People, Locations, Episodes

Ivan Dixon, Actor, and Director born

*Ivan Dixon was born on this date in 1931.  He was a Black actor, director, activist, and producer.   Ivan Nathaniel Dixon III was born in Harlem, the son of a grocery store owner. When he was young, Dixon lived at 518 West 150th Street in Harlem, on the same block with Josh White, Ralph […]

Marla Gibbs, Actress, and Comedian born

*Marla Gibbs was born on this date in 1931.  She is a Black actress, comedian, singer, writer, and television producer whose career spans five decades.   The middle of three sisters, Margaret Theresa Bradley was born at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.   Her parents were Ophelia Birdie (née Kemp) and Douglas Bradley. She attended […]

Della Reese, Entertainer, and Minister born

*Della Reese was born this date in 1931. She is an African American actress, singer, television star and ordained minister.

Lincoln Kilpatrick, Actor born

*Lincoln Kilpatrick was born on this date in 1932. He was an African American actor. From St. Louis, Missouri, he was the brother of actor John Kilpatrick.

He graduated from Lincoln U. in Jefferson City, Mo., and eventually costarred with Sidney Poitier in the Broadway hit “A Raisin in the Sun.” He went on to roles in James Baldwin’s “Blues for Mr. Charlie,” “The Slave” and “The Blacks,” which featured Louis Gossett Jr. and Cicely Tyson. He switched gears in the 1970s, appearing in films such as “Cool Breeze,” “Soul Soldier” and “Uptown Saturday Night.”

Otis Young, Actor, and Teacher born

Otis Young was born on this date in 1932. He was an African American actor, minister, and educator.

R.I., Young was one of 14 children. He joined the Marine Corps at 17 and after serving in the Korean War, enrolled in acting classes at New York University on the GI Bill. He studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Drama in New York City in 1960 and appeared in numerous theater productions there and in Los Angeles. Young was the first Black actor to co-star in a television Western series, “The Outcasts” in the late 1960s.

Melvin Van Peebles, Author, Director, and Producer born

*Melvin Van Peebles was born on this date in 1932. He is an African American artist, author, film actor, director and producer.

Mabel King, Actress born

*Mabel King was born on December 25, 1932. She was a Black film, stage, and television actress and singer.   She was born Mabel Elizabeth Washington in Charleston, South Carolina, the daughter of Rosalie Washington and Joseph Washington. She was raised in Harlem, New York, where she became a gospel and nightclub singer. She did not start […]

Nichelle Nichols, TV, Actress born

*Nichelle Nichols was born on this date in 1932. She was a Black actress, singer, and dancer. Grace Dell Nichols was the third of six children born in Robbins, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Her father was Samuel Earl Nichols, a factory worker who was elected both town mayor and chief magistrate of Robbins in […]

Godfrey Cambridge, Stage, and Screen Actor born

*On this date in 1933, Godfrey Cambridge was born. He was an African American actor and comedian, one of the most unique comics of the early 1970’s.

Born to parents who emigrated from British Guiana, he attended public schools in Nova Scotia while living with his grandparents. After finishing his education in New York at Flushing High School and Hofstra College, he began to study acting.

Quincy Jones, Composer, Musician, and Producer born

*On this date in 1933, Quincy Jones was born. He is a Black musician, composer, producer, and arranger.

Adolph Caesar, Actor born

On this date in 1933, Adolph Caesar, an African American actor, was born.

Born in Harlem, New York, Caesar graduated from George Washington High School in New York City. He enlisted in the Navy where he achieved the rank of chief petty officer.

Flip Wilson, Comedian born

On this date in 1933, Flip Wilson was born. He was an African American entertainer and the most visible Black comedian of the early 1970s.

Cicely Tyson, Actress born

Cicely Tyson was born on this date in 1933. She is an African American model and actress.

Gil Noble, Television Host born

*Gil Noble was born on this date in 1932. He was an African American television broadcaster and journalist.

Al Freeman Jr., Actor, and Teacher born

*Al Freeman Jr. was born on this date in 1934. He was a Black actor, writer and college (drama) professor.