Rosalind Cash (December 31, 1938October 31, 1995Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television – Rosalind Cash – By Bob McCann
/ref>) was an American actress. Her best-known film role is in the 1971 science-fiction film ''

The Omega Man ''The Omega Man'' (stylized as ''The Ωmega Man'') is a 1971 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, postapocalyptic action film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Charlton Heston as a survivor of a pandemic. It was written by John W ...

''. Cash also had another notable role as Mary Mae Ward in ABC's ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'', a role she portrayed from 1994 until her death in 1995.

Biography

Early life and education

Cash was the second of four children born in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, to John O. Cash Sr., a clerk, and Martha Elizabeth Cash. Her siblings were John Jr., Robert, and Helen.Gussow, Mel
"Rosalind Cash, 56, at Home on Stage and Screen"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', November 3, 1995. Retrieved December 3, 2007. Cash graduated with honors from Atlantic City High School in 1956. After high school, Cash attended

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. Her career extended to theater, television, film, and recording.

Career

Cash appeared in the 1962 revival of '' Fiorello!'' and was an original member of the

Negro Ensemble Company The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by producer-actor Robert Hooks, playwright Douglas Turner Ward, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundatio ...

, founded in 1968. In 1973, Cash played the role of

Goneril Goneril is a character in William Shakespeare's tragic play ''King Lear'' (1605). She is the eldest of Leir of Britain, King Lear's three daughters. Along with her sister Regan (King Lear), Regan, Goneril is considered a villain, obsessed with p ...

in ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' at the New York Shakespeare Festival alongside James Earl Jones's Lear. Cash appeared on the New York-area television show ''Callback!'', which featured musical director

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

. The episode on which Cash was featured was filmed on March 31, 1969, at the Village Gate in New York City. The episode aired on Saturday, April 19, 1969 at 3:30 pm on CBS. Cash performed "God Bless the Child" on the show. No recordings of the performance are known to exist. Her other television credits include ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'', '' What's Happening!!'', ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show''. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

'', '' Good Times'', ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 ...

'', '' Frank's Place'', ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...

'', ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...

'', '' Benson'', '' Roc'', '' Police Woman'', '' Family Ties'', '' Head of the Class'', ''

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. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

'', and ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

''. Cash was nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for her work on the

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the ...

production of '' Go Tell It on the Mountain''. In 1996, she was posthumously nominated for an

, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for her role on ''General Hospital''. Cash's films included ''Omega Man'' (1971), ''

Klute ''Klute'' is a 1971 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed and produced by Alan J. Pakula and starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Nathan George, Dorothy Tristan, Roy Scheider and Rita Gam. Its plot follows a ...

'' (1971), '' The New Centurions'' (1972) with George C. Scott, '' Uptown Saturday Night'' (1974) with

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

and Sidney Poitier, and '' Wrong Is Right'' (1982). In 1995, she appeared in '' Tales from the Hood'', her last film appearance. Cash supplied the voices of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, 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 Worksh ...

'' Muppet Roosevelt Franklin's mother and his sister, Mary Frances, on the 1970 record album ''The Year of Roosevelt Franklin, Gordon's Friend from Sesame Street'' alongside Matt Robinson's voices for Roosevelt and his brother, Baby Ray, and friend, A.B. Cito.Roosevelt Franklin – Keep On Trying – YouTube
/ref>

Personal life and death

Cash never married nor had children. She died of cancer on October 31, 1995, at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

in Los Angeles, California, aged 56.

