Lillian Irene Hayman (July 17, 1922 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress and singer.

Career

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 ...

, Hayman graduated from

Wilberforce University Wilberforce University is a private historically black university in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans. It participates in t ...

with a BA before she began her career in the

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

. She won the 1968

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 ...

for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, playing the mother of

Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...

's character in the play ''

Hallelujah, Baby! ''Hallelujah, Baby!'' is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, and a book by Arthur Laurents. The show is "a chronicle of the African American struggle for equality during the irst half of the20th centur ...

''. This performance attracted the casting agents for ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'', who cast her as

Sadie Gray Sadie Gray is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''One Life to Live'', played by Broadway actress and singer Lillian Hayman from 1968 to 1986. Sadie regularly sings at special functions and occasions during her appearance on the ...

. Hayman played Sadie Gray from 1968 until 1986. Hayman briefly left the cast of ''One Life to Live'' to appear in the primetime musical comedy series ''

The Leslie Uggams Show ''The Leslie Uggams Show'' is an American variety television series starring actress/singer Leslie Uggams. The series aired on CBS as part of its 1969 fall lineup, and was the second variety series to feature an African American host, the first s ...

''. She also appeared in the 1971 Broadway production of the Kander and Ebb musical ''70, Girls, 70''. Hayman's ''

'' option was not renewed in 1986 by then-executive producer

Paul Rauch Paul Rauch (1930 – December 10, 2012) was an American television and film producer. Rauch's work was primarily in American soap operas. Career Rauch's earlier jobs included Vice President, Programs-East Coast for CBS, Supervising Producer for ...

. According to co-star

Ellen Holly Ellen Virginia Holly is an American actress. Beginning her career on stage in the late 1950s, Holly is perhaps best known for her role as Carla Gray–Hall on the ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1968–80; 1983–85). Holly is note ...

's 1998 memoir, ''One Life: The Autobiography of an African American Actress'', Hayman didn't even know that she had been fired until Rauch's assistant approached her in the parking garage as she was leaving the studio and walking to her Tercel: "Mr. Rauch wants you to know that you just worked your last day." Hayman also portrayed Lucrezia Borgia in the 1975 film '' Mandingo'', and made her final feature film appearance in that film's 1976 sequel, ''

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

''.

Death

On October 25, 1994, Hayman died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at her home in

Hollis, Queens Hollis is a residential middle class, middle-class neighborhood within the southeastern section of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Queens. While a predominantly African-American community, there are small minorities of Hispa ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She was 72 years old.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayman, Lillian African-American actresses American soap opera actresses American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses American musical theatre actresses Actresses from New York City Actresses from Baltimore Tony Award winners Wilberforce University alumni 1922 births 1994 deaths People from Hollis, Queens 20th-century American actresses 20th-century African-American women singers