Frances Foster

Frances Helen Foster (née Brown; June 11, 1924 – June 17, 1997)[1] was an American film, television and stage actress. In addition to being an actress, Brown was also an award–winning stage director.

For the professor of African-American studies and women's history, see Frances Smith Foster. For the fictional character, see Frankie Foster.

Frances Foster
Born
Frances Helen Brown

(1924-06-11)June 11, 1924
Yonkers, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 17, 1997(1997-06-17) (aged 73)
Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
Resting placeNational Memorial Park Falls Church
Fairfax County, Virginia, U.S.
Occupations
Years active1950–1997
Known forVera – Guiding Light

Life and career

Foster was born in Yonkers, New York, the daughter of George H., a postal worker, and Helen E. Brown.[2][3] She studied acting at American Theater Wing in Manhattan from 1949 to 1952.[3] In 1955, she made her stage debut as Dolly May in The Wisteria Trees at the City Center Theater in more than 25 of its productions.[3] Foster won an Obie Award in 1985 for sustained excellence of performance. She was also a recipient of two AUDELCO Awards, one as an actress and the other as a director for work at the New Federal Theatre in Manhattan. In 1978, she received the best actress award for Do Lord Remember Me, and the best director award in 1983 for Hospice.[3] She also appeared in several films, including Malcolm X, Crooklyn, and Clockers, as well as the recurring role of Vera on the soap opera Guiding Light from 1985-94. She's also known from one of the most infamous episodes of Good Times, as Gertie Vinson, a neighbor of the Evans family who was forced to eat dog food in the episode "The Dinner Party".

She died in Fairfax, Virginia, from cerebral hemorrhage, June 17, 1997, aged 73.

Selected credits

Theatre
Year Production Role Theatre(s) Notes
1996 The Juror Housewife, Juror
1995 Having Our Say[4] Miss Sadie Delany (standby) Booth Theatre
The Young Man from Atlanta[5] Clara Signature Theatre
1992 Malcolm X Woman Outside Audubon Ballroom
1990 Ground People[6] Viola America Place Theatre
1986 House of Shadows[7] Cassie America Place Theatre
1982 Do Lord Remember Me[8] Unknown American Place Theatre
1980 Zooman and the Sign[9] Ash Boswell Theatre Four
1978 Nevis Mountain Dew[10] Everelda Philibert Griffin St. Mark's Playhouse 1979 Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play[11]
1975 The First Breeze of Summer[12] Gremmer Palace Theatre
1972 The River Niger[13][14][15] Grandma Wilhelmina Brown St. Mark's Playhouse[13]
Brooks Atkinson Theatre[14][15]		 Originally an Off-Broadway production that was transferred to Broadway.[13][14][15]
1971 Rosalee Pritchett[16] Rosalee 'Rose' Pritchett St. Mark's Playhouse
1970 The Good Woman of Setzuan[17] Mrs. Mi Tzu Vivian Beaumont Theater
1968 Kongi's Harvest[18] Ogbo Aweri
Segi		 St. Mark's Playhouse
1965 Day of Absence[19] Supervisor
Aide		 St. Mark's Playhouse Program of two one-act plays by Douglas Turner Ward.
Happy Ending[19] Vi St. Mark's Playhouse Program of two one-act plays by Douglas Turner Ward.
1963 The Last Minstrel[20] Mrs. Ash Pocket Theatre
1959 A Raisin in the Sun[21] Ruth Younger (understudy)
Beneatha Younger (understudy)		 Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Belasco Theatre
1956 Take a Giant Step[22] Violet Jan Hus Playhouse
1955 The Wisteria Trees[3] Dolly May City Center Theater

References
  1. "Social Security Death Index [database on-line]". United States: The Generations Network. 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  2. "Fifteenth Census of the United States (1930) [database on-line] , Yonkers (2nd Ward), Westchester County, New York, Enumeration District: 60-12, Page: 15A, Line: 24-30, household of Geo. H. Brown". United States: The Generations Network. April 12, 1930. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  3. Pace, Eric (June 23, 1997). "Frances Foster, 73, Actress And Director in the Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2009. Frances Foster, a character actress, a stage director and a founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company.
  4. "Having Our Say". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  5. "The Young Man from Atlanta". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  6. "Ground People". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  7. "House of Shadows". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  8. "Do Lord Remember Me". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  9. "Zooman and the Sign". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 17, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  10. "Nevis Mountain Dew". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 13, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  11. "Frances Foster". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  12. "The First Breeze of Summer". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  13. "The River Niger". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  14. "The River Niger". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  15. "The River Niger". United States: Internet Theatre Database. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  16. "Rosalee Pritchett". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  17. "The Good Woman of Setzuan". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  18. "Kongi's Harvest". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 17, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  19. "Happy Ending/Day of Absence". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 13, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  20. "The Last Minstrel". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  21. "A Raisin in the Sun". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  22. "Take a Giant Step". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
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