Cherlynne Theresa Thigpen (December 22, 1948 – March 12, 2003) was an American actress of stage and screen. She was known for her role as "The Chief" of ACME Crimenet in the game show '' Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?'' and various spinoffs, and for her role as "Luna" (The Moon) in the

Playhouse Disney Playhouse Disney was a brand of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channels that were owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit (now Disney Branded Television) of The Walt Disney Company's Disney–ABC Televi ...

children's series ''

Bear in the Big Blue House ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it aire ...

''. For her varied television work, Thigpen was nominated for six

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

. She won 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 ce ...

in 1997 for portraying Dr. Judith Kaufman in '' An American Daughter'', and also played Ella Farmer on ''

The District ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series which aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. Pr ...

'' (2000–2003).

Early life and education

Thigpen was born in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

suburb of Joliet,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

to George and Celia (Martin) Thigpen. She obtained a degree in teaching. She taught high school English briefly while studying theatre at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

on an acting fellowship.

Career

Stage

Thigpen moved to New York City in 1971 to begin her career as a stage actress. She had a long and prolific theater career and appeared in numerous musicals including ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hym ...

'', ''

The Night That Made America Famous ''The Night That Made America Famous'' is a 1975 musical revue featuring the songs of Harry Chapin. The music consists of a combination of songs written for the musical and songs from Chapin's previous albums, the latter including " What Made Amer ...

'', ''

The Magic Show ''The Magic Show'' is a one-act musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Bob Randall. It starred magician Doug Henning. Produced by Edgar Lansbury, Joseph Beruh, and Ivan Reitman, it opened on May 28, 1974 at the Cort T ...

'', '' Working'', ''

Tintypes ''Tintypes'' is a musical revue conceived by Mary Kyte with Mel Marvin and Gary Pearle. Description With its time frame set between the turn of the 20th century and the onset of World War I, this chamber piece with a cast of five provides a mus ...

'', and ''An American Daughter'' (for which she won her

for her portrayal of Dr. Judith Kaufman in 1997). In 1995, she served as associate artistic director of the acclaimed off-Broadway theater,

Circle Repertory Company The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by direc ...

, while Austin Pendleton served as artistic director.

Film

Her first feature film role was as Lynne in ''

'' (1973), co-starring opposite

Victor Garber Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also ...

and

David Haskell David Michael Haskell (June 4, 1948 – August 30, 2000) was an American film, stage and television actor and singer best known for his performance in Godspell. Early life He was born in Stockton, California. David graduated from Ter ...

. Thigpen also portrayed a radio DJ (shown only from the nose down) in

Walter Hill Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

's '' The Warriors'' (1979), and Leonna Barrett, the mother of an expelled student, in '' Lean on Me'' (1989), the story of American high school principal

Joe Louis Clark Joe Louis Clark (May 8, 1938 – December 29, 2020) was the principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey. He is also the subject of the 1989 film '' Lean on Me'', starring Morgan Freeman. Clark gained public attention in the 1980s fo ...

. She had a role in the remake of '' Shaft'' (2000) as the mother of a murder victim, and played the Second President of the World Congress in '' Bicentennial Man'' (1999). Her last film, ''

Anger Management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...

'' (2003), starring Adam Sandler and

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

, was released a month after her death and paid tribute to her in the end credits.

Television

Thigpen was best known to television audiences for playing "The Chief" in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

children's geography game show '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'', which involved education, humor, and an occasional musical performance. She also reprised her role as The Chief in the successor show '' Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?''. She also played Luna in the television show ''

'' and also appeared in many other television series during her career, most notably in a recurring role as Grace Keefer on the ABC daytime drama '' All My Children'' and a supporting role as Ella Mae Farmer, a crime analyst for the Washington, D.C., police department, on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

crime drama ''

''. She guest-starred in episodes of ''

Gimme A Break! ''Gimme a Break!'' is an American television sitcom created by Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen, that aired on NBC for six seasons from October 29, 1981, to May 12, 1987. The series starred Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief ( ...

'', '' L.A. Law'', '' Law & Order'', ''

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd ''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on NBC from May 21, 1987 to June 29, 1988 and on Lifetime from April 17, 1989 to April 13, 1991. It was created by Jay Tarses and stars Blair Brown in ...

'', '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

'', and ''

Thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust any ...

