Nell Carter

Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American actress and singer.

Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later began work on television. She was best known for her role as Nell Harper on the sitcom Gimme a Break!, which aired from 1981 to 1987. Carter received two Emmy and two Golden Globe award nominations for her work on the series. Prior to Gimme a Break!, Carter won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical in 1978 for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin' as well as a Primetime Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television in 1982.

Early life Nell Ruth Hardy was born on September 13, 1948 in Birmingham, Alabama, one of nine children born to Edna Mae and Horace Hardy. She was born into a Catholic family and raised Presbyterian. Carter later self-identified as Pentecostal and as Jewish.

As a child, she began singing on a local gospel radio show and was also a member of the church choir. At age 15, she began performing at area coffee houses, and later joined the Renaissance Ensemble that played at coffee houses and gay bars.

On July 5, 1965 at the age of 16, Hardy was raped at gunpoint by a man who she knew. She became pregnant as a result of the rape and gave birth to daughter Tracey the next year. Finding raising a baby alone too difficult, she sent her child to live with her older sister Willie. She later claimed that Tracey was the product of a brief marriage, but she revealed the truth in a 1994 interview.

Career Broadway work At age 19, Hardy changed her surname to Carter and left Birmingham, Alabama, moving to New York City with the Renaissance Ensemble, where she sang in coffee shops, nightclubs and bathhouses before landing her first Broadway role in 1971.

Carter made her Broadway debut in the 1971 rock opera Soon, which closed after three performances. She was the music director for the 1974 Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective's production of What Time of Night It Is. Carter appeared with Bette Davis in the 1974 stage musical Miss Moffat, based on Davis' earlier film The Corn Is Green, but the show closed before reaching Broadway.

Carter became a star for her role in the musical Ain't Misbehavin, for which she won a Tony Award in 1978. She later won an Emmy for the same role in a televised performance in 1982.

In 1978, Carter was cast as Effie White in the Broadway workshop musical Project #9 (later retitled Dreamgirls) but departed the production during development to take a television role on Ryan's Hope.

Carter's additional Broadway credits include Dude and the 20th-anniversary production of Annie, in which she played Miss Hannigan.

Film and television

In 1979, Carter had a part in the Miloš Forman-directed musical adaptation of Hair and her voice is heard on the film's soundtrack.

In 1981, she took a role on the NBC action comedy television series The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo before landing the lead role of Nell Harper on the sitcom Gimme a Break!.

Gimme a Break!

Carter became best known to audiences for her lead role in the NBC television series Gimme a Break!, in which she played a housekeeper for a widowed police chief (Dolph Sweet) and his three daughters. The show earned Carter nominations for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award. A total of 137 episodes of Gimme a Break! were produced over a run of six seasons, airing from 1981 to 1987.

In August 1987 after the cancellation of Gimme a Break!, Carter returned to the nightclub circuit with a five-month national tour with comedian Joan Rivers.

Further television and film work In 1989, Carter played the assistant to a banquet-hall owner in an unsuccessful pilot for NBC titled Morton's by the Bay, which aired as a one-time special that May. In October, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Game 4 of the 1989 World Series in San Francisco.

In 1990, Carter starred in the CBS comedy You Take the Kids. The series, which was perceived as the black answer to Roseanne with its portrayal of a working-class black family, featured Carter as a crass, no-nonsense mother and wife. You Take the Kids faced poor ratings and reviews and only ran from December 1990 to January 1991.

During the early 1990s, Carter appeared in low-budget movies, television specials and game shows such as Match Game '90 and To Tell the Truth. She costarred in Hangin' with Mr. Cooper from 1993 to 1995. Carter was later replaced by Sally Struthers.

Later years In 2001, Carter appeared as a special guest star on the pilot episode of Reba and continued with the show, making three appearances in Season 1. The following year, Carter made two appearances on Ally McBeal and a guest appearance on Blue's Clues.

Her final recording project was a duet with Jay Levy, produced by Jay Levy for the 1998 Warner/Rhino album To Life!: Songs of Chanukah and Other Jewish Celebrations.

