Everything about Nell Carter totally explained
Nell Carter (
September 13,
1948 –
January 23,
2003) was an
American singer and film, stage, and television actress.
Early life
Born
Nell Ruth Hardy to Horace and Edna Mae Hardy in
Birmingham, Alabama,
USA, Carter, who was one of nine children, overcame adversity and hardships before finding success as an actress. Her father, Horace, died in an accident with a power line. She was
raped at age 16 and became pregnant from the attack, giving birth to a daughter, Tracy.
Acting and singing career
She appeared alongside
Bette Davis in the 1974 stage
musical Miss Moffat, based on Davis' earlier film
The Corn Is Green. The show closed before making it to
Broadway.
She broke into stardom in the musical
Ain't Misbehavin, for which she won a
Tony Award in 1978. She also won an
Emmy for the same role in a televised performance in
1982. Additional Broadway credits included
Dude and
Annie.
In 1979, she'd a part in the
Miloš Forman-directed musical
film adaptation of
Hair. Her vocal talents are showcased throughout the motion picture soundtrack. One of the more memorable moments in the film involves her rendition of the song "White Boys" where she can be seen dancing playfully as she performs the song.
In 1978, Carter was cast as Effie White in the
Broadway musical
Dreamgirls, but departed the production during development to take a television role on the ABC-TV soap opera,
Ryan's Hope in
New York. When
Dreamgirls premiered in late 1981,
Jennifer Holliday had taken over the lead. Carter also took a role on television's
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, before landing a steady role as
housekeeper Nell Harper on the sitcom
Gimme a Break!, for which she earned
Golden Globe and
Emmy Award nominations. The popular show lasted from 1981 to 1987.
After the show began, Carter's life took a turbulent turn. She married mathematician and lumber executive George Krynicki, and converted from Presbyterianism to
Judaism in 1982. She attempted
suicide in the early 1980s, and entered a drug
detoxification facility around 1985. Her brother, Bernard, died of
AIDS in 1989.
Carter had three children: a daughter Tracy and two sons Daniel and Joshua. She adopted both her sons as newborns over a four month period. She attempted to adopt twice more but both adoptions fell through. In one case she brought home a child, Mary, but the birth parents demanded money before they'd sign the adoption papers. In her final attempt, she allowed a young pregnant woman to move into her house with the plan to adopt the child but the mother decided to parent her child.
During this period Carter appeared in
low-budget films,
TV specials, and on
game shows such as
Match Game and
To Tell the Truth. She also co-starred in
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.
In 1992, she'd surgery to remove
aneurysms. She had divorced Krynicki and married Roger Larocque that same year. In 1993 she divorced Larocque. She declared
bankruptcy in 1995 (and again in 2002). She also endured three
miscarriages.
Appearing emotional and tearful on an episode of the
Sally Jessy Raphael Show, Carter explained how she went to a
Liza Minnelli concert during a very turbulent time of her life. Carter told Raphael how Minnelli, seeing Carter in an agonized state, ran offstage to tell her sister,
Lorna Luft, to go out and take Carter backstage so that she could get some help. Minnelli and Luft helped get Carter into rehab for her cocaine problems which she conquered.
In the mid 1990s, Carter appeared on Broadway in a revival of
Annie as Miss Hannigan. She was very upset when commercials promoting the show used a different actress, Marcia Lewis, who is white, as Miss Hannigan. The producers claimed that the commercials, which were made during an earlier production, were too costly to reshoot. Carter felt that
racism played a part in the decision. "Maybe they don't want audiences to know Nell Carter is black", she told the
New York Post. However, the ads did mention that Carter was in the show. "It hurts a lot", Carter told the Post. "I've asked them nicely to stop it — it's insulting to me as a black woman." Carter was later replaced by
Sally Struthers.
Death
Carter died from
heart disease complicated by
diabetes and
obesity on
January 23,
2003. She was 54 years old. At the time of her death, Carter had been rehearsing for a production of
Raisin, a stage musical of
A Raisin in the Sun in
Long Beach,
California, and filming a movie,
Swing.
Carter had previously declared bankruptcy and owed $1.1 million in back taxes, and was later discovered to have barely $200 in her bank account.
Carter is interred in the
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in
Culver City, California.
She is survived by her two sons (Joshua and Daniel), a daughter (Tracy), and her
partner Ann Kaser. Her
bisexuality and relationship with Kaser didn't become public knowledge until after her death.
Filmography
Further Information
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