Sadie Gray is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'', played by

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

actress and singer

Lillian Hayman Lillian Irene Hayman (July 17, 1922 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress and singer. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Hayman was known for her role as Sadie Gray in the ABC television soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1968–1986). Sh ...

from 1968 to 1986. Sadie regularly sings at special functions and occasions during her appearance on the serial.

Background and casting

''One Life to Live'' creator

Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon ( Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas ''One Life to Live'', ''All My Children'', as well as '' Loving'' and its spin-off '' The ...

cast Lillian Hayman in the supporting role of "Sadie" shortly after the show premiered in July

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

. Nixon named the role after her actual family housekeeper, Sadie Gay, and based the character's founding plotline on the 1959 film '' Imitation of Life''. Hayman played the character role for 18 years until 1986, when the show executive producer

Paul Rauch Paul Rauch (December 23, 1933 – December 10, 2012) was an American television and film producer. Rauch's work was primarily in American soap operas. Career Rauch's earlier jobs included Vice President, Programs-East Coast for CBS, Supervising P ...

declined to renew her

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

with

ABC Daytime ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime television programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap o ...

at a time when she was the longest-tenured actor with the show, following the firing of her onscreen daughter Ellen Holly ( Carla Gray).

Esther Rolle Esther Elizabeth Rolle (November 8, 1920 – November 17, 1998) was an American actress. She is best known for her role as Florida Evans, on the CBS television sitcom '' Maude,'' for two seasons (1972–1974), and its spin-off series '' Good ...

, who would later become recognized for her

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

-nominated role as Florida Evans 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 ...

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

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 ...

'', temporarily played the role in 1971 when Hayman took a part in the Broadway musical ''

70, Girls, 70 ''70, Girls, 70'' is a musical with a book by Fred Ebb and Norman L. Martin adapted by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Ebb, and music by John Kander. The musical is based on the 1958 play ''Breath of Spring'' by Peter Coke, which was adapted for the ...

''.

Storyline

Sadie is introduced in July 1968 as the former Lord's family maid at their

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

, Llanfair. She eventually quit her job there to become the head of housekeeping at Llanview Hospital. She lives across the hall from her good friend

Anna Wolek Anna Wolek is a fictional character on the American soap opera ''One Life to Live''. Actress Doris Belack played the character from the show's first episode in 1968 until 1977. After Belack left the show, Kathleen Maguire played the character from ...

(

Doris Belack Doris Belack (February 26, 1926 – October 4, 2011) was an American character actress of stage, film and television. Early years Born on February 26, 1926, Belack was the younger child of Russian Jewish immigrant parents, Isaac and Bertha ...

). Sadie is a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

and mentions her "lost" and absent daughter Carla Gray. A mystery woman named Carla Benari ( Ellen Holly) shows up in town in October 1968, introduced as an

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

woman who becomes the secretary to Llanview Hospital chief of staff and doctor Jim Craig ( Robert Milli). She dates

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

resident physician Residency or postgraduate training is a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician (one who holds the degree of MD, DO, MBBS/MBChB), veterinarian ( DVM/VMD, BVSc/BVMS), dentist ( DDS or DMD), podiatrist ( DPM), o ...

Price Trainor (Peter DeAnda), and many hospital staffers are shocked at the prospect of a

white American White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...

woman dating a black man. A few months later, it is revealed that "Clara Benari" is the

assumed name A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's ow ...

of Carla Gray, Sadie's lighter-skinned black daughter passing as white. Sadie is furious that her daughter would deny her

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

, but they eventually reconcile, and Carla embraces her roots and reclaims her surname "Gray." She takes a job as a family housekeeper to Llanview Hospital psychiatrist Will Vernon (

Anthony George Anthony George (born Ottavio Gabriel George; January 29, 1921 – March 16, 2005) was an American actor mostly seen on television. He is best known for roles of Don Corey on ''Checkmate'', Burke Devlin and Jeremiah Collins on ''Dark Shadows'', ...

) in 1977, and moves in with the family in 1978 after Will's daughter

Samantha Vernon Samantha is an English feminine given name in use since the 17th century that is of uncertain derivation. It is now in popular use worldwide due to various popular culture influences. Etymology Some etymologists have suggested Samantha might ...

(

Julia Montgomery Julia Montgomery (born July 2, 1960) is an American film and television actress. She first gained public attention for her role as Samantha Vernon on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1976–1981, 1987). She subsequently appeared in the slashe ...

) is involved in a car accident. Sadie is depressed when her daughter Carla and her husband Ed Hall (

Al Freeman Jr. Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr. (March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American actor, director, and educator. A life member of The Actors Studio, Freeman appeared in a wide variety of plays, ranging from Leroi Jones' ''Slave/Toilet'' to Joe ...

) divorce in 1979, but she sets her feelings aside and sings at the wedding of Carla's new love interest, Jack Scott (

Arthur Burghardt Arthur Napier Burghardt (born August 29, 1947) is an American retired actor, best known for portraying Jack Scott on the soap opera ''One Life to Live''. In animation, he is known for lending his deep bass voice as Devastator in '' The Transfo ...

), in October. Hayman's airtime as "Sadie" increased after a period of intermittent appearances in the early 1980s when Carla returned to appear regularly in fictional

Llanview Llanview, Pennsylvania is the fictional setting for the long-running American soap opera ''One Life to Live''. The city exists in the same fictional universe as cities from other existing or defunct ABC daytime dramas, including Pine Valley, Pen ...

in 1983 after a three-year absence. Sadie encourages Carla to rekindle her relationship with Ed, to no avail. Carla accepts a job practicing law in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and disappears from the show in 1985. Sadie's appearances declined after September 1985, and eventually disappeared from the show in 1986. Her former son-in-law and former Llanview police commissioner Ed said during an appearance in 2000 that Sadie died in the 1990s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Sadie One Life to Live characters Television characters introduced in 1968 Fictional maids African-American characters in television American female characters in soap operas