Chelsea Brown

{{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Chelsea Brown | image =Chelsea Brown_resize.jpg | caption = | birth_name = Lois Brown | birth_date = {{birth date|1942|12|06}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|03|27|1942|12|06}} | death_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Actress|comedian|dancer}} | years_active = 1968–2003 | known_for = ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'', ''Number 96'' and ''E Street'' | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Vic Rooney|1994|2002|end=died}} * {{marriage|Kel Hirst|1977|1983}} }} }}

'''Chelsea Brown''' (born '''Lois Brown,''' December 6, 1942 – March 27, 2017) was an American-born actress of television and film, comedian and dancer, who appeared as a regular performer in comedy series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. She had a successful career in her native land before emigrating to Australia, where she became well-known mostly for her roles in soap opera/serials including top-rating ''Number 96'' and as Abby Rossiter Patchett on ''E Street''.

==Early career in the United States== Brown was born as Lois Brown in Chicago, Illinois to Mildred and Edward Brown.<ref name=":0" /> She appeared in a segment of a first-season episode of ''Love, American Style'' titled "Love and the Militant", with fellow ''Laugh-In'' alumnus Stu Gilliam. Other guest roles included appearances in ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'', ''Ironside'', ''Matt Lincoln'', ''The Flying Nun'', ''Match Game'' (in 1974) and, in the UK, ''The Two Ronnies'', singing The Carpenters song "Let Me Be the One".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=2186|title=Chelsea Brown|publisher=|access-date=7 April 2017}}</ref> She also appeared in the films ''Sweet Charity'' (1969), ''Dial Hot Line'' (1970) and ''The Thing with Two Heads'' (1972).

==Emigration and career in Australia== Brown met and became engaged to Australian property developer Kelvin Barry Hirst while holidaying in Acapulco, Mexico in 1973. Brown emigrated to Australia shortly after that, Hirst became her manager and they were married in 1977. They divorced in the early 1980s.{{Citation needed |date=July 2023}} Hirst features as the male vocal on Brown's record ''Day Dreaming'' (October 1975). In 1982 Brown released a second album self-titled ''Chelsea''.

Brown became a familiar figure on Australian television, with appearances on Graham Kennedy's ''Blankety Blanks'', Jimmy Hannan's ''Celebrity Squares'' plus ongoing roles in soap operas ''Number 96'' (in 1977), ''The Power, The Passion'' (1989), in a regular role as the resident restaurant singer and Network Ten's ''E Street'' (in 1990–1991) as a nightclub singer who falls for the charms of local publican Ernie Patchett and various advertisements. She had a guest role in the Australian-filmed TV series revival of ''Mission: Impossible'' (1988). Film roles in Australia included ''The Return of Captain Invincible'' (1982) and ''Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997).

In the mid-1990s, she was married to fellow ''E Street'' actor Vic Rooney, who died in 2002, after which she returned to the United States.<ref name="noise">{{cite web|url=http://www.noise11.com/news/r-i-p-laugh-in-star-chelsea-brown-1947-2017-20170406 |title=R.I.P. Laugh-In Star Chelsea Brown 1947–2017|last=Cashmere|first=Paul|date=April 6, 2017|website=noise11.com|accessdate=April 7, 2017}}</ref>

==Death== Brown died in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois, March 27, 2017, at the age of 74, from pneumonia.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/arts/television/chelsea-brown-dead-laugh-in-cast-member.html |title=Chelsea Brown, of 'Laugh-In,' Dies at 74 |first=Daniel E. |last=Slotnik |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408021131/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/arts/television/chelsea-brown-dead-laugh-in-cast-member.html |archive-date=April 8, 2017}}</ref>

==Filmography==

===Film=== {|class="wikitable !Year !Title !Role !Type |- | 1968 || ''Head'' || Belly Dancer (uncredited) || Feature film |- | 1969 || ''Sweet Charity'' || Dancer (uncredited) || Feature film |- | 1972 || ''The Thing with Two Heads'' || Lila || Feature film |- | 1982 || ''The Return of Captain Invincible'' || Tour Guide || Feature film |- | 1997 || ''Welcome to Woop Woop'' || Maude || Feature film |}

===Television=== {|class="wikitable !Year !Title !Role !Type |- | 1969 | ''The Flying Nun'' | Paola Guzman | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1969 | ''Love, American Style'' | Miss Smith (segment "Love and the Militant") | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1970 | ''Dial Hot Line'' | Gibson | TV movie |- | 1970 | ''Matt Lincoln'' | Tag | TV series, 3 episodes |- | 1970 | ''The Name of the Game'' | Darlene | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1970 | ''The Cliff'' | Tag | TV movie |- | 1971 | ''Ironside'' | Nancy Babcock | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1971 | ''And They Forgot God'' | Miss Wallach | TV short |- | 1972 | ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'' | Tallie Hughes | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1973 | ''Police Story'' | Mrs. Mckay | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1975 | ''That's My Mama'' | Joanne Roberts | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1975 | ''Bronk'' | Celeste | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1976 | ''Arena'' | Barby | TV movie / TV pilot |- | 1976 | ''King's Men'' | Morna | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1976–1977 | ''Number 96'' | Hope Jackson | TV series, 27 episodes |- | 1977 | ''Number 96: The Final Night'' | Herself | TV special |- | 1977 | ''Hotel Story'' | | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1981 | ''Holiday Island'' | Jodi Dean | TV series, 2 episodes: "Fugitive", "Lisa's Pup" |- | 1982 | ''Instant TV'' | Various characters | TV pilot |- | 1988; 1989 | ''Mission: Impossible'' | Ballet teacher / Laura Ann Wilson | TV series, season 1, 2 episodes |- | 1989 | ''The Power, The Passion'' | Chanteuse | TV series, recurring role |- | 1989–1990 | ''E Street'' | Abby Rossiter | TV series, 89 episodes |- | 2003 | ''Grass Roots'' | Stephanie Gruen | 1 episode |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0113238}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Chelsea}} Category:1942 births Category:2017 deaths Category:American television personalities Category:American women television personalities Category:Actresses from Chicago Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American women comedians Category:Comedians from Chicago Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois Category:American emigrants to Australia Category:21st-century African-American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:African-American women comedians Category:African-American comedians