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Beulah Elizabeth Richardson was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi; her mother was a seamstress, and her father was a Baptist minister. Bogle, Donald. [3], From the 1930s to the late 1950s, Richards was a member and organizer with the Communist Party USA in Los Angeles after befriending artist Paul Robeson. She was 74. She received the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and the Theatre World Award. Get your fix of JSTOR Dailys best stories in your inbox each Thursday. Died 1199 During the 70s, Richards appeared in two plays she had written "One Is a Crowd" (1970) and "A Black Woman Speaks" (1975) and also developed a one-woman show "An Evening with Beah Richards. Take a Giant Step was one of the thoughtful dramas about race that proliferated in the 1950s, including A Raisin in the Sun, where she understudied the lead on Broadway and played in later productions. Book: "A Black Woman Speaks and Other Poems". https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/richards-beah-1926-2000, "Richards, Beah 19262000 Vicksburg did not have a theater then, and if it did have one, blacks would not have been allowed. However, the year brought Richards the most attention for a movie that received so-so reviews, but gave Katharine Hepburn the Best Actress Oscar. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Theatre work proved easier to obtain. Beah Richards, a veteran stage performer and character actor whose best work included her Oscar-nominated portrayal of Sidney Poitiers mother in Guess Whos Coming to Dinner and who won an Emmy this week for a guest role in ABCs The Practice, has died. Heres what to know, From Chris Rock to the SAG Awards. Richards also appeared in three of her own plays: "A Black Woman Speaks," "One Is a Crowd" and her one-woman show in 1979, "An Evening With Beah Richards." A Sec, Ruby Dee 1924 Early Career Moves In the last year of her life, Richards was the subject of a documentary created by actress Lisa Gay Hamilton. Beulah Elizabeth Richardson (July 12, 1920 - September 14, 2000), known professionally as Beah Richards and Bea Richards, was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. She was Robert Hooks white-haired mother in director Otto Premingers Hurry Sundown in 1967. In addition, she was a playwright and a poet. But Richards was highly praised for her compelling performance. However, in 1973 she spoke at a Boston University conference on Black Images in Film: Stereotyping and Self-Perception as Viewed by Black Actresses. Commenting that the best attack against stereotyping is simply not go to those films. (1963), The Miracle Worker She often played the role of a mother or grandmother, and continued acting her entire life. (February 22, 2023). (1972), The Great White Hope Richards also was amongst the players in the 1990 "American Playhouse" production of the stage play "Zora Is My Name!" She developed a career as a prolific actress . Actress Beah Richards, born Beulah Elizabeth Richardson - also a respected poet and political activist - will forever be remembered for her Oscar-nominated role in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" - the landmark 1967 film about interracial marriage. In 1948, she graduated from Dillard University in New Orleans, and two years later, she moved to New York City. Although critics were lukewarm to the play, which ran just 12 weeks, her performance was highly touted by all. Beah Richards poems, quotations and biography on Beah Richards poet page. The Miracle Worker (Oct 19, 1959 - Jul 01, 1961) Performer: Beah Richards [Viney] Play Drama Original. She also won an Emmy in 1987 for a guest role in the CBS series Franks Place.. Besides the stage and films, Richards had a distinguished career in television. She was born on July 12, 1926, to Wesley and Beulah Richardson. Publicity Listings R ichard I, better known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard the Lion-Hearted, was one of the Mi, Tyson, Cicely 1933 Too ill to receive her Emmy at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday night, Richards was presented with the award Sept. 1 in Vicksburg by Lisa Gay Hamilton, one of the co-stars of The Practice., Richards was recognized for a moving portrayal of an elderly Alzheimers patient whose daughter was trying to end her new marriage. See MoreSee Less, Portuguese Role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade - SamePassage, https://samepassage.org/the-role-of-islam-in-afric. 