Lenoire, Rosetta (1911–2002)

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Lenoire, Rosetta (1911–2002)

African-American actress and producer. Born Rosetta Olive Burton, Aug 8, 1911, in New York, NY; died Mar 17, 2002, in Teaneck, NJ; goddau. of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson; studied with Eubie Blake; m. William LeNoire, 1929 (div. 1943); m. Egbert Brown, 1948 (died 1974); children: (1st m.) William.

Appeared in Orson Welles all-black version of Macbeth; joined Robert Earl Jones Theater Group; made Broadway debut in The Hot Mikado (1939); also appeared in A Streetcar Named Desire, The Sunshine Boys, Lost in the Stars and Cabin in the Sky; portrayed Stella in Anna Lucasta on stage and in film; on tv, appeared as Nell Carter's mother on "Gimme a Break" and was Mother Winslow on "Family Matters"; founded AMAS, a nonprofit musical theatre group (1968), partly to promote interracial casting; with company, produced such hits as Bubbling Brown Sugar. Presented the National Medal of the Arts by President Bill Clinton (1999).