Beah Richards

Beah Richards
Beah Richards on The Bill Cosby Show (1970)
Born	Beulah Elizabeth Richardson (1920-07-12)July 12, 1920 Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	September 14, 2000(2000-09-14) (aged 80) Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Alma mater	Dillard University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1955–2000
Notable work	Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Roots: The Next Generations
Spouse(s)	Hugh Harrell Jr. (divorced)

Beulah Elizabeth Richardson (July 12, 1920 – September 14, 2000), known professionally as Beah Richards, was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was also a poet, playwright, and author.

Richards was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her supporting role in the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1968, as well as winning two Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest roles in the television series Frank's Place in 1988 and The Practice in 2000. She also received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the 1965 production of The Amen Corner.

Life and career

She was born Beulah Elizabeth Richardson in Vicksburg, Mississippi; her mother was a seamstress and PTA advocate and her father was a Baptist minister. In 1948, she graduated from Dillard University in New Orleans and two years later moved to New York City.^[1] Her career began in 1955 when she portrayed an eighty-four-year-old-grandmother in the off-Broadway show Take a Giant Step. She often played the role of a mother or grandmother, and continued acting her entire life. She appeared in the original Broadway productions of Purlie Victorious, The Miracle Worker, and A Raisin in the Sun.

Richards was nominated for a Tony Award for her 1965 performance in James Baldwin's The Amen Corner.^[2] She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Sidney Poitier's mother in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.^[1] Other notable movie performances include Hurry Sundown, The Great White Hope, Beloved and In the Heat of the Night.

She made numerous guest television appearances including roles on Beauty and the Beast, The Bill Cosby Show, Sanford and Son, Benson, Designing Women, The Practice, The Big Valley and ER (as Dr. Peter Benton's mother.) She was the winner of two Emmy Awards, one in 1988 for her appearance on the series Frank's Place, and another in 2000 for her appearance on The Practice.^[1]

Death

Richards died from emphysema in her hometown of Vicksburg, Mississippi at the age of 80.^[3][4]

Documentary

In the last year of her life, Richards was the subject of a documentary created by actress Lisa Gay Hamilton. The documentary Beah: A Black Woman Speaks was created from over 70 hours of their conversations. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Film Festival.^[5]

Further reading

Radicalism at the Crossroads: African American Women Activists in the Cold War (2011), by Dayo Gore, is about Richards and others.

Filmography

References

External links

• Beah Richards on IMDb
• Beah Richards at the Internet Broadway Database
• Beah Richards at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Beah Richards at Find a Grave