Veteran actress Lynn Hamilton, best known for her roles on “Sanford and Son” and “The Waltons,” died Thursday, June 19, at her Chicago home. She was 95.
Hamilton died of natural causes while surrounded by her grandchildren, loved ones and caregivers, according to her former manager and publicist, Rev. Calvin Carson, who announced her death Sunday on social media.
Born Alzenia Lynn Hamilton on April 25, 1930, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, she moved with her family to Chicago when she was four years old and was later raised in Chicago Heights, Illinois, from age 12. Hamilton attended Bloom High School and studied acting at the Goodman Theatre, where she graduated from the Goodman School of Drama Theater.
Hamilton began her career in Chicago’s community theater scene but found limited opportunities as the only Black actor in her class. She moved to New York City in 1956, where her career flourished with Broadway appearances and Shakespeare in the Park productions.
Her Broadway debut came in 1959 with “Only in America,” where she was the first cast member onstage alongside a young Alan Alda at what is now the James Earl Jones Theatre. She continued on Broadway with roles in “The Cool World,” “Face of a Hero,” and “Tambourines to Glory.”
Hamilton spent three years with the New York Shakespeare Festival and became a member of President Kennedy’s cultural exchange program, touring worldwide in productions of “The Miracle Worker” and “The Skin of Our Teeth.” In 1966, she joined the Seattle Repertory Theatre, where she met her future husband, poet-playwright Frank Jenkins.
The couple moved to Los Angeles in 1968, and by 1972, Hamilton had landed her breakthrough television role. She first appeared on NBC’s “Sanford and Son” in February 1972 as a landlady in the show’s seventh episode. The producers were so impressed with her performance that they cast her in the recurring role of registered nurse Donna Harris, who became the girlfriend and later fiancée of Fred Sanford, played by Redd Foxx.
Hamilton later revealed that Foxx chose her from about 100 other actresses who auditioned for the role. Foxx told her “You’re so dignified” and that he needed somebody dignified opposite him, aware of his earthiness. Makeup artists made Hamilton appear older than her actual age, as Foxx was eight years her senior. She portrayed Donna from 1972 to 1977, though the characters never married in the series, despite their engagement.
While working on “Sanford and Son,” Hamilton made her debut on CBS’s “The Waltons” in February 1973, playing Verdie Grant Foster, a character whose grandparents had been enslaved. Her first episode, “The Scholar,” featured John-Boy Walton teaching Verdie to read and write, which won a screenwriting Emmy for John McGreevey. Hamilton appeared in 17 episodes of the series through 1981 and later in holiday telefilms in 1993 and 1997. Her character eventually married Harley Foster, played by Hal Williams, who also appeared on “Sanford and Son” and “227.”
Hamilton’s television career extended far beyond her two most famous roles. She appeared in 132 episodes of “Generations,” the first Black daytime drama that aired from 1989 to 1991, where she played matriarch Vivian Potter. She also starred as Cissie Johnson on the syndicated nighttime soap “Dangerous Women” from 1991 to 1992.
Her other notable television appearances included recurring roles on “227” as Emma Johnson, “The Practice” as a judge, and guest spots on “Roots: The Next Generations,” “The Golden Girls,” “NYPD Blue,” “Judging Amy,” “Moesha,” and “Cold Case.” Her final on-screen appearance was in a 2009 episode of “Cold Case.”
Hamilton’s film career began with John Cassavetes’ 1958 drama “Shadows,” where she had a background role in a party scene. She went on to appear in several notable films, including “Buck and the Preacher” and “Brother John,” both starring Sidney Poitier, “Lady Sings the Blues” with Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, and Richard Pryor, “Leadbelly,” “The Jesse Owens Story,” “Legal Eagles,” and “The Vanishing.”
In 1984, Hamilton won an NAACP Image Award for her performance in the original production of Christine Houston’s play “227” at Marla Gibbs’ Crossroads Theater in Los Angeles, where she alternated with Gibbs in the female lead role. She also participated in benefit performances, including a 1987 fundraiser for Skid Row’s Midnight Mission.
Hamilton was married to poet and playwright Frank Jenkins from 1964 until his death at age 89 in 2014. The couple frequently collaborated on theater productions, including the acclaimed plays “Nobody,” “The Bert Williams Story,” and “Driving While Black in Beverly Hills.” After Jenkins’ death, Hamilton moved back to Chicago.
Carson noted in his announcement that Hamilton’s illustrious career spanning over five decades left an indelible mark on the world of entertainment, motivating audiences across the globe through her work as a model, stage, film, and television actress. He indicated that her passing marks the end of an era, but her legacy will continue to inspire and uplift future generations.