Filmography

* '' The Hustler'' (1961) .... Waitress 1:45:44 Uncredited * ''

'' (1971) .... Pat * ''

'' (1971) .... Lisa * '' The New Centurions'' (1972, a.k.a. ''Precinct 45: Los Angeles Police'') .... Lorrie * '' Melinda'' (1972) .... Terry Davis * '' Hickey & Boggs'' (1972) .... Nyona * '' The All-American Boy'' (1973) .... Poppy * ''

'' (1974, TV Series) .... Goneril * '' Uptown Saturday Night'' (1974) .... Sarah Jackson * ''

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

'' .... Creola Waters * ''Ceremonies in Dark Old Men'' (1975, TV Movie) .... Adele * '' Cornbread, Earl and Me'' (1975, a.k.a. ''Hit the Open Man'') .... Sarah Robinson * '' Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde'' (1976, a.k.a. ''Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde''; ''Dr. Black and Mr. White''; ''The Watts Monster'') .... Dr. Billie Worth * '' The Monkey Hu$tle'' (1976) .... Mama * ''

'' (TV, Episode: "A Girl Like Mary", broadcast December 14, 1974) ... Enid Berringer * '' Good Times'' (1976, TV Series) .... Jessica Bishop * '' What's Happening!!'' (1976–1977, TV Series) .... Loretta * ''

Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a '' Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired ...

'' (TV, Episode: "The Crying Child", broadcast October 22, 1977) ... Sgt. Sheila Peterson * '' A Killing Affair'' (1977, TV Movie, a.k.a. Behind the Badge) .... Beverly York * '' The Class of Miss MacMichael'' (1978) .... Una Ferrar * '' Death Drug'' (1978) .... Doctor * ''

'' (1978) .... episode: Dog Days, S5/Ep4, as Carol Slade * ''Flashpoint'' (1979, TV Movie) * '' Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones'' (1980, TV Movie, a.k.a. ''The Mad Messiah'') .... Jenny Hammond * '' Benson'' 1981, season 3 episode 7 "rainbow's end" as Elizabeth * '' The Sophisticated Gents'' (1981, TV Series) .... Christine Jackson * ''Keeping On'' (1981, TV Movie) * '' Wrong Is Right'' (1982, a.k.a. ''The Man with the Deadly Lens'') .... Mrs. Ford * '' Sister, Sister'' (1982, TV Movie) .... Freida Lovejoy-Burton * '' Special Bulletin'' (1983, TV Movie) .... Frieda Barton * '' This Is the Life'' (1983, TV Series) .... Herself * ''Just an Overnight Guest'' (1983, TV Short) * '' The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'' (1984) .... John Emdall * '' Knight Rider'' (1984, TV Series) .... Irana (Princess) * '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' (1985, TV Movie) .... Florence * ''

'' (1986, Episode: "Denise Gets a D") ... Dr. Hughes * ''Mighty Pawns'' (1987, TV Movie) .... Mrs. Robinson * '' From a Whisper to a Scream'' (1987) .... Snake Woman * '' Highway to Heaven'' (broadcast January 21, 1987, Episode: "A Song of Songs") .... Ellie Livingston * ''

'' (broadcast March 19, 1988, Episode: "Mixed Blessings") .... Lorraine * ''Forced March'' (1989) * ''Death Spa'' (1988, a.k.a. Witch Bitch) .... Sgt. Stone * '' Family Ties'' (1989, TV Series – two-part episode "All in the Neighborhood", broadcast March 12 and 19, 1989) ... Maya Thompson * ''

'' (1989, TV Series, Episode: Under One Roof) .... Dean Hughes * ''You Must Remember This'' (1992, TV Movie, a.k.a. ''Wonderworks: You Must Remember This'', USA: series title) .... Janet Mickens * ''The Second Coming'' (1992, Short) * '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' (1993, TV Series) .... Mrs. Bassin * ''

'' (1994–1995, TV Series) .... Mary Mae Ward * '' A Dangerous Affair'' (1995, TV Movie) .... Dr. Robertson * '' Tales from the Hood'' (1995) .... Dr. Cushing * ''Circle of Pain'' (1996, TV Movie) .... (final film role)

References

External links

* * *
Obituary
at soapzone.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cash, Rosalind 1938 births 1995 deaths Actors from Atlantic City, New Jersey 20th-century African-American actresses American television actresses American film actresses American stage actresses Atlantic City High School alumni 20th-century American actresses Deaths from cancer in California