Nell Carter
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Best known as the housekeeper/star of the 1980s NBC sitcom "Gimme a Break," Nell Carter also made her mark on stage, earning both an Obie and a Tony for her work in the 1977-78 Fats Waller musical "Ain't Misbehavin'." She became a beloved TV performer.
Carter was a musical performer in New York on and off-Broadway throughout most of the 70s, beginning with the musical "Soon" (1970), better known for launching Richard Gere. She was in the ensemble cast of "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope" in the early 70s at the Edison Theatre, and in 1977 joined the Manhattan Theatre Club presentation of "Ain't Misbehavin'," a collection of the works of Fats Waller, emerging from the show as a hot property. Although she had briefly been in the cast of the ABC daytime drama "Ryan's Hope" in 1975, Carter had not been on a primetime series until NBC slotted her into "Lobo" in 1980, as a sassy police sergeant. The low-brow series faltered and the following season Carter starred in "Gimme a Break" (1981-87), an NBC sitcom in which she was a singer who had become the housekeeper for the police chief in a small California community. Carter also sang the show's title song. By the time the series ended, her character had moved to New York City. In 1990, she was in the short-lived series "You Take the Kids" and from 1993 to 1995, she appeared in the recurring role of Mark Curry's boss in the ABC sitcom "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper." Carter also appeared in a few TV-movies, including the musical "Cindy" (ABC, 1978), in which billed as Nell-Ruth Carter she played one of the stepsisters in a send-up of the Cinderella story. She also played the mother of ill-fated athlete Hank Gathers in "Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story" (syndicated 1992) and was a diva who hires Dinah Manoff as a servant and then gets handcuffed to her as they flee for their lives in "Maid for Each Other" (NBC, 1992). Carter's appearances in musical specials have also been numerous, among them a guest appearance on "Baryshnikov on Broadway" (ABC, 1980), recreating her stage role in "Ain't Misbehavin'" (NBC, 1981), and as one of the performers in "Evening at the Pops" (PBS, 1987).
Carter's feature film appearances have been limited. She was a singer in the "Black Boys/White Boys" number in Milos Forman's "Hair" (1979), and played small roles in "Modern Problems" and "Back Roads" (both 1981). In 1992, Carter offered one of the key voices for the animated feature "Bebe's Kids." She has also performed in Las Vegas, headlined a 1991 Los Angeles revival of "Hello, Dolly!" with an African-American cast and played the villainous Miss Hannigan in the 1996-97 revival of the stage musical "Annie."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Producer (Special)
Music (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1964
While still in junior high school began singing with group The Renaissance Ensemble
1970
Made her stage debut in "Soon"
1975
Appeared on soap opera "Ryan's Hope"
1977
Starred on Broadway in "Ain't Misbehavin'"
1978
Made TV-movie debut in "Cindy"
1979
Made film debut in small singing bit "Hair"
1980
Co-starred in series "Lobo"
1981
Starred in TV version of "Ain't Misbehavin'"
1990
Returned to series TV with "You Take the Kids"
1991
Starred in a multi-racial production of "Hello, Dolly!" at the Long Beach Civic Light Opera in California
1992
Provided voice for animated feature "Bebe's Kids"
1996
Co-starred in "The Grass Harp"
1998
Became a regular panelist on the syndicated version of "The Match Game"
2001
Performed her nightclub act at Feinstein's in NYC
Family
Companions