Death On January 23, 2003, at the age of 54, Carter collapsed and died at her home in Beverly Hills. Her son Joshua discovered her body that night. Per a provision in Carter's will, no autopsy was performed. Using blood tests, X-rays and a cursory physical examination, the Los Angeles County coroner's office ruled that Carter's death was the likely result of "probable arteriosclerotic heart disease, with diabetes a contributing condition."

Carter's partner Ann Kaser inherited her property and custody of her two sons.

Personal life Carter attempted suicide in the early 1980s, and around 1985 she entered a drug-detoxification facility to break a longstanding cocaine addiction. Her brother Bernard died of complications from AIDS in 1989. but divorced him the next year. Carter declared bankruptcy in 1995 and again in 2002.

Stage credits Soon (1971), Broadway The Wedding of Iphigenia (1971), off-Broadway Dude (1972), Broadway Miss Moffat (1974), closed on the road Be Kind to People Week (1975), off-Broadway Tom Eyen's Dirtiest Musical (1975), off-Broadway Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope (1976), San Francisco Ain't Misbehavin' (1978), Manhattan Theatre Club, Broadway and U.S. national tour One Night Only (1979), workshop Black Broadway (1979), Avery Fisher Hall Black Broadway (1980), The Town Hall Ain't Misbehavin' (1988), Broadway Hello, Dolly! (1991), Long Beach Civic Light Opera Annie (1997), Broadway and U.S. national tour South Pacific (2001), Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera The Vagina Monologues (2001), Madison Square Garden

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1979 Hair Central Park Singer 1981 Back Roads Waitress 1981 Modern Problems Dorita 1982 Tex Mrs. Peters 1992 Bebe's Kids Vivian Voice 1995 The Crazysitter The Warden 1995 The Grass Harp Catherine Creek 1995 The Misery Brothers Courtroom Singer 1996 The Proprietor Millie Jackson 1997 Fakin' da Funk Claire 1999 Follow Your Heart Bus Driver 1999 Special Delivery 2001 Perfect Fit Mrs. Gordy 2003 Swing Grace released posthumously 2005 Back by Midnight Waitress final film role; released posthumously

Television Year Title Role Notes 1978 Cindy Olive TV movie 1978–1979 Ryan's Hope Ethel Green 11 episodes 1980–1981 The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo Sergeant Hildy Jones 15 episodes 1981–1987 Gimme a Break! Nellie Ruth 'Nell' Harper 137 episodes 1982 The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour Episode: #1.3 1986 Nell Carter: Never Too Old to Dream Host Television Special 1985 Santa Barbara Herself Episode 240 1986 Amen Bess Richards Episode: "The Courtship of Bess Richards" 1989 227 Beverly Morris Episode: "Take My Diva...Please!" 1990 Shalom Sesame Olive Tree (voice) Episode: "Chanukah" 1990–1991 You Take the Kids Nell Kirkland 6 episodes 1992 Maid for Each Other Jasmine Jones TV movie 1992 Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story Lucille Gathers TV movie 1992 Jake and the Fatman Ethel Mae Haven Episode: "Ain't Misbehavin'" 1993–1995 Hangin' with Mr. Cooper P.J. Moore 42 episodes 1995–1997 Spider-Man: The Animated Series Glory Grant (voice) 2 episodes 1996 Can't Hurry Love Mrs. Bradstock Episode: "The Rent Strike" 1997 Brotherly Love Nell Bascombe Episode: "Paging Nell" 1997 Sparks Barbara Rogers Episode: "Hoop Schemes" 1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child Mary (voice) Episode: "Mother Goose" 1997 The Blues Brothers Animated Series Betty Smythe (voice) Episode: "Strange Death of Betty Smythe" 1999 Sealed with a Kiss Mrs. Wheatley TV movie 2001 Blue's Clues Mother Nature (voice) Episode: "Environments" 2001 Touched by an Angel Cynthia Winslow 2 episodes 2001 Seven Days Lucy Episode: "Live: From Death Row" 2001 Reba Dr. Susan Peters 3 episodes 2001 The Weakest Link Herself Classic TV Stars Edition #2 2002 Ally McBeal Harriet Pumple 2 episodes

Video games Year Title Voice 1996 You Don't Know Jack Volume 2 Herself

Awards