Helen Martin
Acting
Born 1909-07-23
Died 2000-03-25
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
52 credits
Read biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helen Dorothy Martin (July 23, 1909 – March 25, 2000) was an American actress of stage and television who is perhaps most well known for her role in the sitcom 227 as Marla Gibbs' neighbor Pearl.
Martin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Amanda Frankie (née Fox) and William Martin, a minister.
Martin was a Broadway character actress for many decades, debuting in Orson Welles' production of Native Son in 1941. She appeared in at least a dozen Broadway shows including Jean Genet's The Blacks, Raisin from 1973 to 1975, Ossie Davis' Purlie Victorious (and later the musical version, which was called Purlie), The Amen Corner and Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment. She was an original member of the American Negro Theater.
She first became famous later in life for her guest role as Wanda on the television series Good Times, and later as the wisecracking neighbor Pearl Shay on the television sitcom 227. She also played on the short-run sitcoms Baby, I'm Back (as mother in-law, Luzelle) and That's My Mama; as Loc Dog's grandma, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), the matronly grandmother Mama Doll in the 1998 film Bulworth, and the no-nonsense grandmother in the film Hollywood Shuffle. Helen Martin died of a heart attack on March 25, 2000.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Helen Martin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Filmography
Acting
35 credits
Full House
American Playhouse
St. Elsewhere
T. J. Hooker
Starsky & Hutch
The Jamie Foxx Show
The Wayans Bros.
The Flash
227
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Roots
Kiss the Girls
What's Happening!!
The White Shadow
Death Wish
Beverly Hills Cop III
Doc Hollywood
Bulworth
Repo Man
Night Angel
House Party 2
Deal of the Century
J.T.
I Got the Hook-Up
Dummy
Hollywood Shuffle
Wacko
Cindy
A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich
Something to Sing About
The Phenix City Story
The Jerk, Too
Amos
Lawman Without a Gun
A Raisin in the Sun
Other credits
15 credits
Hill Street Blues
The Bill
Benson
Sanford and Son
The Jeffersons
Good Times
Hardcastle and McCormick
Maude
The Parent 'Hood
That's My Mama
Baby, I'm Back
The Stockard Channing Show
The NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There
Better Late Than Never
Robert Townsend: Partners in Crime: Vol. 2
Writing
2 credits
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