Carolyn Ann Stewart (March 14, 1945January 14, 2022), known professionally as Carol Speed, was an American actress, singer-songwriter and author. Speed was best known for her roles in films during the 1970s
blaxploitation
In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...
era, most notably starring as Abby Williams in the
American International Pictures
American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...
1974 blaxploitation horror film ''
Abby
Abby or Abbie is a given name, most often a shortened form of Abigail (name), Abigail and Albert (given name), Albert.
Notable women
* Abbie Betinis (born 1980), American composer
* Abby Binay (born 1975), Filipino politician
* Abbie Boudre ...
'' (1974).
Biography
Early life and education
Carolyn Ann Stewart was born on March 14, 1945, in
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region.
Bakersfield's population as of th ...
, to Cora Valrie Stewart (née Taylor) and Freddie Lee Stewart. She was raised in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
. Speed began performing at a young age. At age 12, she received her first acting role in the San Jose Light Opera production of ''
The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...
''. During her youth, she was a part of a singing group which included two of her cousins. Speed attended William C. Overfelt High School, where she was voted "Best All Around" for her senior class. She graduated in 1963. Speed holds the distinction of being the first African-American homecoming queen in
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
and was one of the first African-Americans to receive a scholarship for the
American Conservatory Theater
The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school.
History
The American ...
in San Francisco, California.
Career
Speed began her career in show business as a singer, serving as a back-up singer for
Bobbie Gentry
Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is an American retired singer-songwriter. She was one of the first female artists in the United States to compose and produce her own material.
Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 ...
during her stint at Harrah's Club in
Reno, Nevada
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
. Speed's career in television began in 1970 when she landed a minor role as Clara Dormin on an episode of the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
series ''
Julia
Julia may refer to:
People
*Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name
*Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome
*Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...
'' starring
Diahann Carroll
Diahann Carroll ( ; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. Carroll was the recipient of numerous nominations and awards for her stage and screen performances, incl ...
. Speed appeared in several television commercials during the 1970s.
From 1970 through 1972, Speed appeared in other shows such as, ''
Sanford and Son
''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom from 1962 to ...
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
''. In 1972, Speed made her film debut in '' The New Centurions'' in which she portrayed Martha, a prostitute. Speed portrayed Mickie, prisoner in
Jack Hill
Jack Hill (born January 28, 1933) is an American filmmaker, known for his work in the exploitation genre. He was an early associate of Francis Ford Coppola and Roger Corman, and worked on many films distributed by American International Pictur ...
's 1972 blaxploitation film ''
The Big Bird Cage
''The Big Bird Cage'' is a 1972 American exploitation film of the " women in prison" subgenre. It serves as a non-sequel follow-up to the 1971 film '' The Big Doll House''. The film was written and directed by Jack Hill, and stars Pam Grier, Si ...
'' alongside
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and martial artist. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star, she achieved fame for her starring roles in a string of 1970s action, blaxploitati ...
and
Sid Haig
Sidney Eddie Mosesian (July 14, 1939 – September 21, 2019), known professionally as Sid Haig, was an American actor. He was known for his appearances in horror films, most notably his role as Captain Spaulding in the Rob Zombie films '' House ...
. In 1973, Speed starred opposite
Max Julien
Maxwell Julien Banks (July 12, 1933 – January 1, 2022), better known by his stage name Max Julien, was an American actor, sculptor, and clothes designer best known for his role as Goldie in the 1973 blaxploitation film ''The Mack''.
Early lif ...
as Lulu, his childhood friend and top prostitute in the blaxploitation crime film ''
The Mack
''The Mack'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation crime drama film directed by California native Michael Campus and starring Max Julien and Richard Pryor. The film also stars Oscar-nominee Juanita Moore and Tony-nominated actor Dick Anthony ...
''. In 1974, Speed portrayed Abby Williams, a minister's wife who becomes possessed by the malevolent spirit of an evil demon in William Girdler's horror film ''
Abby
Abby or Abbie is a given name, most often a shortened form of Abigail (name), Abigail and Albert (given name), Albert.
Notable women
* Abbie Betinis (born 1980), American composer
* Abby Binay (born 1975), Filipino politician
* Abbie Boudre ...
''. For the film, Speed wrote and sang "My Soul Is A Witness".
In 1976, Speed appeared on the July cover of ''Jet''.
Speed later appeared as Noel in '' Disco Godfather'', starting alongside
Rudy Ray Moore
Rudolph Frank Moore (March 17, 1927October 19, 2008), known as Rudy Ray Moore, was an American comedian, singer, actor, and film producer. In 1980, Speed published ''Inside Black Hollywood''. Speed initially accepted a minor role in
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
's 1997 film ''
Jackie Brown
''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on the 1992 novel ''Rum Punch'' by Elmore Leonard. It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who smuggles money between the United Sta ...
'' but decided not to appear in the film for personal reasons. In 2006, Speed portrayed Cookie in the independent horror film ''Village Vengeance''.
Personal life and death
Speed was a resident of
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
during a period in her later years. During the film of ''The Mack'', Speed was romantically involved with Frank Ward, an
Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee () is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of ...
, on January 14, 2022, at the age of 76, just two weeks after her ''The Mack'' co-star Max Julien died. Speed was cremated.