Dorothy Meyer Biography

Dorothy Meyer (November 6, 1924 - September 24, 1987) was an African American character actress of film and television who made a name for herself portraying wisecracking maids, neighbors, friends, nurses, and church ladies throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Life and career

She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 6, 1924, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, a religion to which she adhered to throughout her entire life. During her childhood, she initially began her career as an actress singing and dancing in numerous Christian themed productions on The Bible Belt and was later inspired to further herself as an actress following the historical Oscar win of Hattie McDaniel in Gone With The Wind. During World War II, she worked as both a secretary and typist in a steel factory in her native Indiana during the daytime and later started appearing in amateur theatre during nights and her weekends off. In the early 1950s, she moved to California and began her career modeling, appearing in advertisements for such popular brand names as Maxwell House Coffee, Hallmark Greeting Cards, Westinghouse, Walgreens, Sears Roebuck, and Hersey's Chocolates. After two decades of advertisement modeling, she made her small screen debut in a 1971 episode of The Bill Cosby Show. Between 1971 and 1987, she would have 42 credits to her resume, including appearances on such syndicated programs as That's My Mama, Sanford and Son, The Waltons, Starsky and Hutch, The Jeffersons, Lou Grant, Hill Street Blues, Murder, She Wrote, and 227. She enjoyed a successful career and appeared alongside such notables as Linda Blair, Richard Pryor, and Muhammad Ali.

Aside from acting, she was also noted as being a staunch liberal Democrat and African American rights activist, who was very supportive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and spoke on numerous occasions regarding civil liberties in low-income communities. She also had a great deal of support and admiration for the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. Meyer died in Los Angeles, California on September 24, 1987, from undisclosed causes, at the age of 62. As per her last will and testament, was cremated with her ashes scattered at sea. She was unmarried, had no children, and her only survivors were distant cousins, two older brothers, one sister, and a few nieces and nephews. Two films she had made at the time of her death, Moving (1988) and Wildfire (1988), were released posthumously.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Episode
1988	Wildfire	Esther
1988	Moving	Grandma
1987	227 (TV Series)	Ruby Jenkins	Happy Twentieth (1987) ... Ruby Jenkins
1986	Murder, She Wrote (TV Series)	Nurse O'Hanlon	Deadline for Murder (1986) ... Nurse O'Hanlon
1986	Cobra	Nurse #1
1986	Hollywood Vice Squad	Heavyset Woman
1985	Do You Remember Love (TV Movie)	Social Director
1983-1985	Hill Street Blues (TV Series)	Witness	Davenport in a Storm (1985) ... Witness
1983-1985	Hill Street Blues (TV Series)	Cook	The Russians Are Coming (1983) ... Cook
1984	Gimme a Break! (TV Series)	Sarah Banks	Valentine (1984) ... Sarah Banks
1983	Ryan's Four (TV Series)		Ryan's Four (1983)
1983	Newhart (TV Series)	Nurse	Ricky Nelson, Up Your Nose (1983) ... Nurse
1982	King's Crossing (TV Series)	Willa Bristol	Strangers (1982) ... Willa Bristol
1982	King's Crossing (TV Series)	Willa Bristol	One Afternoon (1982) ... Willa Bristol
1982	King's Crossing (TV Series)	Willa Bristol	Family Reunion (1982) ... Willa Bristol
1982	King's Crossing (TV Series)	Willa Bristol	The Home Front (1982) ... Willa Bristol
1982	King's Crossing (TV Series)	Willa Bristol	Confusion by Cupid (1982) ... Willa Bristol
1981	Whose Life Is It Anyway?	2nd Nurse
1981	Flamingo Road (TV Series)		Trapped (1981)
1979	Diff'rent Strokes (TV Series)	Mrs. Keith	The Dog Story (1979) ... Mrs. Keith
1979	Roller Boogie	Ada
1979	Lou Grant (TV Series)	Lady	Gambling (1979) ... Lady
1979	H.O.T.S.	Ezzetta
1979	How the West Was Won (TV Series)	Hattie	The Scavengers (1979) ... Hattie
1978	The Jeffersons (TV Series)	Cassie Kincaid	Florence's Union (1978) ... Cassie Kincaid
1977	Starsky and Hutch (TV Series)	Mrs. Walters	Manchild on the Streets (1977) ... Mrs. Walters
1977	Starsky and Hutch (TV Series)	Mrs. Marlowe	Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty (1977) ... Mrs. Marlowe
1977	Sanford Arms (TV Series)	Sarah Calvin	The Grandparents (1977) ... Sarah Calvin
1977	Rafferty (TV Series)	Mrs. Greener	A Point of View (1977) ... Mrs. Greener
1977	Panic in Echo Park (TV Movie)
1977	The Greatest	Odessa Clay
1976	Having Babies (TV Movie)	Admitting Nurse
1976	Helter Skelter (TV Movie)	Housekeeper
1976	Grady (TV Series)	Ernestine Johnson	Night School (1976)
1973-1975	Sanford and Son (TV Series)	Mrs. Walker	Sanford and Rising Son (1975) ... Mrs. Walker
1973-1975	Sanford and Son (TV Series)	Aunt Flossie	Aunt Esther and Uncle Woodrow Pfftt... (1974) ... Aunt Flossie
1973-1975	Sanford and Son (TV Series)	Aunt Flossie	The Engagement (1973) ... Aunt Flossie
1975	The Rookies (TV Series)	Nadine Brooks	Reign of Terror (1975) ... Nadine Brooks
1975	The Blue Knight (TV Series)	Shopper	Pilot (1975) ... Shopper
1975	Miles to Go Before I Sleep (TV Movie)	Hattie
1975	Insight (TV Series)	Nora	Hunger Knows My Name (1975) ... Nora
1974	That's My Mama (TV Series)	Ruby Lester	Mama Gets Fractured (1974)
1974	That's My Mama (TV Series)	Ruby Lester	Oscar's Affair (1974)
1974	That's My Mama (TV Series)	Ruby Lester	Mama Steps Out (1974)
1974	Airport 1975	Passenger (uncredited)
1974	The Family Kovack (TV Movie)	Nurse
1974	Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (TV Series)	Mrs. Green	I've Promised You a Father: Part 2 (1974)
1973	A Dream for Christmas (TV Movie)	Cousin Clara (uncredited)
1973	The Waltons (TV Series)	Mrs. Blankfort	The Chicken Thief (1973)
1972	Circle of Fear (TV Series)	Woman	Time of Terror (1972)
1972	The New Temperatures Rising Show (TV Series)	Admissions Clerk	The Spy (1972)
1971	The Bill Cosby Show (TV Series)	Gloria's Mother	The Green-Eyed Monster (1971)