Rosetta LeNoire
Encyclopedia
Rosetta LeNoire was an American stage
, screen
, and television
actress, as well as a Broadway
producer
and casting agent.
As a young girl, LeNoire suffered from rickets
, which her godfather
, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, helped her overcome by teaching her to dance. LeNoire made her acting debut in a 1939 production of The Hot Mikado
, starring Robinson, in which she played "Little Maid From School" Peep-Bo. She also appeared onstage, mostly as a singer and dancer, in I Had a Ball
, Bassa Moona, Marching with Jimmy, Janie, Decision, Three's a Family, Destry Rides Again
, and the Off Broadway Double Entry (two one-act musicals showcasing Lenoire: "The Bible Salesman," with a pre-SNL Garrett Morris
, and "The Oldest Trick in the World" with Jane Connell).
LeNoire is best known to contemporary audiences for her work in television
. She had regular roles on the series Gimme a Break!
and Amen
, and is best known for her role as Estelle Winslow on Family Matters
.
In 1999, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts
.
In 1968, using her own savings, Rosetta founded the AMAS Repertory Theatre Company, an interracial theatre dedicated to multi-ethnic productions in New York City. With this company, Rosetta created an artistic community where members' individual skills were recognized without regard to race, creed, color, religion, or national origin. She became a successful and groundbreaking Broadway producer. The Actors' Equity Association
awarded her the first award for helping contribute to the diversification of theatre casting; in 1988, the award was named the Rosetta LeNoire Award.
Amas Repertory Theatre provided a nurturing atmosphere for actors, and a community performing arts center. Throughout its history, many of the company's productions garnered reviews in the New York Times. The long-running theater's cramped headquarters were originally located at 1 East 104th Street, in the uptown neighborhood known as Spanish Harlem. The theater continues today as Amas Musical Theatre, now located downtown at 115 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, and carries on Rosetta's dream of diversity in the creative and theatrical arts. Since its inception, Amas has produced over 60 original musicals. Many of them have gone on to Broadway, including Bubbling Brown Sugar
, which received a Tony nomination.
in Teaneck, New Jersey
from complications from diabetes. A resident of the Lillian Booth Actors Home
in Englewood, New Jersey
, she was 90 years old at the time of her death.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, screen
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actress, as well as a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
and casting agent.
As a young girl, LeNoire suffered from rickets
Rickets
Rickets is a softening of bones in children due to deficiency or impaired metabolism of vitamin D, magnesium , phosphorus or calcium, potentially leading to fractures and deformity. Rickets is among the most frequent childhood diseases in many developing countries...
, which her godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, helped her overcome by teaching her to dance. LeNoire made her acting debut in a 1939 production of The Hot Mikado
The Hot Mikado (1939 production)
The Hot Mikado was a 1939 musical theatre adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado with an African-American cast. Mike Todd originally produced it after the Federal Theatre Project turned down his offer to manage the WPA production of The Swing Mikado .The Hot Mikado was jazzier than The...
, starring Robinson, in which she played "Little Maid From School" Peep-Bo. She also appeared onstage, mostly as a singer and dancer, in I Had a Ball
I Had a Ball
I Had a Ball is a musical with a book by Jerome Chodorov and music and lyrics by Jack Lawrence and Stan Freeman.Set on the Coney Island boardwalk, it focuses on matchmaking fortune teller Garside, who finds love with floozy Addie, and recent parolee Stan, who becomes involved with Ferris wheel...
, Bassa Moona, Marching with Jimmy, Janie, Decision, Three's a Family, Destry Rides Again
Destry Rides Again (musical)
Destry Rides Again is a 1959 musical comedy with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Leonard Gershe. The play is based on the 1939 classic film of the same name.- Production history :...
, and the Off Broadway Double Entry (two one-act musicals showcasing Lenoire: "The Bible Salesman," with a pre-SNL Garrett Morris
Garrett Morris
Garrett Gonzalez Morris is an American comedian and actor from New Orleans. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980.-Early life and career:...
, and "The Oldest Trick in the World" with Jane Connell).
LeNoire is best known to contemporary audiences for her work in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. She had regular roles on the series Gimme a Break!
Gimme a Break!
Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981, until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.-Premise:...
and Amen
Amen (TV series)
Amen is an American television sitcom produced by Carson Productions that ran from September 27, 1986 to May 11, 1991 on NBC. Set in Sherman Hemsley's real-life hometown of Philadelphia, Amen starred Hemsley as the deacon of a church and was part of a wave of successful sitcoms on NBC in the 1980s...
, and is best known for her role as Estelle Winslow on Family Matters
Family Matters (TV series)
Family Matters is an American sitcom about a middle-class African-American family living in Chicago, Illinois, which ran on national television for nine full seasons. The series was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers, but revolves around the Winslow family...
.
In 1999, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
.
Amas Repertory Theater
Rosetta LeNoire championed the cause of racial equity for more than 70 years. Her efforts profoundly influenced the New York theater community.In 1968, using her own savings, Rosetta founded the AMAS Repertory Theatre Company, an interracial theatre dedicated to multi-ethnic productions in New York City. With this company, Rosetta created an artistic community where members' individual skills were recognized without regard to race, creed, color, religion, or national origin. She became a successful and groundbreaking Broadway producer. The Actors' Equity Association
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
awarded her the first award for helping contribute to the diversification of theatre casting; in 1988, the award was named the Rosetta LeNoire Award.
Amas Repertory Theatre provided a nurturing atmosphere for actors, and a community performing arts center. Throughout its history, many of the company's productions garnered reviews in the New York Times. The long-running theater's cramped headquarters were originally located at 1 East 104th Street, in the uptown neighborhood known as Spanish Harlem. The theater continues today as Amas Musical Theatre, now located downtown at 115 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, and carries on Rosetta's dream of diversity in the creative and theatrical arts. Since its inception, Amas has produced over 60 original musicals. Many of them have gone on to Broadway, including Bubbling Brown Sugar
Bubbling Brown Sugar
Bubbling Brown Sugar is a musical revue written by Loften Mitchell based on a concept by Rosetta LeNoire and featuring the music of numerous African-American artists who were popular during the Harlem Renaissance, 1920–1940, including Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake, Count Basie, Cab Calloway and Fats...
, which received a Tony nomination.
Death
On March 17, 2002, LeNoire died at Holy Name HospitalHoly Name Hospital
Holy Name Medical Center is a fully accredited, not-for-profit community hospital located in Teaneck, New Jersey. Founded and sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in 1925, the hospital has grown to become a comprehensive 361-bed medical center...
in Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
from complications from diabetes. A resident of the Lillian Booth Actors Home
Lillian Booth Actors Home
The Lillian Booth Actors Home of The Actors Fund is an assisted living facility in Englewood, New Jersey operated by the Actors Fund. The facility was the subject of the 2000 film Curtain Call. The facility was established in 1928 at the former mansion of Hetty Green.-History:On May 8, 1902, the...
in Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
, she was 90 years old at the time of her death.
External links
- New York Times: Rosetta LeNoire, 90, Producer Who Broke Color Bar, Dies
- Rosetta LeNoire at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...