# Clarice Taylor > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Clarice_Taylor > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Clarice_Taylor.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarice_Taylor > Source revision: 1356613557 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American actress (1917–2011)}} {{Infobox person | image = Clarice Taylor.jpg | birth_date = {{Birth date|1917|9|20}} | birth_place = [Buckingham County, Virginia](/source/Buckingham_County%2C_Virginia), U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|5|30|1917|9|20}} | death_place = [Englewood, New Jersey](/source/Englewood%2C_New_Jersey), U.S. | occupation = Stage, television, film actress | years_active = 1960–2009 | children = 2 | name = Clarice Taylor }} '''Clarice Taylor''' (September 20, 1917 – May 30, 2011){{cite web|title=Clarice Taylor of 'The Cosby Show' dies at 93|url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2011/06/02/clarice_taylor_of_the_cosby_show_dies_at_93/|work=Boston.com|access-date=June 2, 2011}}{{cite web|title=Cosby Show Actress Clarice Taylor Dies|url=https://people.com/tag/ice-t/|work=[People](/source/People_(magazine))|access-date=June 2, 2011}} was an American stage, film and television actress. She is best known for playing Cousin Emma on ''[Sanford and Son](/source/Sanford_and_Son)''; Anna Huxtable, the mother of Cliff Huxtable, on ''[The Cosby Show](/source/The_Cosby_Show)''; and Mrs. Brooks in ''[Five on the Black Hand Side](/source/Five_on_the_Black_Hand_Side)'' (1973). ==Biography== {{More citations needed section|date=July 2020}} Born in [Buckingham County, Virginia](/source/Buckingham_County%2C_Virginia) but raised in [Harlem, New York](/source/Harlem%2C_New_York), Taylor was best known for her recurring role on television on ''[The Cosby Show](/source/The_Cosby_Show)'' as [Anna Huxtable](/source/List_of_The_Cosby_Show_characters), mother to [Bill Cosby's](/source/Bill_Cosby) character Cliff Huxtable. She was nominated for an [Emmy Award](/source/Emmy_Award) in [1986](/source/1986_in_television) for the role. She was also a regular on ''[The Doctors](/source/The_Doctors_(1963_TV_series))'' in 1968 playing Hope Stark, ''[Nurse](/source/Nurse_(1981_TV_series))'' as Nurse Baily, recurred on ''[Sesame Street](/source/Sesame_Street)'' over a thirteen year period as [David](/source/David_(Sesame_Street))'s grandmother Grace, and appeared as Grady's cousin Emma on ''[Sanford and Son](/source/Sanford_and_Son)''.{{cite news |first=Dennis |last=Hevesi |newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |title=Clarice Taylor Dies at 93; TV's Cosby Called her Mom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/arts/television/clarice-taylor-dies-at-93-tvs-cosby-called-her-mom.html?ref=deathsobituaries |date=June 2, 2011}} Taylor started working in the theatre—with the [American Negro Theatre](/source/American_Negro_Theatre)—at a time when there were few opportunities for [African-American](/source/African-American) actors and comedians. To support herself she followed in the footsteps of her father, Leon B. Taylor, Sr., and went to work for the [U.S. Post Office](/source/U.S._Post_Office). In the 1960s she got her big break that enabled her to act full-time. Taylor was one of the founding members of the [Negro Ensemble Company](/source/Negro_Ensemble_Company), headquartered in New York's [East Village](/source/East_Village%2C_Manhattan) on [St. Mark's Place](/source/8th_Street_%2F_St._Mark's_Place). ==Film and television work== While working with the NEC she got her first offer of a movie role in ''[Change of Mind](/source/Change_of_Mind)'' (1969). Her next film role was as Minnie in [Otto Preminger](/source/Otto_Preminger)'s ''[Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon](/source/Tell_Me_That_You_Love_Me%2C_Junie_Moon)'' (1970). In 1971, she played Birdie in [Clint Eastwood](/source/Clint_Eastwood)'s ''[Play Misty For Me](/source/Play_Misty_For_Me)'', and appeared as Mrs McKay in ''[Such Good Friends](/source/Such_Good_Friends)'' the same year. In 1973, she brought a role she had pioneered off-Broadway to film, playing Gladys Brooks in ''[Five on the Black Hand Side](/source/Five_on_the_Black_Hand_Side)''. Her later films included ''[Nothing Lasts Forever](/source/Nothing_Lasts_Forever_(film))'' (1984), ''[Sommersby](/source/Sommersby)'' (1993), and ''[Smoke](/source/Smoke_(film))'' (1995). Two of her most well-known recurring characters in television were in ''[Sanford & Son](/source/Sanford_%26_Son)'' (1972), where she played Cousin Emma, and ''[The Cosby Show](/source/The_Cosby_Show)'' (1984), where she played Anna Huxtable, Cliff's mother. ==Stage== Taylor appeared in ''[The Wiz](/source/The_Wiz)'' as Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North, ''[Purlie](/source/Purlie)'' the Broadway play as Idella Landy. Her most recent performance was in a touring production of her one-woman show, ''Moms'', for which she won an [Obie Award](/source/Obie_Award) in 1987 for best performance by an actress. Her last film appearance was a small role in [Wayne Wang](/source/Wayne_Wang)'s film ''[Smoke](/source/Smoke_(film))''.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} ==Death== Clarice Taylor died in [Englewood, New Jersey](/source/Englewood%2C_New_Jersey) from congestive heart failure, aged 93. She is survived by her two adopted sons, William and James Thomas, and extended family. ==Partial filmography== *The New Girl in the Office (1960) *''[Change of Mind](/source/Change_of_Mind)'' (1969) - Rose Landis *''[Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon](/source/Tell_Me_That_You_Love_Me%2C_Junie_Moon)'' (1970) - Minnie *''[Play Misty For Me](/source/Play_Misty_For_Me)'' (1971) - Birdie *''[Such Good Friends](/source/Such_Good_Friends)'' (1971) - Mrs. McKay *''[Five on the Black Hand Side](/source/Five_on_the_Black_Hand_Side)'' (1973) - Mrs. Brooks *''The Torture of Mothers'' (1980) *''[Nothing Lasts Forever](/source/Nothing_Lasts_Forever_(film))'' (1984) - Lu *''[Sommersby](/source/Sommersby)'' (1993) - Esther *''[Smoke](/source/Smoke_(film))'' (1995) - Grandma Ethel ==See also== * [List of human characters in ''Sesame Street''](/source/List_of_human_characters_in_Sesame_Street) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0852146|name=Clarice Taylor}} * {{IBDB name}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Clarice}} Category:1917 births Category:2011 deaths Category:American film actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:Actresses from Manhattan Category:Actresses from Virginia Category:Obie Award recipients Category:People from Buckingham County, Virginia Category:People from Harlem Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century African-American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Clarice Taylor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarice_Taylor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarice_Taylor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.