4, No. Took Up Civil Rights Causes, Richard I Beah Richards was born in Vicksburg. Her first significant stage role was in 1955, playing an elderly woman in the off-Broadway play Take a Giant Step. Singer, songwriter, pianist . She was not allowed to check books out of the public library and, while on her way to school, she had even been stoned by white children. A Black Woman Speaks (1974) is a collection of 14 poems. The Estimated Net worth is $80K USD $85k. Privacy Policy Contact Us In 1950 Richards moved to New York City. Beah Richards (Beulah Elizabeth Richardson) was born on 12 July, 1920 in Vicksburg, MS, is an American actress. Since she was a straight actress, not an entertainer, Richards never achieved star status, and specialised in feisty character roles, usually older than her years, notably indomitable matriarchs. Occasionally getting small parts, she supported herself by becoming an instructor in a charm school. [4] She was later a sponsor of the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis. Poitier was to be the first of many screen sons: she later mothered James Earl Jones in The Great White Hope (1970), Danny Glover in And the Children Shall Weep (1984) and Eriq La Salle as the irascible Dr Benton in ER. Robinson (a real-life wrestler-turned-actor) is idolized by the young boy. Richards died from emphysema in her hometown of Vicksburg, Mississippi at the age of 80,[9][10] just four days after winning an Emmy award. Beah Richards is best known as an actor, but in 1951 she wrote a sweeping poem that influenced the Civil Rights Movement. Broke Free From Typecasting Poitier also worked with Richards in the 1967 film In the Heat of the Night, in which she played an abortionist. The veteran performer . Available for both RF and RM licensing. 274-295. She succeeded Lillian Randolph as Bill Cosby's mother during the 1970-71 season of "The Bill Cosby Show" (NBC) and was Aunt Ethel on "Sanford and Son" (NBC, 1972). Most of her friends and fellow performers felt that Richards never received the recognition that she was due, partly because of the standards of the time and the roles into which she was cast. Contact Info, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, Stanley V Henson Jr's Favorite Old School Actor's, TCM Remembers 2000 in Chronological Order, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. For her last cinema role, in Beloved (1998) as Baby Suggs, she was nominated as outstanding supporting actress in a motion picture. I dont think there is an actor who ever worked with her who wasnt fed by her energy. . JSTOR is part of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization helping the academic community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly record and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways. She was also an African-American poet, playwright, and prose author, under the name " Beah E. Richards ". The young hood is surprisingly well-received by the widow, and helps her deal with the forthcoming tragedy. Richards was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her supporting role in the film Guess Whos Coming to Dinner in 1968, as well as winning two Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest roles in the television series Franks Place in 1988 and The Practice in 2000. (1986), As Summers Die Other founding Sojourners included author and activist Shirley Graham Du Bois, as well as Charlotta Bass, a newspaper publisher and later the first Black woman nominated for vice president. Beah Richards (Beulah Richardson), an actor perhaps best known for her work in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, wrote "A Black Woman Speaks of White Womanhood, of White Supremacy, of Peace" in 1950, and first performed it at the American People's Peace Congress, " a radical multiracial peace network that the U.S. State Department denounced for Beah Richards, whose distinguished career as an actress on stage, screen and television over 50 years was capped this month when she won an Emmy as a guest actor on ''The Practice,'' died on. JSTOR Daily readers can access the original research behind our articles for free on JSTOR. Richards is survived by two nieces, Sherry Green-Fisher and Rosemary Spears; two nephews, Harold McWarde and James L.W. She had been suffering from emphysema for some time. He transcends sound into emotion by coupling years of professional training with his acute sense of rhythmic flows derived from stylish influences.Red Richards generates a high octane dance floor with a tuneful touch and flawless sense of timing, assured Beah Richards, who was briefly married to Hugh Harrell in the 1960s, died in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on September 14, 2000. "The girlies ," Sophia captured the photo. On television she starred for two years in The Bill Cosby Show, and went on to appear in a number of other notable series; Hill Street Blues, Murder She Wrote and the mini-series Roots: The Next Generations (1979). Discover Beah Richards's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. She was not allowed to check books out of the public library and, while on her way to school, she had even been stoned by white children. In the poem, sociologist Cynthia Fabrizio Pelak explains, Richards evokes early black women activists such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Ida B. The correct address is 400 S. Lafayette Park Place, Suite 307, Los Angeles, CA 90057. 