Watching an old episode of Mannix late one night, I stumbled onto an actor's layered performance that had me glued to the screen. That actor was Lynn Hamilton. I thought she looked familiar but I couldn't place her. About a year later, while watching a rerun of Sanford and Son, it all came back to me. She played the girlfriend of Fred Sanford for several seasons.
As I admired her ability to equally share the spotlight with that scene stealer, Redd Fox, I realized she also had other recurring roles on several popular televisions shows like The Waltons, and The Practice. And between those shows, she was Vivian Potter on the soap opera, Generations.
Lynn Hamilton's acting career ran between 1958 and 2009. As well as being all over television in guest starring roles in a variety of shows that range from Gunsmoke to Judging Amy, and Room 222 to The Golden Girls, she also popped up regularly in many mainstream movies. Although her film roles were not as large, she still managed to hold her own in such screen classics like, Lady Sings the Blues, Buck and the Preacher, and Leadbelly, just to name a few.
She was a very good working actor, but sadly, did so in a time where opportunities were hard to come by for a person of color. Watching many of the performances of this wonderful talent, I realize what a treasure her work is. And I firmly believe, had she been born 40 years later she would be a household name with at least one Emmy or Oscar nomination to her credit.
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