(Created page with "{{Infobox person | name = Virginia Capers | image = File:Virginia_capers_2003_02_24.jpg|250px | caption = Virginia Capers made a guest appearance in Se...") |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Infobox person |
{{Infobox person |
||
| name = Virginia Capers |
| name = Virginia Capers |
||
| − | | image = |
+ | | image = Virginia_capers_2003_02_24.jpg|250px |
| caption = Virginia Capers made a guest appearance in Season 3 of "The Golden Girls" TV series. |
| caption = Virginia Capers made a guest appearance in Season 3 of "The Golden Girls" TV series. |
||
| gender = Female |
| gender = Female |
||
Latest revision as of 08:56, 18 April 2014
Eliza Virginia Capers (September 22, 1925 – May 6, 2004) made a guest appearance on The Golden Girls as Greta Wagner, the mother of Lorraine Wagner-Zbornak, the fiance of Michael Zbornak, Dorothy's son, in the Season 3 episode titled "Mixed Blessings". A veteran stage, film and television actress,[1][2][3] she won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1974 for her performance as Lena Younger in Raisin, a musical version of Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun.
Personal life
Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Capers attended Howard University and studied voice at theJuilliard School inNew York City.
Career
She made her Broadway theatre debut in the musical Jamaica in 1957 as the understudy for Adelaide Hall in the role of Grandma Obeah, taking over the role when Hall left the show.[4][5][6][7][8] Capers went on to appear in Saratoga[9] and Raisin.[10]
Capers was a familiar face to television audiences. In addition to a recurring role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, she appeared in many television programs, including Have Gun Will Travel, Marcus Welby, M.D., My Three Sons, Mannix, The Waltons, Mork & Mindy, Highway to Heaven, St. Elsewhere, Murder, She Wrote, Evening Shade, Married... with Children, The Practice and ER.
Capers appeared in such films as What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), The Great White Hope (1970), Lady Sings the Blues (1972), The Toy (1982), Teachers (1984), Norwood (1970), The North Avenue Irregulars (1979), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) and Beethoven's 2nd (1993).
Capers founded the Lafayette Players, a Los Angeles repertory theatre company for African-American performers. She was the recipient of the National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award, the Paul Robeson Pioneer Award, and the NAACP Image Award for theatre excellence.
Capers provided the narration for the adventure game Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers.
Death
Capers died on May 6, 2004, of complications from pneumonis in Los Angeles, Californis, aged 78.
References
- ↑ "Virginia Capers, an actress with a musical touch | African American Registry". Aaregistry.org. 1925-09-22. http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/virginia-capers-actress-musical-touch. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ↑ "Virginia Capers (1925–2004)". IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0135102/. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ↑ "Virginia Capers (Actress) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News". Spokeo.com. http://www.spokeo.com/Virginia+Capers+1. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ↑ Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television - Bob McCann - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=X7ZYsnTPIhwC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=adelaide+hall+1959&source=bl&ots=uRcYh3_dOy&sig=l5SAr0cxULQnO5IT_sCTWYtzjFs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NX0-UfKiMNKu7AbrhIDgBA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=adelaide%20hall%201959&f=false. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ↑ "Virginia Capers, 78, Actress Who Won a Tony for 'Raisin' - New York Times". Nytimes.com. 2004-05-12. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/12/us/virginia-capers-78-actress-who-won-a-tony-for-raisin.html. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ↑ "Tony Winner Virginia Capers is Dead at 78 - Theater News - May 15, 2004". Theatermania.com. 2004-05-15. http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/05-2004/tony-winner-virginia-capers-is-dead-at-78_4726.html. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ↑ Jet - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 1959-04-16. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=kUEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=virginia+capers+understudy+for+adelaide+hall+in+jamaica+musical&source=bl&ots=YMREbS8d_Y&sig=VvrpjMPjZiuCaQRYtnlpQZf-y5U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SH4-UfiIEonb0QXsxoDYCQ&sqi=2&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=virginia%20capers%20understudy%20for%20adelaide%20hall%20in%20jamaica%20musical&f=false. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ↑ "Other works for Nat Horne". IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0395049/otherworks. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ↑ Ken Mandelbaum, Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops, St. Martin's Press (1991), pp. 230-33 (ISBN 0-312-06428-4).
- ↑ "Raisin | IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information". IBDB. http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=3650. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
External links
- Virginia Capers at the Internet Broadway Database
Virginia Capers at the Internet Movie Database