12:00 a.m. Sept. 17, 2000: For the Record Los Angeles Times Sunday September 17, 2000 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 5 Metro Desk 2 inches; 43 words Type of Material: Correction Beah Richards--An obituary on actress Beah Richards that appeared in Saturdays Times contained an incorrect address for Theatre of Hearts/Youth First, an organization designated by the family for memorial donations. MIrs The former One Direction star held the black, red and yellow flag on stage in front of an 80,000-strong crowd at Accor Stadium. All Rights Reserved. Richards was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1974. 2000 (Unknown) County Beah Richards' remains were cremated and the ashes scattered in a cemetery in Vicksburg, Mississippi. She moved on to San Diego, California, where she joined a regional theater troupe. Richards was Silveras costar, playing Sister Margaret. NOTE: Richards starred in a 1970 Broadway production of the book. NOTE: (1) She was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actress. (1973), The Biscuit Eater (December 5, 1972 to January 3, 1973) She acted in Arthur Miller's play, "The Crucible," at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California with Charlton Heston, Inga Swenson, James Olson and Donald Moffat in the cast. +5. Television was still largely a closed shop to black actors and, apart from repeating the stage role of Viney in The Miracle Worker when it was filmed in 1962, big-screen work also proved elusive in the early years. In 1958 she began the Harlem Community Theatre along with 19 other actors, including Godfrey Cambridge. Beah Richards, a veteran stage performer and character actor whose best work included her Oscar-nominated portrayal of Sidney Poitier's mother in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and who won an. When the British director Philip Leacock filmed the play in 1959, she reprised the role, thus escaping the typecasting that might have followed her screen debut as a maid in The Mugger (1958). Character actress Beah Richards, an Academy Award nominee and two-time Emmy winner, including one earlier this month, died Thursday of emphysema in Vicksburg, Miss. It was there that acting became a reality for her. Activist and educator Louise Thompson Patterson approached Richards after hearing her poem to ask her if shed be interested in forming a political group. She covered public education and filled a variety of editing assignments before joining the dead beat news obituaries where she has produced artful pieces on celebrated local, national and international figures, including Norman Mailer, Julia Child and Rosa Parks. ." Two years later, at the Los Angeles Pan-African Film Festival, she received a lifetime achievement award. Adapting these for the stage, she went on tour with a show called An Evening With Beah Richards. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. She had five sisters: Esther (LaWanda Page), who was married to an alcoholic named Woodrow Anderson (Raymond Allen), Flossie, Minnie, Hazel, and Elizabeth, who was married to Watts junk dealer Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx), but died twenty-three years prior to time set of the pilot episode . Beah Richards (Beulah Richardson), an actor perhaps best known for her work in Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, wrote A Black Woman Speaks of White Womanhood, of White Supremacy, of Peace in 1950, and first performed it at the American Peoples Peace Congress, a radical multiracial peace network that the U.S. State Department denounced for allegedly following the Communist Party line, in 1951. Beah Richards, 80, an actress whose career spanned four decades in films including "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" and "Beloved" and who received an Emmy Award this year for her guest appearance. [1], Richards was nominated for a Tony Award for her 1965 performance in James Baldwin's The Amen Corner. She is among the Black women who "actively participated in movements affiliated with the CPUSA" between 1917's Bolshevik Revolution and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 revelations. beah richards one is a crowd. Hepburn, with Spencer Tracy, play socialite white parents who learn that their daughter is about to marry a well-educated, intelligent black man, played by