'', and was a regular cast member on the short-lived

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sketch comedy series '' The News Is the News''.

Audio productions

She appeared in radio skits of the Garrison Keillor program '' The American Radio Company of the Air''. Her voice was also heard on over 20 audio books, primarily works with socially relevant themes.

Computer games

In her association with the ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'' television show, Thigpen reprised her role as The Chief in three related computer games. Two were released in 1996: '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'' (a reboot of the original 1985–1992 game) and '' Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego?'' The following year, a video game counterpart to the TV series' successor show, ''Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego,'' was released, titled '' Carmen Sandiego's Great Chase Through Time''. Thigpen recorded hundreds of QuickTime videos for cut-scenes in the games, and generally received praise for her performances in them; in reviewing the 1997 game, David Colker of the ''Los Angeles Times'' enjoyed the "on-screen presence of actress Lynne Thigpen", noting that she "brings a winning presence to her role," while Debbie Maria Leon of the ''New Straits Times'' wrote that "the urgency of the onfident Chief'svoice

ives Ives is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930), American dramatist, journalist * Burl Ives (1909–1995), American singer, author and actor * Charles Ives (1874–1954), Amer ...

enough oomph to make he playergo scurrying to restore history".

Death

Thigpen died of a cerebral hemorrhage on March 12, 2003, in her Marina del Rey,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

home, outside of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, after complaining of headaches for several days. The coroner's autopsy found "acute cardiac dysfunction, non-traumatic systemic and spontaneous intraventricular hemorrhage, and hemorrhage in the brain." Thigpen was entombed at Elmhurst Cemetery in her hometown of

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. Hist ...

Response and legacy

Following Thigpen's death, the remaining three episodes of the third season of ''The District'' killed off her character, Ella Mae Farmer. Her death also led to a three-year hiatus of ''Bear in the Big Blue Houses fourth season, and an unplanned film version of the show was put on hold. Two years after Thigpen's death, her ''Bear'' co-star Tara Mooney, who played the character Shadow, said in an interview with Ray D'Arcy on ''

Today FM Today FM is an Irish national commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a l ...

'': "The crew's hearts just weren't in it anymore". Thigpen's family and friends established a non-profit foundation, The Lynne Thigpen–Bobo Lewis Foundation, to help young actors and actresses learn to survive and succeed in New York theater and to mentor the next generation of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stars. Thigpen was posthumously nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for voicing Luna the moon in ''Bear in the Big Blue House'', but lost to

Jeff Corwin Jeffrey Corwin (born July 11, 1967) is an American biologist and wildlife conservationist, known for hosting Disney Channel's '' Going Wild with Jeff Corwin'', ''The Jeff Corwin Experience'' on Animal Planet, ABC's ''Ocean Mysteries with J ...

for his eponymous wildlife reality series ''

The Jeff Corwin Experience ''The Jeff Corwin Experience'' is an American wildlife documentary television program that premiered on the Animal Planet cable channel in 2000. It was hosted by actor and conservationist Jeff Corwin, who previously hosted Disney Channel's ''Goi ...

''. Her final film, ''

'', was dedicated to her memory. An elementary school in Thigpen's hometown of Joliet, Illinois, was named for her.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and honors

;Awards *1992 Obie Award – ''

Boesman and Lena ''Boesman and Lena'' is a small-cast play by South African playwright Athol Fugard, set in the Swartkops mudflats outside of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, that shows the effect of apartheid on a few individuals, featuring as characters ...

'' *1997 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play – '' An American Daughter'' *2000 Obie Award – ''Jar the Floor'' ;Nominations *1987 Los Angeles Drama Critics Award – ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'' *1994, 1995, 1996

for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'' *1996

NAACP Image Awards 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 Informational Youth or Children's Series/Special – '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'' *1997

for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – '' All My Children'' * 1997, 1998

for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – '' Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?'' *2000 AudioFile Awards Golden Voices for the Year *2004

for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – ''

'' (Posthumously nominated) ;Honors *Lynne Thigpen Elementary School, Joliet, Illinois

References

External links

* * * *
Lynne Thigpen
Godspell Tributes Page * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thigpen, Lynne 1948 births 2003 deaths African-American actresses African-American schoolteachers American film actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Illinois Obie Award recipients Actors from Joliet, Illinois University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts alumni Tony Award winners People from Marina del Rey, California 20th-century American actresses 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women