Ethel Ayler, a prolific character actress whose credits include “The Cosby Show,” died Nov. 18 at the age of 88.
She died in Loma Linda, California of undisclosed causes, her family announced Friday.
Ayler’s character on “The Cosby Show,” Carrie Hanks was the mother of Phylicia Rashad’s Claire Huxtable, appearing in six episodes over the course of the series. The actress, whose career spanned five decades, was also known for her roles in “Eve’s Bayou” and “To Sleep With Anger.”
Also Read: Donald Moffat, 'The Right Stuff' and 'The Thing' Actor, Dies at 87
She also appeared in the original 1980s Broadway production of “Fences” and played Addie in a 1997 revival of “The Little Foxes.” In “Eve’s Bayou” Ayler played Garn Mere, a believer in voodoo, and in “To Sleep With Anger,” she played the role of Hattie, for which received a Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female.
She died in Loma Linda, California of undisclosed causes, her family announced Friday.
Ayler’s character on “The Cosby Show,” Carrie Hanks was the mother of Phylicia Rashad’s Claire Huxtable, appearing in six episodes over the course of the series. The actress, whose career spanned five decades, was also known for her roles in “Eve’s Bayou” and “To Sleep With Anger.”
Also Read: Donald Moffat, 'The Right Stuff' and 'The Thing' Actor, Dies at 87
She also appeared in the original 1980s Broadway production of “Fences” and played Addie in a 1997 revival of “The Little Foxes.” In “Eve’s Bayou” Ayler played Garn Mere, a believer in voodoo, and in “To Sleep With Anger,” she played the role of Hattie, for which received a Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female.
- 12/22/2018
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
Ethel Ayler, whose career spanned prominent Broadway, film and TV roles for five decades, died at age 88 on Nov. 18 in Loma Linda, Calif., according to her family. The cause of death was not given.
Born on May 1, 1930 in Whistler, Alabama, Ayler attended Nashville’s Fisk University as a voice major. But the lure of show business overcame the academic life, and she moved to Chicago to pursue a singing career. Her breakthrough came as a member of a touring company of Porgy and Bess.
Langston Hughes’s musical Simply Heavenly marked Ayler’s Off-Broadway bow in 1957, and she soon moved on to a role as Lena Horne’s understudy in the Broadway play Jamaica. She also worked on other Broadway productions, including The Cool World, Kwamina, Black Picture Show and The First Breeze of Summer.
Ayler was a long-standing member of the Negro Ensemble Company, and appeared with them many times.
Born on May 1, 1930 in Whistler, Alabama, Ayler attended Nashville’s Fisk University as a voice major. But the lure of show business overcame the academic life, and she moved to Chicago to pursue a singing career. Her breakthrough came as a member of a touring company of Porgy and Bess.
Langston Hughes’s musical Simply Heavenly marked Ayler’s Off-Broadway bow in 1957, and she soon moved on to a role as Lena Horne’s understudy in the Broadway play Jamaica. She also worked on other Broadway productions, including The Cool World, Kwamina, Black Picture Show and The First Breeze of Summer.
Ayler was a long-standing member of the Negro Ensemble Company, and appeared with them many times.
- 12/21/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Ethel Ayler, the standout stage actress who appeared in Eve's Bayou and To Sleep With Anger and portrayed the mother of Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died. She was 88.
Ayler died Nov. 18 in Loma Linda, California, her family announced.
Ayler appeared in the original 1987-88 Broadway production of August Wilson's Fences, and then played Addie in a 1997 revival of The Little Foxes.
A longtime member of the Negro Ensemble Company, she starred in the 1960s in Jean Genet's long-running off-Broadway play The Blacks: A Clown Show in a cast that included Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones,...
Ayler died Nov. 18 in Loma Linda, California, her family announced.
Ayler appeared in the original 1987-88 Broadway production of August Wilson's Fences, and then played Addie in a 1997 revival of The Little Foxes.
A longtime member of the Negro Ensemble Company, she starred in the 1960s in Jean Genet's long-running off-Broadway play The Blacks: A Clown Show in a cast that included Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones,...
- 12/21/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ethel Ayler, the standout stage actress who appeared in Eve's Bayou and To Sleep With Anger and portrayed the mother of Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died. She was 88.
Ayler died Nov. 18 in Loma Linda, California, her family announced.
Ayler appeared in the original 1987-88 Broadway production of August Wilson's Fences, and then played Addie in a 1997 revival of The Little Foxes.
A longtime member of the Negro Ensemble Company, she starred in the 1960s in Jean Genet's long-running off-Broadway play The Blacks: A Clown Show in a cast that included Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones,...
Ayler died Nov. 18 in Loma Linda, California, her family announced.
Ayler appeared in the original 1987-88 Broadway production of August Wilson's Fences, and then played Addie in a 1997 revival of The Little Foxes.
A longtime member of the Negro Ensemble Company, she starred in the 1960s in Jean Genet's long-running off-Broadway play The Blacks: A Clown Show in a cast that included Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones,...
- 12/21/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
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