diva...Please!"
1990 \| Shalom Sesame \| Olive Tree (voice) \| Episode: "Chanukah"
1990–1991 \| You Take the Kids \| Nell Kirkland \| 6 episodes
1992 \| Maid for Each Other \| Jasmine Jones \| TV movie
1992 \| Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story \| Lucille Gathers \| TV movie
1992 \| Jake and the Fatman \| Ethel Mae Haven \| Episode: "Ain't Misbehavin'"
1993–1995 \| Hangin' with Mr. Cooper \| P.J. Moore \| 42 episodes
1995–1997 \| Spider-Man: The Animated Series \| Glory Grant (voice) \| 2 episodes
1996 \| Can't Hurry Love \| Mrs. Bradstock \| Episode: "The Rent Strike"
1997 \| Brotherly Love \| Nell Bascombe \| Episode: "Paging Nell"
1997 \| Sparks \| Barbara Rogers \| Episode: "Hoop Schemes"
1997 \| Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child \| Mary (voice) \| Episode: "Mother Goose"
1997 \| The Blues Brothers Animated Series \| Betty Smythe (voice) \| Episode: "Strange Death of Betty Smythe"
1999 \| Sealed with a Kiss \| Mrs. Wheatley \| TV movie
2001 \| Blue's Clues \| Mother Nature (voice) \| Episode: "Environments"
2001 \| Touched by an Angel \| Cynthia Winslow \| 2 episodes
2001 \| Seven Days \| Lucy \| Episode: "Live: From Death Row"
2001 \| Reba \| Dr. Susan Peters \| 3 episodes
2001 \| The Weakest Link \| Herself \| Classic TV Stars Edition #2
2002 \| Ally McBeal \| Harriet Pumple \| 2 episodes

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1978

| Cindy

| Olive

| TV movie

1978–1979

| Ryan's Hope

| Ethel Green

| 11 episodes

1980–1981

| The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo

| Sergeant Hildy Jones

| 15 episodes

1981–1987

| Gimme a Break!

| Nellie Ruth 'Nell' Harper

| 137 episodes

1982

| The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour

| Episode: #1.3

1986

| Nell Carter: Never Too Old to Dream

| Host

| Television Special

1985

| Santa Barbara

| Herself

| Episode 240

1986

| Amen

| Bess Richards

| Episode: "The Courtship of Bess Richards"

1986

| Rosie

| Mrs. Downey

| Episode: "I Dream of Natalie"

1989

| 227

| Beverly Morris

| Episode: "Take My Diva...Please!"

1990

| Shalom Sesame

| Olive Tree (voice)

| Episode: "Chanukah"

1990–1991

| You Take the Kids

| Nell Kirkland

| 6 episodes

1992

| Maid for Each Other

| Jasmine Jones

| TV movie

1992

| Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story

| Lucille Gathers

| TV movie

1992

| Jake and the Fatman

| Ethel Mae Haven

| Episode: "Ain't Misbehavin'"

1993–1995

| Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

| P.J. Moore

| 42 episodes

1995–1997

| Spider-Man: The Animated Series

| Glory Grant (voice)

| 2 episodes

1996

| Can't Hurry Love

| Mrs. Bradstock

| Episode: "The Rent Strike"

1997

| Brotherly Love

| Nell Bascombe

| Episode: "Paging Nell"

1997

| Sparks

| Barbara Rogers

| Episode: "Hoop Schemes"

1997

| Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child

| Mary (voice)

| Episode: "Mother Goose"

1997

| The Blues Brothers Animated Series

| Betty Smythe (voice)

| Episode: "Strange Death of Betty Smythe"

1999

| Sealed with a Kiss

| Mrs. Wheatley

| TV movie

2001

| Blue's Clues

| Mother Nature (voice)

| Episode: "Environments"

2001

| Touched by an Angel

| Cynthia Winslow

| 2 episodes

2001

| Seven Days

| Lucy

| Episode: "Live: From Death Row"

2001

| Reba

| Dr. Susan Peters

| 3 episodes

2001

| The Weakest Link

| Herself

| Classic TV Stars Edition #2

2002

| Ally McBeal

| Harriet Pumple

| 2 episodes

=Video games=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Voice
1996 \| You Don't Know Jack Volume 2 \| Herself

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Voice

1996

| You Don't Know Jack Volume 2

| Herself

Awards

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Award ! Category ! Title !Result
rowspan="3"\|1978 \|Drama Desk Award \|Outstanding Actress in a Musical \|rowspan="4"\|Ain't Misbehavin' \|{{win}}
Theatre World Award \|{{n/a}} \|{{win}}
Tony Award \|Best Featured Actress in a Musical \|{{win}}
rowspan="3"\|1982 \|rowspan="2"\|Primetime Emmy Award \|Outstanding Individual Achievement – Special Class \|{{win}}
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series \|rowspan="4"\|Gimme a Break! \|{{nom}}
Golden Globe Award \|Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy \|{{nom}}
1983 \|Primetime Emmy Award \|Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series \|{{nom}}
1984 \|Golden Globe Award \|Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy \|{{nom}}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Award

! Category

! Title

!Result

rowspan="3"|1978

|Drama Desk Award

|Outstanding Actress in a Musical

|rowspan="4"|Ain't Misbehavin'

|{{win}}

Theatre World Award