Judy Lenteen Pace (born June 15, 1942) is an American actress known for her roles in films and television shows, particularly

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

films. Pace portrayed Vickie Fletcher on the TV series '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969) and Pat Walters on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

drama series ''

The Young Lawyers ''The Young Lawyers'' is an American legal drama that was aired on the ABC network for one season from September 21, 1970, until March 24, 1971. Starring Lee J. Cobb, Zalman King, Judy Pace and Phillip Clark, the show was a part of the network's ...

'' (1969–1971), for which she won an

Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 1970.

Early life and career

Pace was born the second of two daughters in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, to an airplane mechanic and a dressmaker. Pace's older sister Jean Pace Brown was an activist who was married to musician and actor

Oscar Brown, Jr. Oscar Brown Jr. (October 10, 1926May 29, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, civil rights activist, and actor. Aside from his career, Brown ran unsuccessfully for office in both the Illinois state legislature and the U. ...

After high school, Pace attended

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

, majoring in sociology. Pace made her film debut as one of the title characters in

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of high school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attenti ...

's ''

13 Frightened Girls ''13 Frightened Girls'' (also known as ''The Candy Web'') is a 1963 Pathécolor Cold War spy film directed and produced by William Castle. Kathy Dunn stars as a teenage sleuth who finds herself embroiled in international espionage. Castle, who ...

'' (1963). She got her first major break in Hollywood in 1968 as the first black villainess on TV with her role as Vickie Fletcher in the hit ABC-TV soap-opera/drama series ''Peyton Place''. Also in 1968, Pace was singled out for praise by noted film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

, for her performance in the popular youth-oriented film, ''

Three in the Attic ''Three in the Attic'' is a 1968 comedy film directed by Richard Wilson and starring Christopher Jones and Yvette Mimieux, with Judy Pace and Maggie Thrett. Nan Martin, John Beck, and Eve McVeagh appear in supporting roles. Jones plays Paxton ...

'':

The find in this movie, for my money, is the young black actress Judy Pace, who is terrific. ''Variety'' calls her "the most beautiful black actress in Hollywood," which is debatable since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, etc., but she's a quick, funny actress who can put an edge on a line and keep a scene sparkling.

Pace quickly became a familiar face in the 1970s on both the big and small screens, appearing in popular blaxploitation movies and popular television shows. Television shows on which she appeared include ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'', ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

'', ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

'', ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually marrie ...

'', ''

The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book ''The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere Rio ...

'', ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'', ''

I Spy I spy is a guessing game where one player (the ''spy'' or ''it'') chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players a ...

'', '' Ironside'', '' Peyton Place'', ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as ...

'', '' Medical Center'', ''

That's My Mama ''That's My Mama'' is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 4, 1974 until December 24, 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series. ''That's My Mama'' was never a ratings success, having alw ...

,'' '' O'Hara, US Treasury'', ''

The New People ''The New People'' is a 1969 American television series on ABC that focused on a group of young college students who were returning from a trip in Southeast Asia when their plane crashed on an island in the south Pacific Ocean. This program is ...

'', ''

Insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intu ...

'', ''

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

'', '' Shaft'', ''

Caribe Caribe may refer to: * ''Caribe'' (Venezuelan TV series), a Venezuelan telenovela * ''Caribe'' (American TV series), a 1975 television series produced by Quinn Martin * Caribe, or Cabir, a computer worm designed for mobile phones * ''Caribe'' ...

'', ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the United ...

,'' ''

What's Happening!! ''What's Happening!!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, until April 28, 1979, premiering as a summer series. Due to other shows being cancelled across the network, and good ratings and reviews from ...

'', and ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

''. For one season, she starred in the drama ''

'' broadcast on ABC. Pace also had a key supporting role as

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Saye ...

's wife, Linda, in the critically acclaimed 1971 ABC-TV movie ''

Brian's Song ''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo (James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro in 1965, told through his friendship with teammate Gale Sayers ...

''.

