Other Notable Actresses include:

Virginia Capers- Big Jake

 Eliza Virginia Capers (September 22, 1925 – May 6, 2004) was an American actress born in Sumter, South Carolina, Capers attended Howard University and studied voice at the Juilliard School in New York City. She made her Broadway debut in Jamaica in 1957 as the understudy for Adelaide Hall in the role of Grandma Obeah and took over the role when Hall left the show. Capers went on to appear in Saratoga and Raisin,^[ for which she won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical. –

Ruby Dandridge (Mother of Dorothy Dandridge) – The Beulah Show

Ruby Dandridge (March 3, 1900 – October 17, 1987) was an American actress from the early 1900s to the 1950s. She is best known for her radio work in her early days of acting. On September 30, 1919, she married Cyril Dandridge. She moved with her husband to Cleveland, Ohio, where her daughter, actress Vivian Dandridge (1921–1991) was born. A second daughter, Academy Award-nominated actress Dorothy Dandridge, was born there the following year, in 1922, five months after Ruby and Cyril divorced. It is noted that after her divorce, Ruby Dandridge became involved with her companion Geneva Williams, who reportedly overworked the children and punished them harshly. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Estelle Evans (Sister of Ester Rolle) – To Kill a Mockingbird.

Estelle Evans (October 1, 1906 – July 20, 1985) was a Bahamian-born American actress. She was born in Rolle Town in the Bahamas. After playing Calpurnia in the 1962 version of To Kill a Mockingbird she went on act in several other movies and television shows until her death in 1985. She was the sister of actresses Esther Rolle and Rosanna Carter. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Lillian Randolph – All-American Co-Ed(1941)  and The Beulah Show.

Lillian Randolph (December 14, 1898 – September 12, 1980) was an American actress and singer, a veteran of radio, film, and television. She worked in entertainment from the 1930s well into the 1970s, appearing in hundreds of radio shows, motion pictures, short subjects, and television shows. Like her sister, Amanda, Lillian was also one of the actresses to play the part of Beulah on radio. Lillian assumed the role in 1952 when Hattie McDaniel became ill; that same year, she received an “Angel” award from the Caballeros, an African-American businessmen’s association, for her work in radio and television for 1951. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Theresa Harris – Hold Your Man

(1932)”Actress Theresa Harris once shared with a reporter that her “greatest ambition was to be known someday as a great Negro actress.  She briefly pursued a career in theatre, gaining her most acclaimed role as the title character in the Lafayette Player’s musical production of Irene.  In 1933, she received her first credited film role as a domestic in the drama Baby Face and subsequently became one of RKO’s most visible stock players. Although routinely donned in an apron and head wrap, Harris refused to comply with the mammy stereotype and parlayed her dignified style in a plethora of Hollywood’s most classic films. Under RKO, Harris later graduated to glamorous film roles, semi-frequently showcasing her vocal abilities in solo segments. Recognition as one of the industry’s leading African American actresses followed rave reviews of  her role as comedian Eddie “Rochester” Anderson’s costar in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940), which earned Harris a two-year, multi-picture contract with Paramount Studios.”

Amanda Randolph – The Laytons

” (September 2, 1896 – August 24, 1967) was an American actress and singer. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, she was the older sister of actress Lillian Randolph. She was the first African-American performer to star in a regularly scheduled network television show, appearing in DuMont’s The Laytons. This short-lived program was on the air two months in 1948.”From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ethel Waters – Member of the Wedding.

Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an African American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.  She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1949 for the film Pinky. In 1950, she won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for her performance opposite Julie Harris in the play The Member of the Wedding. Waters and Harris repeated their roles in the 1952 film version of Member of the Wedding” In 1950, Waters starred in the television series Beulah but quit after complaining that the scripts’ portrayal of Blacks was “degrading.”

Julie Harris and Ethel Waters in Carson McCullers’ THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING, 1950.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia