Lynn Hamilton (born April 25, 1930) is an American former actress whose acting debut came in 1959 in

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...

' ''

Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

'', She is best known for her recurring role as Donna Harris; Fred's girlfriend and later fiancée on the sitcom '' Sanford and Son'' (1972 - 1977).

Early years

Hamilton was born in

Yazoo City, Mississippi Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river' ...

, to Nancy and Louis Hamilton and moved to

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed "The Heights". Geogra ...

, when she was twelve years old. She attended

Bloom High School Bloom High School is a public school in Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is part of Bloom Township High School District 206. The school was founded in 1900. A second Chicago Heights high school, Bloom Trail, was established in 1976 to offset ove ...

. She studied acting at

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the lan ...

Career

Hamilton began her career in community theatre in Chicago and debuted on Broadway in ''Only in America'' in 1959. She appeared in three other Broadway plays, many Off-Broadway plays and spent three years with the

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...

. From 1972 to 1977, after an initial credited one-time appearance in the seventh episode of the series as a landlady, Hamilton starred as Fred Sanford's girlfriend and later fiancée Donna Harris on the television sitcom '' Sanford and Son''. Donna was a nurse and sometimes took care of Fred. When the show returned in 1980 under a reworked title ''

Sanford (TV series) ''Sanford'' is an American sitcom television series and a sequel to the original 1972–1977 sitcom ''Sanford and Son''. It was broadcast on NBC from March 15, 1980 to July 10, 1981. Background In 1977, after six seasons of ''Sanford and Son'', ...

'', Hamilton was not asked to return and her character was written out of the series. There are many internet claims that she was the younger sister of actress

LaWanda Page LaWanda Page (born Alberta Peal; October 19, 1920September 14, 2002) was an American actress, comedian, and dancer whose career spanned six decades. Crowned "The Queen of Comedy" or "The Black Queen of Comedy", Page melded blue humor, signifyin ...

, who portrayed Esther Anderson on ''Sanford and Son'', confirmed only via LaWanda Page's obituary in the Los Angeles Times. However, they are neither related nor sisters, though they became good friends. In addition to Hamilton's role on ''Sanford and Son,'' she also had a recurring role as Verdie Grant Foster on ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

'', and made numerous appearances in television sitcoms, soap operas and miniseries such as '' Good Times'', '' 227'', '' Dangerous Women'', '' Generations'', ''

Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes pl ...

'', ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...

'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' (guest starring as ”Mother Tabitha” in the 1969 episode “The Sisters” (S15E14), and '' Roots: The Next Generations''. Hamilton also appeared in the show ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was o ...

'', playing a character named Laura Padget, in episode titled "Sunday: Doomsday" on February 4, 1973. Hamilton also had a recurring role as Judge Fulton on ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in ...

''.

Personal life

Hamilton was married to poet and playwright Frank Jenkins for 49 years, from November 1964 until his death in August 2014.

, who costarred with Hamilton on ''Sanford and Son'' had a younger sister coincidentally also named "Lynn Hamilton". This caused a rumor that the two actresses were sisters. Series lead

Demond Wilson Grady Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American actor and author. He portrayed Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred Sanford (played by Redd Foxx) in the NBC sitcom ''Sanford and Son'' (1972–77), and Oscar Madison in '' The New Odd Coup ...

confirmed the rumor to be false in 2016.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Lynn Living people African-American actresses American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Mississippi People from Yazoo City, Mississippi 21st-century American actresses American stage actresses 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 1930 births