Frances Foster
Born
Frances Helen Brown

(1924-06-11)June 11, 1924
Yonkers, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 17, 1997(1997-06-17) (aged 73)
Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
Resting placePine Lawn Cemetery, Farmingdale, Long Island, New York, U.S.
Occupations
Years active1950–1997
Known forVera – Guiding Light
Spouses
  • Robert Standfield Foster
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1941; died 1957)​
  • ​
    (1961⁠–⁠1961)​
  • Morton Goldsen
    ​
    (m. 1983)​
Children1, 3 stepchildren

Frances Helen Foster (née Brown; June 11, 1924 – June 17, 1997)[1][2] was an American film, television and stage actress. In addition to being an actress, Foster was also an award–winning stage director and a founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company. Moreover, in 1955, she became the first African American to appear in a nationally broadcast television commercial.

Life and career

Foster was born in Yonkers, New York,[1] the daughter of George H. Brown, a postal worker, and Helen E. Lloyd.[3][4] From 1949 through 1952, she studied acting at American Theatre Wing in Manhattan; three years later, she made her stage debut as Dolly May in The Wisteria Trees at the City Center Theater.[5] That same year, several black-owned papers reported that Foster had, on Procter & Gamble's behalf, gained the distinction of being the first African American to appear in a nationally aired television commercial.[6] Many years later, in the days following her death, the New York Amsterdam News noted that Foster took great pride in being the one who had broken that barrier.[2]

A founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company,[7][8] Foster remained with the troupe from 1967 to 1986 and appeared in over 25 of its productions, winning an Obie Award in 1985 for sustained excellence of performance. She was also a recipient of two AUDELCO Awards, one as an actress and the other as a director for work at the New Federal Theatre in Manhattan. In 1978, she received the best actress award for Do Lord Remember Me, and the best director award in 1983 for Hospice.[5] She also appeared in several films, including Malcolm X, Crooklyn, and Clockers, as well as the recurring role of Vera on the soap opera Guiding Light from 1985-94. She's also known from one of the most infamous episodes of Good Times, as Gertie Vinson, a neighbor of the Evans family who was forced to eat dog food in the episode "The Dinner Party".

Personal life and death

Foster was married at least three times. In 1941 she married Robert Standfield Foster, with whom she had one child, a son.[5] In June 1961, she married actor Roy Glenn.[9][10] From 1983 until her own death, she was married to Morton Goldsen, acquiring three stepchildren from his previous marriage in the process.[5]

On June 17, 1997, at age 73, Foster died of a cerebral hemorrhage at Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia. She was survived by her husband, her son Terrell Robert Foster, her three stepchildren and a sister, Beverly Tate. In lieu of flowers being sent, Foster left instructions that donations be made in her name to Hale House in New York City, as well as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.[2][11] On September 15 a memorial service was conducted in Harlem at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.[12] Foster's remains are interred at the Pine Lawn Cemetery in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York.[2]

Selected credits

Theatre

Year Production Role Theatre(s) Notes
1996 The Juror Housewife, Juror
1995 Having Our Say[13] Miss Sadie Delany (standby) Booth Theatre
The Young Man from Atlanta[14] Clara Signature Theatre
1992 Malcolm X Woman Outside Audubon Ballroom
1990 Ground People[15] Viola America Place Theatre
1986 House of Shadows[16] Cassie America Place Theatre
1982 Do Lord Remember Me[17] Unknown American Place Theatre
1980 Zooman and the Sign[18] Ash Boswell Theatre Four
1978 Nevis Mountain Dew[19] Everelda Philibert Griffin St. Mark's Playhouse 1979 Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play[20]
1975 The First Breeze of Summer[21] Gremmer Palace Theatre
1972 The River Niger[22][23][24] Grandma Wilhelmina Brown St. Mark's Playhouse[22]
Brooks Atkinson Theatre[23][24]		 Originally an Off-Broadway production that was transferred to Broadway.[22][23][24]
1971 Rosalee Pritchett[25] Rosalee 'Rose' Pritchett St. Mark's Playhouse
1970 The Good Woman of Setzuan[26] Mrs. Mi Tzu Vivian Beaumont Theater
1968 Kongi's Harvest[27] Ogbo Aweri
Segi		 St. Mark's Playhouse
1965 Day of Absence[28] Supervisor
Aide		 St. Mark's Playhouse Program of two one-act plays by Douglas Turner Ward.
Happy Ending[28] Vi St. Mark's Playhouse Program of two one-act plays by Douglas Turner Ward.
1963 The Last Minstrel[29] Mrs. Ash Pocket Theatre
1959 A Raisin in the Sun[30] Ruth Younger (understudy)
Beneatha Younger (understudy)		 Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Belasco Theatre
1956 Take a Giant Step[31] Violet Jan Hus Playhouse
1955 The Wisteria Trees[5] Dolly May City Center Theater

