Lynn Hamilton, “Sanford and Son ”and“ The Waltons ”actress“, ”dies at 95

Lynn Hamilton, a famend actress who starred on the beloved tv drama The Waltons and the influential sitcom Sanford and Son, has died. She was 95.

Hamilton died peacefully of pure causes in her Chicago dwelling on June 19 surrounded by her grandchildren, her former supervisor and publicist, Rev. Calvin Carson, confirmed to Leisure Weekly on Saturday.

"Her illustrious profession, spanning over 5 many years, has left an indelible mark on the world of leisure, [with her] motivating audiences throughout the globe via her work as a mannequin [and] stage, movie, and tv actress," Carson wrote in a press release shared on Instagram.

Born Alzenia 'Lynn' Hamilton in Yazoo Metropolis, Miss., on April 25, 1930, Hamilton started her profession in Chicago's neighborhood theater scene. At 29, she made her Broadway debut in 1959's Solely in America. She went on to seem in quite a few Broadway and Off Broadway productions, whereas additionally taking her abilities to the small display screen with roles on the tv sequence Gunsmoke and Room 222.

Her movie debut additionally got here in 1959, within the John Cassavetes movie Shadows. Her later credit included Brother John, Buck and the Preacher, and Girl Sings the Blues, which instructed the story of jazz legend Billie Vacation.

Hamilton joined NBC's Sanford and Son in February 1972 in what was supposed to be a one-off look. Within the episode she performed a landlady who offers Demond Wilson's Lamont Sanford a tough time when he makes an attempt to flee his father (Redd Foxx) and get his personal bachelor pad.

"I didn't actually have a identify — I used to be simply 'the landlady,'" Hamilton recalled in a 2009 interview. "I had one scene, and I feel I needed to put him out or one thing. And I got here in and I completely gave it to him. They mentioned, 'You may be as huge as you need to be,' and I believed, 'Oh my God, I can use my stage stuff.'"

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Hamilton mentioned producers had been so thrilled together with her efficiency that she was known as in to play Sanford's girlfriend, Donna Harris, who turned a recurring character. She famous that Foxx was particularly excited to have her within the function. "He was impressed with my expertise," she mentioned. "He at all times mentioned, 'You're so dignified, and I would like someone dignified reverse me.' He was conscious of his earthliness, shall we embrace."

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Sanford and Son, credited with ushering in a Golden Age of Black household sitcoms, finally ran six seasons and sometimes landed within the Nielsen prime 5 with its scores. Across the similar time, Hamilton started starring on The Waltons as Miss Verdie, a neighbor of the titular household, who ultimately marries Harley Foster, performed by Hal Williams, who additionally starred on Sanford and Son. Her first episode on the present, "The Scholar," received a screenwriting Emmy for John McGreevey.

Hamilton additionally starred as matriarch Vivian Potter on the 1989 daytime drama Generations, ex-con Cissie Johnson on the 1991 nighttime cleaning soap Harmful Girls, and Georgia Anderson in Roots: The Subsequent Technology. Her different TV credit included recurring roles on the NBC sitcom 227 andABC's The Observe, and components on The Golden Ladies, NYPD Blue, Chilly Case, and Judging Amy.

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