Sidney Poitier, who. 189-209, Jean Ait Belkhir, Race, Gender & Class Journal, Women, Gender, and Families of Color, Vol. At a Glance Richards grew up in an environment of racial hostility. Contemporary Black Biography. As Farmer notes, the Sojourners became part of African Americans postwar Pan-Africanist front through their anti-apartheid work, and this work laid the groundwork for future movements. Comedy. Richards, who lived in Los Angeles for many years and recently returned to her hometown of Vicksburg, Miss., died there Thursday of emphysema. Beah Richards grew up in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Consequently, she was generally cast as the strong, reliable woman of the house. Like Angela Lansbury, Richards was often called on to portray the mother of actors not much younger than herself (e.g., she was a mere seven years older than Poitier and 11 years older than James Earl Jones who portrayed her son in 1970's "The Great White Hope"). When you work with an actor who penetrates your creative space and penetrates in a positive way, bringing new energy on which you can feed, then of course that actor has to be considered special.. Richards is survived by two nieces, two nephews, three great nephews and a great niece. (1975) Book: "A Black Woman Speaks". A naturally gifted actress, she nonetheless work, Little Richard She also played in Purlie Victorious in 1961. Stephen Vincent Bents lost epic John Browns Body envisions a nation sutured together after the Civil War, but fails to reckon with the wars causes. She also published poetry. J A C K S O N, Miss., Sept. 15, 2000 -- Beah Richards, who received an Emmyearlier this month for her guest appearance on ABC's ThePractice and whose acting career spanned three decades in filmssuch as Guess Who's Coming To Dinner and Beloved has died.She was 74. Beulah Elizabeth Richardson (July 12, 1920 September 14, 2000), known professionally as Beah Richards and Bea Richards, was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. (1967), Hurry Sundown She played the lead role in this three-act drama about a black singer who seeks revenge against a white man who has destroyed her family. Nationality American Gender Female Death Details September 14, 2000 Vicksburg, Mississippi Famous Works Credits Paedophile Logan Summers, 20, (pictured) was one of more than 7,000 sex pests who offended while on bail, MailOnline can reveal. So you can make a bigger salary than other people? 2 (Fall 2016), pp. Hepburn and Tracy are perplexed and not particularly thrilled with the idea of this mixed marriage, but then neither are Poitiers parents, the mother played by Beah Richards, in all her dignified, quiet glory. In addition, she was a playwright and a poet. List of journal articles on the topic 'Blue Star Mothers of America'. Richards discovered acting while attending New Orleans Dillard U. Father J. P. Tower officiating. Richards was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of Black Left Feminism, McDuffie, Erik S. "Throughout the Party, they advanced Black liberation, women's rights, decolonization, economic justice, peace, and international solidarity. dramatizing the life and work of writer and cultural anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston. She appeared in Roots: The Next Generations as Cynthia Murray Palmer, the grandmother of Alex Haley. Hamilton's film, Beah: A Black Woman Speaks, is intelligently titled after Richard's outstanding poem, A Black Woman Speaks. Then, we being the majority, could long ago have rescued our wasted lives.. Notable movie appearances include The Amen Corner (1965), Guess Whos Coming to Dinner (1967), Hurry Sundown, The Great White Hope, Beloved and In the Heat of the Night. By using this site, you agree to our updated. Just four days. She was the winner of two Emmy Awards, one in 1988 for her appearance on the series Frank's Place and another in 2000 for her appearance on The Practice. (1961) Stage: Appeared (as "Idella Landy") in "Purlie Victorious" on Broadway. 12:00 a.m. Sept. 17, 2000 For the Record Los Angeles Times Sunday September 17, 2000 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 5 Metro Desk 2 inches; 43 words Type of Material: Correction Beah Richards--An obituary on actress Beah Richards that appeared in Saturdays Times contained an incorrect address for Theatre of Hearts/Youth First, an organization designated by the family for memorial donations. Clips on social media show that the British singer, 29, was handed . Her father was a minister and her mother was a seamstress. She was seen on Sanford and Son, Hill St. Blues, L.A. Law, Highway to Heaven, and Designing Women, as well as in a recurring role on ER. LEGAL INNOVATION | Tu Agente Digitalizador; LEGAL3 | Gestin Definitiva de Despachos; LEGAL