References

  1. 1 2 Mapp, Edward (1978). Directory of Blacks in the Performing Arts. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. p. 120. ISBN 0-8108-1126-X.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Actress Frances Foster Dies". New York Amsterdam News. August 29, 1973. p. 4. ProQuest 2632182877. Frances Foster, actor, director and teacher, died June 17 at Fair Oaks Hospital, Fairfax, Va., as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. [...] She was a founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company and appeared in most of the productions which made NEC the national treasure it became. She was proclaimed by Mel Gussow of the New York Times as one of America's finest actors. [...] Foster was proud to have been the first African-American woman to ever appear in a commercial on national television. In addition to her stage, television and screen work, Foster sat on council at Actors Equity, the highest governing body of that union; was very involved in the civil rights movement and was a mentor and teacher to many young actors. A grave site service was held June 2 at 1 p.m. at Pine Lawn Cemetery, Farmingdale. Two memorial tributes are presently being planned, one in New York, the other in Los Angeles. She is survived by her husband, Morton Goldsen; son, Terrell Foster; sister, Beverly Tate; 3 stepchildren; [...] Foster requested that no flowers be sent; instead donations may be made in her name to Hale House, New York City as wells as Broadway Cares, Actors Equity Fights AIDS
  3. ↑ "Fifteenth Census of the United States (1930) [database on-line] , Yonkers (2nd Ward), Westchester County, New York, Enumeration District: 60-12, Page: 15A, Line: 24-30, household of Geo. H. Brown". United States: The Generations Network. April 12, 1930. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  4. ↑ "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K97-54QK : 10 February 2023), George H Brown in entry for Frances Helen Foster, .
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Pace, Eric (June 23, 1997). "Frances Foster, 73, Actress And Director in the Theater: [Obituary (Obit)]". The New York Times. p. 9. ProQuest 109788021. Frances Foster, a character actress, a stage director and a founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company, died on Tuesday at a hospital in Fairfax, Va. She was 73 and had homes in Manhattan and in Far Rockaway, Queens. [...] Ms. Foster was at the Negro Ensemble Company from 1967 until 1986, appearing in more than 25 of its productions. She won an Obie Award in 1985 for sustained excellence of performance. The other honors she received included one of the company's Adolph Caesar awards in 1987 and two of the annual Audelco Awards, which honor achievement in black theater: a best actress award in 1978 for Do Lord Remember Me, and a best director award for 1983 for Hospice. Both plays were at the New Federal Theater in Manhattan. [...] Her work in television included acting in daytime television staples like One Life to Live, Ryan's Hope and All My Children. She also appeared in the Spike Lee movies Malcolm X (1992) and Crooklyn (1994) and in other films. She was on the Actors Equity Association council from 1953 to 1967 and an artist in residence at City College of New York from 1973 to 1977. [...] She married Robert Standfield Foster in 1941. He died in 1977. She is survived by her husband of 14 years, Morton Goldsen; a son, Terrell Foster, of San Francisco; three stepchildren; six stepgrandchildren, and a sister, Beverly Tate of Far Rockaway.
  6. ↑ "Fran Foster to Do TV Commercial". The New York Age. May 7, 1955. p. 19. Retrieved December 4, 2023. See also:
    • Webb, Alvin Chick (May 14, 1955). "FOOTLIGHTS and SIDELIGHTS: ANOTHER FIRST". New Amsterdam News. p. 24. ProQuest 225679808. A few weeks ago this newspapers great a shout from announcing that Street Frances Foster had been signed in do a network TV commercial.
    • Pitts, George E. (May 14, 1955). "After Twelve". Pittsburgh Courier. p. 19. ProQuest 202326190. Frances Foster, selected to do a TV commercial for a name brand, is said to be the first Negro to appear on television selling a nation-wide product.
  7. ↑ "Frances Foster, Acclaimed Actress, Dies in Fairfax, VA". Jet. July 7, 1997. p. 65. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  8. ↑ Howell, Ron (March 1987). "20 Years of Theatrical Excellence". Ebony. p. 96. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  9. ↑ Gordon, Phil (May 25, 1961). "New York Scene". The California Eagle. p. 10. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  10. ↑ Robinson, Major (June 29, 1961). "New York Beat". Jet. p. 64. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  11. ↑ "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ81-WYNT : Wed Oct 18 05:10:58 UTC 2023), Entry for Terrell Robert Foster and Robert S Foster, 20 Jun 1959.
  12. ↑ "Frances Foster Memorial". Back Stage. September 12, 1997. p. 4. ProQuest 963102096. There will be a memorial service for Frances Foster on Sep. 15, 5–8 pm, at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard, NYC 10037.
  13. ↑ "Having Our Say". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  14. ↑ "The Young Man from Atlanta". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Ground People". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  16. ↑ "House of Shadows". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  17. ↑ "Do Lord Remember Me". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  18. ↑ "Zooman and the Sign". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 17, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  19. ↑ "Nevis Mountain Dew". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 13, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Frances Foster". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  21. ↑ "The First Breeze of Summer". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  22. 1 2 3 "The River Niger". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  23. 1 2 3 "The River Niger". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  24. 1 2 3 "The River Niger". United States: Internet Theatre Database. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  25. ↑ "Rosalee Pritchett". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  26. ↑ "The Good Woman of Setzuan". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  27. ↑ "Kongi's Harvest". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 17, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  28. 1 2 "Happy Ending/Day of Absence". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on September 13, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  29. ↑ "The Last Minstrel". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  30. ↑ "A Raisin in the Sun". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  31. ↑ "Take a Giant Step". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
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