Cecelia Antoinette Bruton (November 24, 1949 – May 28, 2020), known professionally as Cecelia Antoinette or CeCe Antoinette, was an American actress, comedian, and writer.

Early life

Cecelia Antoinette Bruton was born a twin in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, in 1949, the daughter of Cicero Hamilton Bruton Sr. and Naomi Hartman Bruton. Her mother was an actress, and her father worked for the railroad. She was educated in Hamilton Park schools, graduating from high school in 1968. She earned a bachelor's degree at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Career

Bruton began acting in Dallas and took acting classes in New York City. She appeared on Broadway in ''

Mule Bone ''Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life'' is a 1930 play (theatre), play by American authors Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. The process of writing the play led Hughes and Hurston, who had been close friends, to sever their relationship. ''Mu ...

'', and in touring or regional companies of '' The Wake of Jeremy Foster'', ''The Member of the Wedding'', '' The Ride Down Mt. Morgan'', ''St. Lucy's Eyes,'' and '' Bronzeville''. On television, she had small roles in ''Law & Order'': ''Special Victims Unit'', '' Scrubs, Weeds,

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' is an American period comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, that premiered on March 17, 2017, on Amazon Prime Video. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as ...

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,'' '' A Black Lady Sketch Show, Blue Bloods,

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,'' ''

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'', '' Desperate Housewives'', ''Girlfriends'', ''

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'', and ''

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''. Her film credits included appearances in ''After School'' (2008), '' Proud American'' (2008), '' Yes Man'' (2008), ''

Dance Fu ''Dance Fu'' (also titled ''Chicago Pulaski Jones'' and ''Chicago Pulaski Jones: The Legend of Dance Fu'') is a 2011 martial arts comedy film starring Kel Mitchell. The film was co-written and co-produced by Mitchell and directed by Cedric the Ente ...

'' (2011), ''Different Flowers'' (2017), and '' Deadtectives'' (2018). Bruton published a book of poetry, ''Just as I am'', and a memoir, ''Brown Gal's Rising'', and an autobiographical one-woman show, ''Watermelon: Git It While It's Hot!''. She participated in the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in 1998, and performed at festivals about women in jazz in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

in 1999 and 2001. She was a member of the Women's Project Directors Forum. She taught theatre at various levels, including at the Pennsylvania State University and the New York City public schools.

Personal life

Cecelia Antoinette Bruton was a practicing Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist.

Death

She died in 2020, aged 70 years. She was honored posthumously at the Reel Sisters awards ceremony in November 2020.

References

External links

* Cecelia Antoinette's blog
''Brown Gal's Rising''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Antoinette, Cecelia 1949 births 2020 deaths African-American actresses African-American comedians African-American writers University of Oklahoma alumni Alpha Kappa Alpha members People from Dallas American Buddhists 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women