GOV | Gestin Avanzada Sector Pblico Studying dance and drama at the Old Globe Theatre, she played in such productions as The Little Foxes. Remind me not of my slavery, I know it well Remember, you have never known me., Beah Richards, Pelak acknowledges, is not a name that immediately comes to mind when one thinks of feminist theorists of the twentieth century, but her poem gives voice to black womens experiences and ideas.. A Tragic Background In 1979 she presented her one-woman show, An Evening with Beah Richards. This property is not currently available for sale. 7803. [1], She was taught dance by Ismay Andrews. Hepburn and Tracy are perplexed and not particularly thrilled with the idea of this mixed marriage, but then neither are Poitiers parents, the mother played by Beah Richards, in all her dignified, quiet glory. Contemporary Black Biography. Her first play was written in 1951 titled One Is a Crowd about a black singer who seeks revenge on a white . Beah Richards was not only a talented stage, screen, and television performer. One of the things that characterizes the standout actors among us all, Poitier said Friday, is [range] and her range was such that it accommodated theater, film, television, the lecture stage. Richards was voted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1974. Joseph Hardy was director. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). She was 74. In this region, called Bahia, they found large indigenous populations with whom they traded some local commodities, like wood which was u https://samepassage.org/portuguese-role-in-the-tra. "Richards, Beah 19262000 Memorial contributions in Richards name may be made to Theater of Hearts/Youth First, 40 S. Lafayette Park Place, Suite 307, Los Angeles, CA 90057; the Museum and Marketplace, 392 Fusher Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180; or St. Marks Freewill Baptist Church, 2600 Hannah Ave., Vicksburg, MS 39180. boeing 767 patriot express. Her first play was written in 1951 titled One Is a Crowd about a black singer who seeks revenge on a white man who destroyed her family. The bride will be at tended by the bridegroom's sister. One sweet photo shows Portia posing with older sisters Sophia Kylie, 23, Alexia Simone, 26, and Farrah Brittany Aldjufrie, 34. (1955) Stage: Appeared in "Take a Giant Step" off-Broadway. A Black Woman Speaks, Inner City Press, 1974. (1987), Time Out For Dad (1985), A Christmas Without Snow (1950 Summer) Her play, "One is A Crowd," was performed in the Falstaff Tavern production at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California. Also on hand is a stitcher played by Joe Robinson who spends much of his free time bodybuilding and dreams of becoming a professional wrestler. Throughout the sweeping poem, Richards connected race, gender, and class for a crowd of 500 women at the Peace Congress. Teaching with Reveal Digitals American Prison Newspapers Collection, a radical multiracial peace network that the U.S. State Department denounced for allegedly following the Communist Party line, developed a Communist, black nationalist, and feminist agenda to end black womens oppression., Remembering and Reclaiming the Genius of Beah Richards' A Black Woman Speaks of White Womanhood, of White Supremacy, of Peace, Mothers of Pan-Africanism: Audley Moore and Dara Abubakari, Prisoners Like Us: German POW and Black American Solidarity, American Immigrant Literature Gets an Update, How Rap Taught (Some of) the Hip Hop Generation Black History, Planetary Health: Foundations and Key Concepts, About the American Prison Newspapers Collection, Submissions: American Prison Newspapers Collection. [4], Richards was known professionally as Beah Richards,[5] and is also referred to in several sources as Bea Richards.[2][6][7]. Award-winning actress, poet, and playwright who became known for her role in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. and what wrongs you murders me Born in 1920, Richards was an incredibly rich person who shared her visions and knowledge and depth of understanding with others. . North Korea's situation currently relates to this book.This is what makes North Korea a country with dictatorship, propaganda, and communism.show more content. Subsequent films included Mahogany (1975), Big Shots (1987), Homer & Eddie (1989) and Drugstore Cowboy (1989). She was also a poet, playwright, author and activist. Beulah Elizabeth Richardson (July 12, 1920 - September 14, 2000), known professionally as Beah Richards and Bea Richards, was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. Hepburn, with Spencer Tracy, plays socialite white parents who learn that their daughter is about to marry a well-educated, intelligent black man, played by Sidney Poitier, who also starred in In the Heat of the Night. September 16, 2000 Beah Richards, the African-American actress whose stage career coincided with the great flourishing of black drama in the 1950s and 1960s leading her to film and TV roles. ", The poem illuminated the oppression Black women faced. