Gail Fisher
Encyclopedia
Gail Fisher was an American
actress who was one of the first African American
women to play substantive roles in American television
. She was best known for playing the role of secretary "Peggy Fair" on the television detective series Mannix
from 1968 through 1975, a role for which she won two Golden Globe Award
s and an Emmy Award
.
. Her father died when she was two years old and she was raised by her mother, living in poverty
in the Potter's Crossing neighborhood of Edison, New Jersey
. She graduated from Metuchen High School
in Metuchen, New Jersey
. During her teenage years she was a cheerleader and entered several beauty contest
s, winning the titles of Miss Transit, Miss Black New Jersey, and Miss Press Photographer.
In a contest sponsored by Coca-Cola
, Fisher won the opportunity to spend two years studying acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
. As a student of acting in New York City
, she worked with Lee Strasberg
and became a member of the Repertory Theater at Lincoln Center, where she worked with Elia Kazan
and Herbert Blau
. As a young woman, she also worked as a model
.
Fisher made her first television appearance in 1960 at age 25, appearing in the syndicated program Play of the Week
. Also during the early 1960s, she appeared in a television commercial for All laundry detergent
, which she said made her "the first black female -- no, make that black, period -- to make a national TV commercial, on camera, with lines." In 1965 Herbert Blau cast her in a theatrical production of Danton's Death
.
She first appeared in Mannix during the second season, when Mannix left the detective firm Intertect and set up shop as a private investigator. In 1968, she made guest appearances on the TV series My Three Sons
, Love, American Style
, and Room 222
. In 1970, her work on Mannix was honored when she received the Emmy Award
for outstanding performance by an actress in a dramatic supporting role. In winning the Emmy, she beat out Susan Saint James
in The Name of the Game
and Barbara Anderson
in Ironside
becoming the first African-American to win an Emmy Award. After Mannix was canceled in 1975 she rarely appeared on television. She guest-starred in a 1980 episode of The White Shadow
.
. Twelve hours after Gail Fisher died, her brother Clifton died from heart failure.
Married to John Levy
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress who was one of the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
women to play substantive roles in American television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. She was best known for playing the role of secretary "Peggy Fair" on the television detective series Mannix
Mannix
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
from 1968 through 1975, a role for which she won two Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
s and an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
.
Biography
The youngest of five children, Fisher was born in Orange, New JerseyOrange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...
. Her father died when she was two years old and she was raised by her mother, living in poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
in the Potter's Crossing neighborhood of Edison, New Jersey
Edison, New Jersey
Edison Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway Township and Woodbridge Township...
. She graduated from Metuchen High School
Metuchen High School
Metuchen High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Metuchen in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Metuchen School District...
in Metuchen, New Jersey
Metuchen, New Jersey
Metuchen is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, which is 8 miles northeast of New Brunswick, 18 miles southwest of Newark, 24 miles southwest of Jersey City, and 29 miles southwest of Manhattan, all part of the New York metropolitan area...
. During her teenage years she was a cheerleader and entered several beauty contest
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
s, winning the titles of Miss Transit, Miss Black New Jersey, and Miss Press Photographer.
In a contest sponsored by Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, Fisher won the opportunity to spend two years studying acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
. As a student of acting in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, she worked with Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher. He cofounded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective"...
and became a member of the Repertory Theater at Lincoln Center, where she worked with Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
and Herbert Blau
Herbert Blau
A director and theoretician of performance, Herbert Blau is Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Professor in the Humanities at the University of Washington...
. As a young woman, she also worked as a model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
.
Fisher made her first television appearance in 1960 at age 25, appearing in the syndicated program Play of the Week
Play of the Week
Play of the Week is an American anthology series of televised stage plays which aired in NTA Film Network syndication from October 12, 1959 to May 1, 1961...
. Also during the early 1960s, she appeared in a television commercial for All laundry detergent
Laundry detergent
Laundry detergent, or washing powder, is a substance that is a type of detergent that is added for cleaning laundry. In common usage, "detergent" refers to mixtures of chemical compounds including alkylbenzenesulfonates, which are similar to soap but are less affected by "hard water." In most...
, which she said made her "the first black female -- no, make that black, period -- to make a national TV commercial, on camera, with lines." In 1965 Herbert Blau cast her in a theatrical production of Danton's Death
Danton's Death
Danton's Death was the first play written by Georg Büchner, set during the French Revolution.-History:Georg Büchner wrote his works in the period between Romanticism and Realism in the so-called Vormärz era in German history and literature...
.
She first appeared in Mannix during the second season, when Mannix left the detective firm Intertect and set up shop as a private investigator. In 1968, she made guest appearances on the TV series My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
, Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
, and Room 222
Room 222
Room 222 is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series aired on ABC from September 17, 1969, to January 11, 1974, for 112 episodes...
. In 1970, her work on Mannix was honored when she received the Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for outstanding performance by an actress in a dramatic supporting role. In winning the Emmy, she beat out Susan Saint James
Susan Saint James
Susan Saint James is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.-Early life:...
in The Name of the Game
The Name of the Game (TV series)
The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for the likes of The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s...
and Barbara Anderson
Barbara Anderson (actress)
-External links:...
in Ironside
Ironside (TV series)
Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
becoming the first African-American to win an Emmy Award. After Mannix was canceled in 1975 she rarely appeared on television. She guest-starred in a 1980 episode of The White Shadow
The White Shadow
The White Shadow is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27, 1978, to March 16, 1981.-Overview:...
.
Personal life
She was married at least twice, and had two daughters Samara and Jole from her 1964 marriage to John Levy.Death
She died in Los Angeles in 2000, aged 65, reportedly from renal failureRenal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
. Twelve hours after Gail Fisher died, her brother Clifton died from heart failure.
Married to John Levy
Filmography
- Play of the Week (1 episode, 1959)
- General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
(Unknown episodes) - He & SheHe & SheHe & She is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network as part of its 1967-68 lineup, originally sponsored by General Foods and Lever Brothers. This landmark sitcom is widely considered to be ahead of its time by broadcast historians...
(1 episode, 1967) - My Three SonsMy Three SonsMy Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
(1 episode, 1968) - Room 222Room 222Room 222 is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series aired on ABC from September 17, 1969, to January 11, 1974, for 112 episodes...
(1 episode) - Love, American StyleLove, American StyleLove, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
(2 episodes, 1969–1971) - Every Man Needs One (1972)
- MannixMannixMannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
(96 episodes, 1968–1975) - Medical CenterMedical Center (TV series)Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976.-Synopsis:The show starred James Daly as Dr. Paul Lochner and Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon, surgeons working in an otherwise unnamed university hospital in Los Angeles. The show focused both on the lives of the doctors...
(1 episode, 1975) - Fantasy Island (1 episode, 1979)
- Knight Rider (1 episode, 1983)
- HotelHotel (TV series)Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty....
(1 episode, 1985) - MankillersMankillersMankillers, also known as 12 Wild Women, was filmed in 1986 in and around Riverside, California, United States and was written and directed by David A. Prior...
(1987 film) - Donor (1990)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Television series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Won | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Drama | Mannix |
| 1971 | Nominated | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Drama | Mannix |
| 1972 | Nominated | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Drama | Mannix |
| 1973 | Nominated | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Drama | Mannix |
| 1971 | Won | Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... |
Best Supporting Actress - Television Series | Mannix |
| 1972 | Nominated | Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... |
Best Supporting Actress - Television Series | Mannix |
| 1973 | Won | Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... |
Best Actress - Television Series Drama | Mannix |
| 1974 | Nominated | Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... |
Best Supporting Actress - Television Series | Mannix |