Claudia McNeil (August 13, 1917 – November 25, 1993) was an American actress known for premiering the role of

matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general E ...

Lena Younger in both the stage and screen productions of ''

A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...

''. She later appeared in a 1981 production of the musical version of the play, ''

Raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the d ...

'' presented by Equity Library Theater. She was twice nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

, first for her onstage performance in ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (1959), and again for the play ''Tiger Tiger Burning Bright'' in 1962. She was also nominated for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

Award and a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for the screen version of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' in 1961.

Life and career

McNeil was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, to Marvin Spencer McNeil, who was black, and Annie Mae (Anderson) McNeil, an

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

woman. The family moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

soon after her birth. She was raised by her mother after her father left the family. At the age of 12, McNeil began working for

The Heckscher Foundation for Children The Heckscher Foundation for Children is a New York City-focused private foundation that provides grants to underserved New York City youth. Often, the foundation's grant-giving takes the form of program support, capacity-building, capital project ...

. There she met a Jewish couple who later adopted her, and McNeil became fluent in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

. She became a licensed

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

, but soon began singing in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

theaters, and performing in nightclubs in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

and on

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

. McNeil also sang for the

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ma ...

Dance Troupe on its South American tour. She was advised by

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her not ...

to begin acting, and made her New York stage debut in 1953, understudying Jacqueline Andre in the role of Tituba in ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as a ...

'' at the

Martin Beck Theater The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1924, it was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh in a Moorish and ...

. She first went on in the role in mid-March 1953. Four years later,

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

chose her to sing in his musical play ''

Simply Heavenly ''Simply Heavenly'' is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Langston Hughes and music by David Martin, based on Hughes' novel ''Simple Takes A Wife'' and other ''Simple'' stories. The story is concerned with Jess Simple, an honest, easy-goin ...

''. She won critical acclaim for this role. Claudia McNeil A Raisin in the Sun 1959

In 1961, McNeil recreated her 1959 stage role in the film ''

'' and became so identified with the part of the matriarch that she said, “There was a time when I acted the role.…Now I live it.” ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' journalist Eric Pace summarized McNeil's performance explaining that she had a "commanding presence." Pace continued, "On the screen, Miss McNeil was stolid, voluminous and serene as a mother trying to control her son (played by

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

) and wanting to buy her family a respectable home." She acted in more films, including ''

The Last Angry Man ''The Last Angry Man'' is a 1959 drama film that tells the story of a television producer who profiles the life of a physician. It stars Paul Muni (in his last film appearance), David Wayne, Betsy Palmer, Billy Dee Williams (in his film debut), ...

'' (1959), '' There Was a Crooked Man...'' (1970), and ''

Black Girl Black women are women of sub-Saharan African and Afro-diasporic descent, as well as women of Australian Aboriginal and Melanesian descent. The term 'Black' is a racial classification of people, the definition of which has shifted over time and a ...

'' (1972). She also starred in the plays '' Tiger Tiger Burning Bright'' (1962),

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...

's ''

The Amen Corner ''The Amen Corner'' is a three-act play by James Baldwin. It was Baldwin's first work for the stage following the success of his novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain''. The drama was first published in 1954, and inspired a short-lived 1983 Broadw ...

'' (1965), '' Something Different'' (1967), ''

Her First Roman ''Her First Roman'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Ervin Drake, based on the 1898 George Bernard Shaw play '' Caesar and Cleopatra''. Original production During its out-of-town tryout, the original director Michael Benthall was fire ...

'' (1968), '' Wrong Way Light-Bulb'' (1969) and ''

Contributions Contribution or Contribute may refer to: * ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990) ** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album *Contribution (law), an agreement between defendants in a suit to apportion liability *Contributions, a ...

'' (1970). In 1980, she and

Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Russian Empire-born American Broadway, film, radio, and television actor and director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over 50 comedy and dram ...

starred in a summer stock and national tour of Henry Denker's comedy, ''Horowitz & Mrs. Washington'' . McNeil appeared in many TV series, including ''

The DuPont Show of the Month ''DuPont Show of the Month'' was a 90-minute television anthology series that aired monthly on CBS from 1957 to 1961. The DuPont Company also sponsored a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology series hosted by June Allyson, ''The DuPont Show with Jun ...

'' (1957), '' The Nurses'' (1962), ''

Profiles in Courage ''Profiles in Courage'' is a 1956 volume of short biographies describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States Senators. The book profiles senators who defied the opinions of their party and constituents to do what they felt was ...

'' (1965), and '' Roots: The Next Generations'' (1979). By the time she appeared in the 1959 film ''The Last Angry Man'', she weighed nearly 300 pounds. In 1978, when she sang at Michael's Pub in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, she had slimmed down to 159 pounds and commented, "I lost a whole person."

Personal life

McNeil was married when she was 19 to a husband whom she described as a "very wonderful man", whose name she wouldn't disclose. They had two sons. Her husband died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Both her sons were reportedly killed in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Her second marriage (to Herman McCoy) ended in divorce after two years in 1964. She studied Judaism, the religion of her adoptive parents, in youth. Though she maintained a great respect for it, even saying she carried a copy of both the Talmud and the Bible with her wherever she went, she converted to Catholicism in 1952 and was said to have been a devout Catholic.

Retirement and death

She retired in 1983 and two years later moved into the Actors’ Fund Nursing Home in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

. McNeil died there on November 25, 1993, aged 76, from complications related to

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

Selected filmography

Film

* ''

'' (1959) - Mrs. Quincy * ''

'' (1961) - Lena Younger * '' There Was a Crooked Man...'' (1970) - Madam * ''

'' (1972) - Mu' Dear

Television

* ''

'' (1957) - Bernice Sadie Brown * '' The Nurses'' (1963) - Mrs. Hill * ''

'' (1965) - Mrs. Haines * ''

Moon of the Wolf ''Moon of the Wolf'' is an American TV movie broadcast on September 26, 1972 on ''ABC Movie of the Week''. It stars David Janssen, Barbara Rush, Geoffrey Lewis and Bradford Dillman, with a script by Alvin Sapinsley (based on Leslie H. Whitten's ...

'' (1972) - Sara * '' Cry Panic'' (1974) - Ethel Hanson * '' Roots: The Next Generations'' (1979) - Sister Will Ada

References

External links

* *
ISU Play Concordances
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071215120041/http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2506/A_true_acting_talent_Claudia_McNeil The African American Registry {{DEFAULTSORT:McNeil, Claudia 1917 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Maryland Actresses from New Jersey Actresses from New York City African-American Catholics 20th-century African-American women singers African-American librarians American adoptees American people of Apache descent Burials at Kensico Cemetery Deaths from diabetes Musicians from Baltimore Native American actresses Native American Roman Catholics Native American singers People from Englewood, New Jersey Singers from New York City Torch singers Vaudeville performers Yiddish-speaking people American television actresses African-American actresses American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American librarians American women librarians 20th-century American singers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Singers from Maryland 20th-century American women singers Catholics from New Jersey