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()), Beah Richards Wiki, Biographyand education, Ariana Richards Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts, Denise Richards Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts. The daughter of a minister, Richards discovered a passion for acting while she was a student at New Orleans Dillard University. The current Trulia Estimate for 1842 S Sycamore Ave . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Beah Richards in a still from the film, "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. Richards, Beah. Notable Black American Women, Gale, 1992. By 1956, she had made her off-Broadway debut as a grandmother in a production of Take a Giant Step, a play by Louis S. Peterson about a black teenagers struggles in a white world. beah richards one is a crowd. Richards was also a poet and playwright. In the 1970s, Ms. Richards appeared in two plays she wrote: One Is A Crowd (1970), and A Black Woman Speaks (1975). Even at a young age, people said she was destined for the theater. We publish articles grounded in peer-reviewed research and provide free access to that research for all of our readers. //]]>. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. She played the lead role in this three-act drama about a black singer who seeks revenge against a white man who has destroyed her family. At the time, such a career seemed very far away. The play's first performance was in 1950 for the organization Women for Peace, a white women's organization in Chicago. the german corner food truck menu; role of nurse in health care delivery system. Inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame for her legit work, she also directed the stage play Piano Bar for the Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center during the 1986-87 season. Because she had been too ill to attend the ceremony, the costar of the series, Lisa Gay Hamilton, went to Vicksburg to give Richards her award. She appeared in Roots: The Next Generations as Cynthia Murray Palmer, the grandmother of Alex Haley. (2) She received a Theater World Award. NOTE: Richards starred in a 1970 Broadway production of the book. The novel A Long Way Gone written by Ishmael Beah is about how rebels are taking over Ishmael's home are controlling everything using the locals fear to control. Richards was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her supporting role in the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1968, as well as winning two Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest roles in the television series Frank's Place in 1988 and The Practice in 2000. 1842 S Sycamore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90019 is a 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom, 1,800 sqft townhouse built in 2022. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Daisy Jones & the Six becomes the first fictional band to hit No. e Anna Dei Miracol (1990), Barrington Im fighting now for our unity. Four days earlier, she had won an Emmy for her guest appearance as a woman suffering from Alzheimers disease on ABCs The Practice. Because she had been to ill to attend the ceremony, the costar of the series, Lisa Gay Hamilton, went to Vicksburg to give Richards her award. so we share a mutual death at the hand of tyranny. Beah Richards, who was briefly married to Hugh Harrell in the 1960s, died in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on September 14, 2000. He called Richards a remarkable actress. In 1979 she presented her one-woman show, An Evening with Beah Richards. She made numerous guest television appearances, including roles on Beauty and the Beast, The Bill Cosby Show, 227, Sanford and Son, Benson, Designing Women, The Facts of Life, The Practice, Murder, She Wrote, The Big Valley and ER (as Dr. Peter Benton's mother.) Beah Richards, an extraordinary actress, writer and activist by Herb Boyd August 19, 2021 Before she was Beah Richards, a commanding presence on stage, screen and television, she was Beulah. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Despite her Oscar nomination, Richards was cast only sporadically in features in the 70s and 80s, mostly in small roles that hardly tapped her abilities (e.g., "Mahogany" 1975 and "Homer and Eddie" 1989). In 1998, she played Baby Suggs, the mother-in-law of the Oprah Winfrey character, Sethe, in Beloved. On television, she succeeded Lillian Randolph as Bill Cosbys mother during the 1970-71 season of The Bill Cosby Show..