Personal life

In 1972, Pace married actor Don Mitchell. They had two daughters together before their divorce in 1984. Their daughters are actress

Julia Pace Mitchell Julia Pace Mitchell (born Julia Annette Mitchell; February 10, 1978) is an American stage, television and film actress. She is best known for her role as Sofia Dupre on the CBS television soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (2010–12, 2019 ...

and Shawn Meshelle Mitchell. Pace had been courted by late baseball great

Curt Flood Curtis Charles Flood (January 18, 1938 – January 20, 1997) was an American professional baseball player and activist. He was a center fielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs, St. Louis Cardinals, ...

in 1966 when he saw her as a bachelorette contestant on the game show ''

The Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it c ...

.'' They dated until 1970. After divorcing Mitchell in 1984, Pace and Flood met again, leading to their 1986 marriage. They remained together until Flood's death in 1997.

TV and filmography

As actress: * ''

'' (1963) * ''

'' (1966) * ''

The Fortune Cookie ''The Fortune Cookie'' (alternative UK title: ''Meet Whiplash Willie'') is a 1966 American black comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It was the first film in which Jack Lemmon collaborated with Walter Matthau. Matthau ...

'' (1966) * ''

'' (1967) * ''

'' (1968) * ''

'' (1968) * '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968) as Pretty Girl * ''

'' (1968) * '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969) * ''

'' (TV movie) (1969) * ''The Young Lawyers'' (TV series) (1969–1971) * ''

Up in the Cellar ''Up in the Cellar'' is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Theodore J. Flicker and starring Wes Stern, Larry Hagman, Joan Collins, Judy Pace, David Cargo, and Joan Darling. The plot concerns a man who decides to bed three women. It was de ...

'' (1970) * ''

Cotton Comes to Harlem ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is a 1970 American neo-noir action comedy thriller film co-written and directed by Ossie Davis and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, and Redd Foxx. The film, later cited as an early example of the ...

'' (1970) * ''

'' (1971) * ''O'Hara, U.S. Treasury'' (1971) * '' Cool Breeze'' (1972) * ''Oh, Nurse!'' (1972 TV movie) * ''

Frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

'' (1972) * '' Shaft'' (TV series) (1973) * ''

The Slams ''The Slams'' is a 1973 American action film directed by Jonathan Kaplan and starring Jim Brown. Plot Curtis Hook (Jim Brown) is caught by the police after a heist. In jail, Curtis has to deal with people who want to know where he stashed the loo ...

'' (1973) * '' Ironside'' (1974) * ''

'' (1974) * ''

'' (1974) * '' Medical Center'' (1974) * ''

'' (1975) * ''

!!'' (two episodes, 1977–1979) * ''Beyond Westworld'' (1980) * ''

Sucker Free City ''Sucker Free City'' is a 2004 television film directed by Spike Lee. The film examines white, black, and Chinese characters in San Francisco and the conflicts they encounter with each other. The film was intended to be the pilot for a Showtime ...

'' (2004) * '' Beauty and the Baller'' (four episodes, 2017) As herself: * ''Stevie Wonder/The Moments/Fully Guaranteed'' (1973) (TV episode) * ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...

'' (1973) * ''Christopher Jones'' (1999) * ''

E! True Hollywood Story ''E! True Hollywood Story'' is an American television documentary series on E! that pulls back the curtain and highlights some of pop culture's most fascinating people, moments and trends. The series offers exclusive interviews with new insigh ...

'' (1999) * ''Curt Flood'' (2000) (TV episode) * ''

ESPN SportsCentury ''SportsCentury'' is an ESPN biography television program that reviews the people and events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Using stock footage, on-camera interviews, and photographs of their athletic l ...

'' (two episodes, 2000–2004) * ''Disciples of Jackie Robinson'' (2004) (TV episode)

Sources

Macumba Love Spotlight On actress Judy Pace

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pace, Judy 1942 births African-American actresses American television actresses Living people Actresses from Los Angeles 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people