Clarice Taylor was a talented and versatile actress and comedian who appeared in many stage, film and television productions. She is best known for playing grandmothers on The Cosby Show and Sesame Street, as well as portraying the pioneering black female comedian Moms Mabley in a one-woman show. She died on May 30, 2011, at the age of 93, from congestive heart failure.
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Early Life and Career
Clarice Taylor was born on September 20, 1917, in Buckingham County, Virginia, but grew up in Harlem, New York. She skipped school to watch Moms Mabley perform at the Apollo Theater, and was inspired by her sassy and witty style. Taylor started her acting career with Harlem’s American Negro Theatre, and in the late 1960s, she was one of the original members of the New York-based Negro Ensemble Company. She also worked as a postal worker to support herself.
Film and Television Roles
Taylor’s first film role was in Change of Mind (1969), followed by Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970), Play Misty For Me (1971), Five on the Black Hand Side (1973), Nothing Lasts Forever (1984), Sommersby (1993), and Smoke (1995). Her most memorable television roles were as Cousin Emma on Sanford and Son, Anna Huxtable on The Cosby Show, and David’s grandmother Grace on Sesame Street. She received an Emmy nomination in 1986 for her role as Cliff Huxtable’s mother on The Cosby Show.
Stage Performances and Awards
Taylor was also a successful stage actress, appearing in the original Broadway cast of the musical The Wiz as Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North, and in the Broadway play Purlie as Idella Landy. She also toured as Moms Mabley in a one-woman show, Moms, for which she won an Obie Award in 1987 for best performance by an actress. She was also honored with the AUDELCO Award for Excellence in Black Theatre and the National Black Theatre Festival’s Living Legend Award.
Personal Life and Legacy
Taylor was married twice and had two adopted sons, William and James Thomas. She died in her home in Englewood, New Jersey, surrounded by her family. She is remembered as a trailblazer and a legend in the entertainment industry, who brought joy and laughter to millions of people. According to The Cosby Show, she said, “I spent three hours making up my face and putting on my tight clothes. I didn’t want to look too old to be her mother.” She didn’t get the part. Later, however, she was asked to audition for the part of Cosby’s mother. “I put on a gray wig, a bandana over that, flat-heeled shoes and a long dress with no shape to it,” she told the AP. “Bill saw through my act. I read five lines and he said, ‘If you’re going to go through all of this – you’ve got the part.”
