Beatrice Winde (born Beatrice Lucille Williams; January 5, 1924 – January 3, 2004) was an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. Her work as a character actor, and a singer, in theatrical, television, and film roles, spanned several decades.

Life and career

Winde was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. She graduated from the Chicago Music Conservatory as a voice student and continued her voice studies briefly at the Yale University School of Music and at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

. Winde appeared on Broadway in the 1971

Melvin Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the early 2020s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pa ...

musical '' Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'', which won her the Theatre World Award and a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination. Winde's screen appearances include '' Oliver's Story'' and '' Jefferson in Paris'' and television credits include ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'' and ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. She died of cancer on January 3, 2004, two days before her 80th birthday.

Awards

* Audelco Award for Best Supporting Actress (''A Lesson Before Dying'', staged by the Signature Theater Company - 2001 * Living Legend Award from the National Black Theater - 1997 * Joseph Jefferson Award for Actress in a Cameo Role ('' The Young Man from Atlanta'', Goodman Theatre, Chicago) - 1997

Filmography

Film

* '' The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' (1974) — Lena * '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' (1974) — Mrs. Jenkins * '' The Gambler'' (1974) — Hospital Receptionist * '' Mandingo'' (1975) — Lucy * '' Sparkle'' (1976) — Mrs. Waters * '' Oliver's Story'' (1978) — Waltereen * '' Rich Kids'' (1979) — Corine * '' Hide in Plain Sight'' (1980) — Unemployment Clerk * '' From the Hip'' (1987) — 2nd Judge * '' Stars and Bars'' (1988) — Alma-May * '' The Ambulance'' (1990) — Head Nurse * '' A Rage in Harlem'' (1991) — Clerk * '' The Super'' (1991) — Leotha * ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

'' (1992) — Elderly Woman * '' The Last Good Time'' (1994) — Nurse Westman * '' It Could Happen to You'' (1994) — Judge * '' Jefferson in Paris'' (1995) — Mary Hemings * '' Dangerous Minds'' (1995) — Mary Benton * '' Lone Star'' (1996) — Minnie Bledsoe * '' She's the One'' (1996) — Older Woman * ''

Clover Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversit ...

'' (1997) — Aunt Katie * '' The Real Blonde'' (1997) — Wilma * ''

Simon Birch ''Simon Birch'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film loosely based on the 1989 novel '' A Prayer for Owen Meany'' by John Irving and written for the screen and directed by Mark Steven Johnson in his directorial debut. The film stars Ian Micha ...

'' (1998) — Hilde Grove * '' Mickey Blue Eyes'' (1999) — Mrs. Horton, Michael's Neighbor * '' The Hurricane'' (1999) — Louise Cockersham

Television

* '' The Doctors'' (March 1980) - Lillian Foster * ''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever and direc ...

''; 1 episode (1982) — Tee * '' Spenser: For Hire''; 1 episode (1987) — Delia Johnson * '' A Man Called Hawk''; 1 episode (1989) — Mother Superior * ''

''; 4 episodes (1991-2001) — Jackson's grandmother / Corina Roberts / Sarah De Witt / Miss Perry (final appearance) * ''

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 ...

''; 1 episode (1992) * ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

''; 1 episode (1995) — Gladys Denton * ''

''; 1 episode (2000) — Funeral Guest

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winde, Beatrice 1924 births 2004 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Actresses from Chicago American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Juilliard School alumni Yale School of Music alumni 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women