Jonelle Allen (born July 18, 1944) Who Sang what on Broadway, 1866–1996: The singers (A-K)
/ref>VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever, Volume 2005
/ref> is an American actress, singer, and dancer from Harlem, New York, United States. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s, Allen has co-starred in films, Broadway productions, and television. In 1972, Allen was nominated for 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 c ...

for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the musical ''Two Gentlemen of Verona''.

Biography

Early life, education and career

Born in New York City, Allen was raised in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem. The only child of Marion, a postal worker, and Robert Allen, a NYC transit worker, Allen began performing at the age of four, and attended the

Professional Children's School Professional Children's School (PCS) is a not-for-profit, college preparatory school geared toward working and aspiring child actors and dancers in grades six through twelve. The school was founded in New York City in 1914 to provide an academic ed ...

.Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television By Bob McCann
/ref> She made her

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 ...

debut at the age of six in ''The Wisteria Trees'',

Joshua Logan Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American director, writer, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical ''South Pacific'' and was involved in writing other musicals. Early years Logan w ...

's Americanized adaptation of ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...

'', starring Helen Hayes. As a child, she also made regular appearances on a local children's television series, '' The Merry Mailman'', hosted by Ray Heatherton.

Career

Allen returned to Broadway in a revival of '' Finian's Rainbow''. She was in the cast of the original off-Broadway 1968 production of '' Hair'' at

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created ...

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American ...

, and also appeared in ''

George M! ''George M!'' is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine ...

'' before receiving critical acclaim and a

nomination for '' Two Gentlemen of Verona'', which earned her

New York Drama Critics' Circle The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

, Theatre World, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance. Despite her success, it proved to be her last Broadway appearance to date. Allen's film credits include '' Cotton Comes to Harlem'', ''

The Hotel New Hampshire ''The Hotel New Hampshire'' is a 1981 coming of age novel by American writer John Irving, his fifth published novel. Plot This novel is the story of the Berrys, a quirky New Hampshire family composed of a married couple, Win and Mary, and th ...

'', and ''

The River Niger ''The River Niger'' is a play by Joseph A. Walker, first performed by New York City's Negro Ensemble Company off-Broadway in 1972. The production made its Broadway debut with a transfer to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 27 March 1973 for a run ...

'', for which she won an NAACP Image Award. Other television appearances include ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelis ...

'', '' Barney Miller'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'', ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'', ''

Cagney and Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...

'', '' ER'', and '' Girlfriends''. Allen portrayed a lesbian prison inmate in the 1975 television movie '' Cage Without a Key'', which starred

Susan Dey Susan Hallock Dey (born December 10, 1952) is a retired American actress, known for her television roles as Laurie Partridge on the sitcom ''The Partridge Family'' from 1970 to 1974, and as Grace Van Owen on the drama series '' L.A. Law'' from ...

. Her most notable roles are Grace, the entrepreneurial café owner in the Old West, that she played for seven years on ''

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' is an American Western drama television series created and executive produced by Beth Sullivan and starring Jane Seymour, who plays Dr. Michaela Quinn, a physician who leaves Boston in search of adventure in the O ...

'', as well as the flamboyant and outspoken Doreen Jackson on the

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 ...

soap opera '' Generations'', and Lucinda Cavender, the vampire witch in the horror comedy film ''The Midnight Hour''. Before ''Generations'', she played ambitious salesgirl-turned-boutique-manager Stacey Russell on the short-lived prime-time soap '' Berrenger's''. Allen appeared as legendary Harlem jazz queen Florence Mills in ''Harlem Renaissance'' at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. More recently, Allen has headed the New Works/Staged Reading Projects at

Saddleback College Saddleback College (Saddleback) is a public community college in Mission Viejo, California. It is part of the California Community College system and awards over 300 associate degrees, academic certificates, and occupational skills awards in 1 ...

, and is writing and directing new shows which Allen calls "plays with music", which have been presented at Saddleback, notably an adaptation of Charles Dickens' '' A Christmas Carol'' and ''The Journey'', both with composer David Jayden Anthony. In 2017, Allen appeared in the film ''The Divorce,'' released on Amazon, and starred in ''Hello, Dolly'' at Saddlebacks CLO. The same year, she starred in Donald B. Welch's ''Secret Garden'', and worked on an updated version of her Florence Mills one-woman show, written with collaborators Stevi Meredith and David Jayden Anthony.

Personal

Allen has been married three times. She was married to John Sharpe on December 19, 1978, divorcing in 1992. Then she was married to Richard Grimmon from January 9, 1998 until 2001.Los Angeles Times – Grace Under Fire – November 15, 1997
/ref> Most recently she was married to Leigh Eaton from 2003 until his death in 2020.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Jonelle 1944 births American soap opera actresses 20th-century African-American women singers African-American female dancers African-American dancers Actresses from New York City People from Harlem Living people American female dancers African-American actresses American television actresses American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses Dancers from New York (state) 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women