Paulene Elenora Myers (November 9, 1913 – December 8, 1996) was an American actress. Variations on the spelling of her name include Pauline Myers and Pauline Meyers.Pauline Myers at Internet Broadway Database She was a pioneer among African–American actors who performed on Broadway stage and appeared on many television series throughout her long career. Myers' career spanned over six decades.
Biography
Early life and career
Myers made her Broadway debut in 1933 in ''Growing Pains''. She was also featured in Broadway and national companies of major productions such as ''A Member of the Wedding'', ''Anna Lucasta'', and ''The Blacks''.
Myers also worked as a model for sculptors and painters.
Television roles
Among the many roles she played, some of her most notable were Mrs. Ward on the
NBC-TV
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 ...
daytime soap opera ''
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 ...
'', and Judge Pittman, the star of a TV special, "I'll See You in Court;" Judge Morrisey from the ABC-TV soap ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'', and a guest appearance as Judge Frances Mackenzie in an episode of ''
All in the Family
''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...
'' titled "Archie's Civil Rights", and Grandma Jane on the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
variety/comedy series '' The Tony Orlando & Dawn Show''. Myers also appeared with fellow veteran black actor Richard Ward as Grandpa Evans's new ladyfriend, Lena, on the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
sitcom series ''
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 (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...
'', as well as roles on ''
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 ...
Mannix
''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...
'', ''
The San Pedro Beach Bums
''The San Pedro Beach Bums'' is a 1977 American sitcom that aired on ABC. It is about five carefree, young men living together on a houseboat in San Pedro, California. The pilot, titled ''The San Pedro Bums'', originally aired on May 13, 1977.M ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
The Jeffersons
''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...
'', and ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
''.
Personal life and death
Myers lived in both Southern California for 23 years, and then in New York City for 12 years, and eventually settled in
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...
, for the final two years of her life. She was interred in Chester Rural Cemetery.
Partial filmography
*''
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...
Tarzan's Fight for Life
''Tarzan's Fight for Life'' is a 1958 American Metrocolor action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen, Jil Jarmyn, and Cheeta the chimpanzee. The film wa ...
'' (1958) - Native Mother (uncredited)
*'' How to Make a Monster'' (1958) - Millie - the pedestrian
*''
Take a Giant Step
''Take a Giant Step'' is a 1959 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Philip Leacock.
The plot concerns a black teenager living in a predominantly white environment and having trouble coping as he reaches an age at which the realities of ...
'' (1959) - Violet
*''
All the Fine Young Cannibals
''All the Fine Young Cannibals'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Michael Anderson, starring Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Susan Kohner, George Hamilton, and Pearl Bailey. Hamilton said that the film "combined Southern Gothic with a ...
'' (1960) - Nurse (uncredited)
*''
To Kill a Mockingbird
''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1960 Southern Gothic novel by American author Harper Lee. It became instantly successful after its release; in the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' ...
Shock Treatment
''Shock Treatment'' is a 1981 American musical comedy film directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. It is a follow-up to the 1975 film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. While not an outright sequel, the film does ...
'' (1964) - Dr. Walden
*''
Fate Is the Hunter
''Fate Is the Hunter'' is a 1961 memoir by aviation writer Ernest K. Gann. It describes his years working as a pilot from the 1930s to 1950s, starting at American Airlines in Douglas DC-2s and DC-3s when civilian air transport was in its inf ...
'' (1964) - Mother (uncredited)
*''
Dear Heart
''Dear Heart'' is a 1964 American romantic-comedy film starring Glenn Ford and Geraldine Page as lonely middle-aged people who fall in love at a hotel convention. It was directed by Delbert Mann, from a screenplay by Tad Mosel. Its theme song " ...
'' (1964) - Florist
*''
I'll Take Sweden
''I'll Take Sweden'' is a 1965 American comedy film. It was directed by Frederick de Cordova, and stars Bob Hope, Frankie Avalon, and Tuesday Weld.
Plot
Single father Bob Holcomb, a widower, is unhappy with the guitar-playing boy Kenny his d ...
'' (1965) - Eloise (uncredited)
*'' The Third Day'' (1965) - Hannah - the Maid (uncredited)
*''
Fitzwilly
''Fitzwilly'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy film directed by Delbert Mann, based on Poyntz Tyler's 1960 novel ''A Garden of Cucumbers'' (the title refers tIsaiah 1:8 and adapted for the screen by Isobel Lennart. Its title refers to the nick ...
'' (1967) - Oberblatz' Secretary (uncredited)
*''
Winning
Winning may refer to:
* Victory
Film
* Winning (film), ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman
* ''Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams
Music
* ''Winning'', an album by Ten Fo ...
'' (1969) - Cleaning Woman (uncredited)
*''
The Lost Man
''The Lost Man'' is a 1969 American crime film, written and directed by Robert Alan Aurthur, loosely based on British author F.L. Green's 1945 novel ''Odd Man Out'', which was previously made into a 1947 film directed by Carol Reed and starring ...
'' (1969) - Grandma
*''
The Comic
''The Comic'' is a 1969 American Pathécolor comedy-drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Carl Reiner. It stars Dick Van Dyke as Billy Bright (which was the original title of the film), Michele Lee as Bright's love interest, and R ...
Maurie
Maurie is a masculine given name, sometimes a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Maurice. People named Maurie include:
* Maurie Beasy (1896–1979), Australian rules footballer
* Maurie Collins (1876–1943), Australian rules footballer
* Maurie C ...
'' (1973) - Rosie
*''
The Sting
''The Sting'' is a 1973 American caper film. Set in 1936, it involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss ( Robert Shaw). The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who had dir ...
'' (1973) - Alva Coleman
*''
Lost in the Stars
''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical theatre, musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway theatre, Broadway in 19 ...
'' (1974) - Grace Kumalo
*''
Kolchak Kolchak, Kolçak or Kolčák is a surname from Turkish ''wikt:kolçak, kolçak''. Notable people with the surname include:
* Alexander Kolchak (1874–1920), Russian naval commander, head of anti-Bolshevik White forces
*Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Tu ...
'' (1974, TV Series) - Mamalois Edmonds
*'' The Jefferson'',(1975, TV Series, primo episodio), We don't need a maid -maid Diana Stockwell
*''
Armaguedon ''Armaguedon'' () is a 1977 crime-thriller film starring Alain Delon, and adapted from the novel ''The Voice of Armageddon'' by David Lippincott.
It recorded admissions of 716,098 in France.Bloodbrothers'' (1978) - Mrs. Pitt
*''Deux'' (1989) - Nina Walkowicz
*''
My Cousin Vinny
''My Cousin Vinny'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and written by Dale Launer. It stars Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield, Lane Smith, Bruce McGill, and Fred Gwynne in his final film app ...