Esther Rolle
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1920-11-08
Day of Death
1998-11-17 (78 years old)
Place of Birth
Pompano Beach, Florida USA
Esther Rolle
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Esther Elizabeth Rolle (November 8, 1920 – November 17, 1998) was a Bahamian American actress. Rolle is best known for her role as Florida Evans, on the CBS television sitcom Maude, for two seasons (1972–1974), and its spin-off series Good Times, for five seasons (1974–77, 1978–79), for which Rolle was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1976.
Rolle is best known for her television role as Florida Evans, the character she played on two 1970s sitcoms. The character was introduced as Maude Findlay's housekeeper on Maude, and was spun off in the show's second season into Good Times, a show about Florida's family. Rolle was nominated in 1975 for the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy Golden Globe Award for her role in Good Times. Rolle was 19 years older than the actor (John Amos) who played her husband James Evans. The James Evans character was only added after Esther Rolle fought hard for a father figure and husband to be added to the show. Rolle had fought for the father character on the show, more relevant themes and scripts and was unhappy when the success of Jimmie Walker's character, J.J. Evans, took the show in a frivolous direction. John Amos agreed with Rolle about Walker's character and was fired from the show after the third season ended. Later on, in a stand-off with Good Times producer Norman Lear, Rolle also quit when her contract ended. Although the show continued without her for the fifth season, she returned for the show's final season. In 1979 she won an Emmy for her role in Summer of My German Soldier, a made-for-television movie.
Among her guest star roles was one on The Incredible Hulk in an episode entitled "Behind the Wheel" where she played a taxicab business owner. In the 1990s, Rolle was a surprise guest on RuPaul's VH-1 talk show. Her Maude co-star Bea Arthur was the guest, and Rolle was brought out to surprise Arthur. The two had not seen each other in years, Arthur said, and embraced warmly. Rolle also appeared in a series of psychic hotline TV commercials in the 1990s. "Tell them Esther sent you," was her trademark line.
Known For
Acting
(2005)
Train Ride
as Dean of Students
(1998)
Down in the Delta
as Annie Sinclair
(1997)
Rosewood
as Aunt Sarah
(1996)
My Fellow Americans
as Rita
(1995)
How to Make an American Quilt
as Aunt Pauline
(1995)
Nobody's Girls: Five Women of the West
as Clara Brown
(1993)
House of Cards
as Adelle
(1993)
Message from Nam
as Queenie / Elizabeth McQueen
(1993)
To Dance with the White Dog
as Neelie
(1992)
Color Adjustment
as Self
(1991)
Cape Fear
as Woman Watching Cady Get Out from Under the Car (uncredited)
(1990)
The Kid Who Loved Christmas
as Esther Clayton
(1989)
Driving Miss Daisy
as Idella
(1989)
The Mighty Quinn
as Ubu Pearl
(1989)
A Raisin in the Sun
as Lena 'Mama' Younger
(1989)
Age-Old Friends
as Mrs. Baker
(1987)
P.K. and the Kid
as Mim
(1986)
Ethnic Notions
as Narrator
(1982)
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
as Nurse
(1981)
See China and Die
as Momma Sykes
(1979)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
as Momma
(1978)
Summer of My German Soldier
as Ruth
(1973)
Cleopatra Jones
as Mrs. Johnson
(1972)
Don't Play Us Cheap
as Miss Maybell
(1971)
(1967)
Up the Down Staircase
as Teacher
(1964)
Nothing But a Man
as Church Woman