Odessa Cleveland is an American film and television actress.
Early years
Born in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, Cleveland graduated from Peabody High School. She graduated from Grambling State University with a BS degree in physical education and English and a master's degree in business management and education.
Career
A life member of
The Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 44th Street (Manhattan), West 44th Street between Ninth Avenue (Manhattan), Ninth and Tenth Avenue (Manhattan), Tenth avenues in the ...
, Cleveland is best known for her role as
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
Ginger Bayliss, a recurring character on the television series ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
The ...
'', on which she appeared for 26 episodes from 1972 to 1975.
Cleveland also had a guest role in an episode of the CBS-TV series ''M*A*S*H''
spin-off ''
Trapper John, M.D.
''Trapper John, M.D.'' is an American medical drama television series and spin-off of the film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970). Pernell Roberts portrayed the title character, a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, Californ ...
'' in 1986. Beginning as a receptionist and writer at the
Watts Writer's Workshop/Theater in Los Angeles,
and under the tutelage of
Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg (born Seymour Wilson Schulberg, March 27, 1914 – August 5, 2009) was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his novels ''What Makes Sammy Run?'' and ''The Harder They Fall;'' ...
, Odessa began appearing in such productions as ''Black Girl in Search of God'' at Jim Wood's Studio Watts Theater in Los Angeles.
In 1974, she portrayed Jim's slave wife in the 1974 musical release of ''
Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...
''.
Cleveland taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Filmography
Television works
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Odessa
American television actresses
Living people
Actresses from Louisiana
American film actresses
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American women
Year of birth missing (living people)