Beverly Hope Atkinson (December 9, 1935 – December 11, 2001) was an American stage, film, and television actress from 1968 until 1991, known for her work playing women down-on-their-luck or caught up in drug addiction.

Career

Atkinson studied under

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 193 ...

in the 1960s and later became a member of the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founde ...

. After attending City College of New York, she began her career on the New York stage with the Café LaMama Theater troupe and Theater West in Los Angeles, touring in such productions as ''

The Skin of Our Teeth ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' is a play by Thornton Wilder that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942, at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, 1 ...

'', ''

Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...

'' and '' The Blacks''. Atkinson relocated to Hollywood in the early 1970s. She impressed in her very first film role as a streetwise hooker in ''

The New Centurions ''The New Centurions'' is a 1972 American Panavision neo-noir action crime film based on the 1971 novel of the same name by policeman turned author Joseph Wambaugh. It stars George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, Scott Wilson, Jane Alexander, Rosalind ...

'' (1972) with

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...

. She had a role in the 1973 animated drama film ''

Heavy Traffic ''Heavy Traffic'' is a 1973 American live-action/animated drama film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film, which begins, ends, and occasionally combines with live-action, explores the often surreal fantasies of a young New York City ...

'' as a black bartender named Carole who enters into a relationship with the struggling white cartoonist son of a Mafioso. The film features live-action segments in which Atkinson also played her live-action counterpart, in addition to voicing the animated character. She began her television career with minor roles, but found steadier work as her character career continued in the same flashy vein, playing angry women down-on-their-luck or whose lives were caught in drugs and addiction, most notably in a recurring role on ''

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 ...

'' from 1984 to 1986. She made a memorable appearance on

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...

as "Sweet Daddy" Williams' girlfriend Savannah Morgan. Atkinson died of cancer in Los Angeles, California, two days after her 66th birthday.

Filmography

;Television * ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspor ...

'' (1 episode, 1968) * ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the Unite ...

'' (2 episodes, 1972–1974) * ''

Apple's Way ''Apple's Way'' is an American drama television series that aired on CBS from February 10, 1974, to January 12, 1975. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr. Premise The Apples of Los Angeles—architect George, his wife Barbara, their children Paul ...

'' (1 episode, 1974) * ''Hustling'' (1975) * ''Insight'' (1 episode, 1975) * '' Bronk'' (1 episode, 1975) * '' Police Story'' (1 episode, 1975) * ''

Law and Order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

'' (1976) * ''Executive Suite'' (1 episode, 1976) * ''

ABC Afterschool Special ''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presented situations, often controve ...

s (1 episode, 1977) * ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, ''Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey poli ...

'' (1 episode, 1978) * ''

Outside Chance ''Outside Chance'' is a 1978 American TV film starring Yvette Mimieux, directed by Michael Miller. It is a radical reworking of Miller's 1976 film '' Jackson County Jail'', which Mimieux had starred in; it contains 30 minutes of footage from the or ...

'' (1978) * ''

'' (1 episode, 1978) * ''

Skag ''Skag'' is an American drama series that aired on NBC and starred Karl Malden. ''Skag'' originated as a three-hour television movie that aired on January 6, 1980 (as an installment of ''The Big Event''). Over a week later, it then premiered as ...

'' (1 episode, 1980) * '' The White Shadow'' (1 episode, 1980) * ''

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 ...

'' (1 episode, 1981) * '' Maid in America'' (1982) * ''

George Burns Comedy Week ''George Burns Comedy Week'' is a comedy anthology television series broadcast in the United States by CBS as part of its 1985 fall lineup, hosted by George Burns. Overview As he was age 89 when the show premiered, George Burns was billed as t ...

'' (1 episode, 1985) * ''

'' (6 episodes, 1984–1986) * ''

thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust ...

'' (1 episode, 1990) * '' Never Forget'' (1991) ;Film * ''

'' (1972) * ''

'' (1973) * ''

Cornbread, Earl and Me ''Cornbread, Earl and Me'' is a 1975 American coming-of-age drama film that stars Tierre Turner, Laurence Fishburne (in his film debut), and NBA player Jamaal Wilkes. It was directed and co-produced by Joseph Manduke. The film is loosely based o ...

'' (1975) * '' UFOria'' (1985) * '' Behind God's Back'' (1989)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Beverly Hope 1935 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American actresses African-American actresses American television actresses American film actresses American stage actresses American voice actresses Actresses from New York City 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people