Minnie Gentry (born Minnie Lee Watson, December 2, 1915 – May 11, 1993)Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:GENTRY, MINNIE LEE WATSON
/ref> was an American actress. Gentry was born Minnie Lee Watson in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, the daughter of Mincie and Taylor Watson. Her family moved to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

during her childhood, where she began studying piano at the age of nine, at the Phyllis Wheatley School of Music. She began acting at the Friendly Inn Settlement and married Lloyd Gentry in 1932. Subsequently, she appeared in many plays at the African-American theater the

Karamu House Karamu House in the Fairfax, Cleveland, Fairfax neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, is the oldest African-American theater in the United States opening in 1915. Many of Langston Hughes's plays were developed and premier ...

. On Broadway, Gentry performed in ''All God's Chillun Got Wings'' (1975), ''The Sunshine Boys'' (1972), ''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'' (1971), and ''Lysistrata'' (1946). She also appeared in several films, including ''

School Daze ''School Daze'' is a 1988 American musical comedy-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne (credited as Larry Fishburne), Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell. Based in part on Spike Lee's experiences a ...

'', ''

Def by Temptation ''Def by Temptation'' is a 1990 American horror film that was written, produced, and directed by James Bond III; and stars Cynthia Bond, Kadeem Hardison, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bill Nunn. The film takes place in New York City in 1990. Plot The ...

'', and ''

Jungle Fever ''Jungle Fever'' is a 1991 American romantic drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, ...

''. She portrayed Aunt Bess on the television series ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' and Miriam George on ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in th ...

''. She also appeared on ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...

''. Gentry had a daughter, Marjorie Hawkins. Her great-grandson is actor

Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films ''Dead Presidents'' and '' Mr. Holland's Opus'', Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles ...

. On May 11, 1993, Gentry died at her home in Manhattan at age 77.

Filmography

References

External links

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1915 births 1993 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Cleveland Actors from Norfolk, Virginia Actresses from Virginia African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people {{Ohio-bio-stub