Esther Rolle

Esther Rolle
Rolle in 1978
Born	Esther Elizabeth Rolle (1920-11-08)November 8, 1920 Pompano Beach, Florida, U.S.
Died	November 17, 1998(1998-11-17) (aged 78) Culver City, California, U.S.
Resting place	Westview Community Cemetery, Pompano Beach, Florida
Nationality	American, Bahamian
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1964–1998
Known for	Florida Evans in Maude and Good Times
Spouse	Oscar Robinson ​ ​ (m. 1955; div. 1975)​
Relatives	Summer of My German Soldier

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

Esther Rolle was born in Pompano Beach, Florida to Bahamian immigrants Jonathan Rolle (1883–1953), a farmer, and Elizabeth Iris Rolle (née Dames; 1887–1947). Her parents were both born and raised in Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas and moved to Florida some time after their marriage. She was the tenth of 18 children (children who included siblings and fellow actresses Estelle Evans and Rosanna Carter).^[2] Rolle graduated from Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida.^[3] She initially studied at Spelman College in Atlanta, before moving to New York City.^[3] While in New York, she attended Hunter College before transferring to The New School and then Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.^[4] For many years, Rolle worked in a traditional day job in New York City's garment district.^[5]

Career

Dance and theater

Rolle was a member of Asadata Dafora's dance troupe, Shogolo Oloba^[2] (later renamed the Federal Theater African Dance Troupe). She became the troupe's director in 1960.^[3] Rolle's earliest roles were on the stage; her New York stage debut was in the 1962 play The Blacks. She was often cast in plays produced by Robert Hooks and the Negro Ensemble Company. She also appeared in productions of The Crucible and Blues for Mr. Charlie.^[5] Rolle's most prominent early role was as Miss Maybell in the Melvin Van Peebles 1972 Broadway musical Don't Play Us Cheap, and its subsequent 1973 film adaptation.^[6]1 In 1977, Rolle portrayed Lady Macbeth in Orson Welles' Haitian-influenced version of William Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Henry Street New Federal Theater in Manhattan.

Television

Rolle is best known for her television role as Florida Evans, the character she played on two 1970s

Rolle was married to Oscar Robinson from 1955 until their divorce in 1975. She had no children, but did have one ex-stepdaughter, Sherley Mae Robinson (born 1936), from Oscar's previous marriage.^[2]

Death

Rolle died on November 17, 1998, in Culver City, California,^[2] from complications of diabetes, at the age of 78. A devout member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rolle requested that her funeral be held at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church.^[11] She is buried in Westview Community Cemetery in Pompano Beach, Florida.

The cemetery is a historically black burial ground created in 1952, a time when the laws and customs of Florida did not permit white people and black people to be buried in the same cemetery.^[12]

Legacy

Collection of Esther Rolle's personal works

Rolle's family donated over 100 items of hers to the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The collection includes gowns, a black Raggedy Andy doll she endorsed, a recording of poems recited by Rolle, and awards such as the 1974 NAACP Eighth Image Award for Best Actress in a Series and her 1979 Emmy for her role in Summer of My German Soldier.^[13]

Filmography/television

Stage work

• Day of Absence (1965)
• Happy Ending (1965)
• The Amen Corner (1965)
• Man Better Man (1969)
• Akokawe (1970)
• Ride a Black Horse (1971)
• The Dream on Monkey Mountain
  (1971)
• Rosalee Pritchett (1971)
• Don't Play Us Cheap (1972)
• A Ballet Behind the Bridge (1972)
• Horowitz and Mrs. Washington (1980)
• Nevis Mountain Dew (1980)
• Dame Lorraine (1981)
• A Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1982)
• A Raisin in the Sun (1989)
• Member of the Wedding
  (1989)

References

Notes

Citations