Billie Allen
Billie Allen (January 13, 1925 – December 29, 2015) was an American actress, theater director, dancer and entertainer. Allen was one of the first black actors and performers to appear on television and stage in the United States, at a time when those venues were largely closed to African Americans.[1] During the 1950s, Allen became one of the first black entertainers to have a recurring role on network television when she was cast on CBS' The Phil Silvers Show, beginning in 1955.[1] She was also one of the first African Americans to appear on television commercials in the U.S.[1] She was also known for her work on and off Broadway.[2]
Allen was born Wilhelmina Louise Allen on January 13, 1925, in Richmond, Virginia.[1][2] Her father, William Allen, was an actuary, while her mother, the former Mamie Wimbush, was a teacher.[1] Her interest in the performing arts, especially ballet and opera, began early in life. A fan of singer Marian Anderson, Allen attended her 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial after the Daughters of the American Revolution barred Anderson from performing at the DAR Constitution Hall.[1]
Allen attended the Hampton Institute, now known as present-day Hampton University.[1] She then moved to New York City during the mid-1940s to pursue acting and dance.[1] She was cast as a dancer in several Bradway productions early in her career, including the 1947 musical review Caribbean Carnival; a Broadway revival of Four Saints in Three Acts in 1952; and My Darlin' Aida, an adaptation of a Giuseppe Verdi opera, which also opened in 1952.[1]
Allen was accepted into the Actors Studio, where she studied under Lee Strasberg, a respected actor and acting teacher.[1] She was later cast as an understudy in the part of Beneatha Younger in the 1959 production of A Raisin in the Sun. She was later promoted to the full-time role of Beneatha Younger.[2] Allen befriended several members of the cast, notably actress Ruby Dee.[2] Allen later directed Dee in the 2001 off-Broadway dramatic play, Saint Lucy’s Eyes.[1]
In 1960, Billie Allen portrayed a maid in the Broadway debut of Ira Levine's Critic's Choice. Her character, Essie, was the housekeeper of the play's main protagonist, theater critic Parker Ballantine, played by Henry Fonda, and his wife, portrayed by Georgann Johnson.[1] She also appeared in James Baldwin's Blues for Mr. Charlie, a 1964 dramatic play loosely based on the killing of Emmett Till.[1][2] Her last Broadway production as an actress was in A Teaspoon Every Four Hours in 1969. A Teaspoon Every Four Hours ran for a record 97 preview performances before closing the day after its official opening night.[1]
Aside from her breakthrough recurring role in The Phil Silvers Show on CBS during the 1950s, her other television roles included Car 54, Where Are You? on NBC in the early 1960s and Law & Order during the 1990s.[1] Allen's film credits included Black Like Me in 1964, The Wiz in 1978, and Losing Ground in 1982.[1]
In 1973, Allen joined with Morgan Freeman and other actors to co-establish the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop, located in Harlem, as a tribute to its namesake, Frank Silvera, a character actor, theater director and acting teacher.[1] Notable students of the Silvera Writers Workshop have included playwright Charles Fuller, Ntozake Shange and Samm-Art Williams.[1]
Allen received a Lucille Lortel Awards nomination in 2006 for directing Funnyhouse of a Negro, a one-act play by Adrienne Kennedy, in 2006.[2] Allen had previously starred in the lead character, Sarah, during Funnyhouse of a Negro's debut in 1964.[2]
Billie Allen died at her home in Manhattan, New York City, on December 29, 2015, at the age of 90.[2] She was survived by two children, Carolyn J. Grant and Duane Grant Jr.; several stepchildren; her brother, Edward Allen; and several grandchildren.[1] Allen had been married twice. Her first marriage to aerospace engineer Duane Grant ended with a divorce.[1] Her second husband was to Luther Henderson, a composer, with whom she had co-created the musicial, "Little Ham," which was based on the a play of the same name written by Langston Hughes.[1] Allen and Henderson remained married until his death in 2003.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Weber, Bruce (2016-01-10). "Billie Allen, Actress Who Bridged a Racial Gap, Dies at 90". New York Times. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Simonson, Robert (2016-01-13). "Billie Allen, Pioneering Black Stage Actress, Dies at 90". Playbill.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.