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Ethel Ayler
Ethel Ayler.jpg
Ethel Ayler in 1957
Born
Ethyl Spraggins Ayler

May 1, 1930
Died November 18, 2018 (age 88)
Alma mater Fisk University
Occupation Actress
Years active 1957–2018

Ethyl Spraggins Ayler (May 1, 1930 – November 18, 2018) was an American character actress with a career spanning over five decades.

Biography

Ayler was born in Whistler, Alabama and graduated from Fisk University.

In 1957, she made her off-Broadway debut in the Langston Hughes musical, Simply Heavenly. Later that year, she debuted on Broadway in the multiple Tony Award-nominated musical, Jamaica as an understudy for Lena Horne (also making her Broadway debut).

Another notable early performance was in Jean Genet's play, The Blacks: A Clown Show, which ran off-Broadway for 1,408 performances and received three Obie Awards, including Best New Play. The impressive cast of black actors included three future Academy Award nominees: James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson and Louis Gossett Jr.

Throughout her career, Ayler appeared frequently with the Negro Ensemble Company. This included notable performances in The First Breeze of Summer, Eden and Nevis Mountain Dew.

On television, Ayler had a recurring role as Carrie Hanks, Clair Huxtable's mother on The Cosby Show. She also made memorable performances in the films To Sleep with Anger (1990) and Eve's Bayou (1997).

For her work in To Sleep with Anger, Ayler received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female.

Ayler's last Broadway appearance was in another Tony-nominated production, The Little Foxes, in 1997. On November 18, 2018, she died in Loma Linda, California, at the age of 88.

Selected credits

Theatre

Year Production Role Theatre(s) Notes
1997 The Little Foxes Addie Vivian Beaumont Theater
1987 Fences Bono
Gabriel
Rose (understudy)
46th Street Theatre
1983 Sons and Fathers of Sons Sister 3 Theatre Four
1981 Weep Not for Me Lillian Hendricks Theatre Four
1978 Nevis Mountain Dew Zepora Philibert St. Mark's Playhouse
1976 Eden Florie St. Mark's Playhouse
1975 The First Breeze of Summer Hattie St. Mark's Playhouse Also appeared in the 1976 Movie of the Week.
Black Picture Show Rita (understudy) Vivian Beaumont Theater
1974 Les Femmes Noires Mrs. Thompson The Other Stage
1961 Kwamina Naii 54th Street Theatre
The Blacks: A Clown Show Augustus Snow St. Mark's Playhouse
1960 The Cool World Woman at the Beach Eugene O'Neill Theatre
1957 Jamaica Island Woman
Islander
Savannah (understudy)
Imperial Theatre
Simply Heavenly Zarita 85th Street Playhouse

Film

Year Film Role Notes
1997 Eve's Bayou Gran Mere
1992 The Bodyguard Emma
1990 To Sleep with Anger Hattie Independent Spirit Award nomination, Best Supporting Female
1986 9½ Weeks Jewelry Saleswoman
1972 Come Back, Charleston Blue Matron at Ball
1962 Time of the Heathen Marie
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