{{short description|American actress}} {{More citations needed|date=December 2021}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Claudia McNeil | image = Claudia-McNeil.jpg | caption = publicity photo, 1960 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1917|8|13|mf=y}} | birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|11|25|1917|8|13|mf=y}} | death_place = Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1953–1983 | spouse = {{marriage|Henry Smith|1936|1945|end=died}}{{marriage |Herman McCoy|1962|1964|end=div.}} | children = 2 }}

'''Claudia Mae McNeil'''<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-windsor-star/153446769/ "U.-M. Presents 'Crucible'; Play Opens Tuesday at Ann Arbor, Mich."]. ''The Windsor Star''. May 21, 1954. p.&nbsp;25. Retrieved August 17, 2024. "Other important roles in the play include George Ebeling, Rev. Mr. Hale; Jane Hoffman, Mrs. Ann Putnam; Jerome Kilty, Rev. Mr. Parris;' Nell Harrison, Rebecca; '''Claudia Mae McNeil, Tituba;''' Mallory, Francis Nurse; Barbara Stanton, Mary Warren; Joseph Sweeney, Giles Corey."</ref> (August 13, 1917 – November 25, 1993) was an American actress known for premiering the role of matriarch Lena Younger in both the stage and screen productions of ''A Raisin in the Sun''.

She later appeared in a 1981 production of the musical version of the play, ''Raisin'' presented by Equity Library Theater. She was twice nominated for a Tony Award, first for her onstage performance in ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (1959), and again for the play ''Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright'' in 1962. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for the screen version of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' in 1961.

==Life and career== McNeil was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Marvin Spencer McNeil (1888 - ??), who was Black, and Annie Mae (Anderson) McNeil (1889 - 1937), an Apache woman. The family moved to New York City soon after her birth. She was raised by her mother after her father left the family. At the age of 12, McNeil began working for The Heckscher Foundation for Children. There she met a white Jewish couple who later adopted her,<ref name=AAR>{{cite web |url= http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/true-acting-talent-claudia-mcneil |title= A True Acting Talent, Claudia McNeil |work= African American Registry |access-date= December 19, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120818071717/http://aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/true-acting-talent-claudia-mcneil |archive-date= August 18, 2012 |url-status= dead }}</ref> and McNeil became fluent in Yiddish.<ref>Hine, Dalen Clark; Brown, Elsa Barkley; Terborg-Penn, Rosalyn (1993). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gKh2AAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Claudia+McNeil%22+fluent+yiddish Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 2]''. Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Publishing. p.&nbsp;776. {{ISBN|9780926019614}}.</ref>

She was advised by Ethel Waters to begin acting, and made her New York stage debut in 1953, understudying Jacqueline Andre in the role of Tituba in ''The Crucible'' at the Martin Beck Theater.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Claudia McNeil – IBDB profile|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/claudia-mcneil-68295|access-date=2021-01-04|website=ibdb.com}}</ref> She first went on in the role in mid-March 1953.<ref>{{Cite web|title=March 28, 1953, Page 7 - The New York Age|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/40477320/?terms=%22claudia%20mcneil%22%20crucible&match=1|access-date=2021-01-04|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}}</ref> thumb|McNeil as Lena Younger in the 1959 play, ''A Raisin in the Sun.'' In 1961, McNeil recreated her 1959 stage role in the film ''A Raisin in the Sun'' and became so identified with the part of the matriarch that she said, “There was a time when I acted the role.…Now I live it.”<ref name=AAR /> ''New York Times'' journalist Eric Pace summarized McNeil's performance explaining that she had a "commanding presence." Pace continued, "On the screen, Miss McNeil was stolid, voluminous and serene as a mother trying to control her son (played by Sidney Poitier) and wanting to buy her family a respectable home."<ref>{{cite news |title=Claudia McNeil, 77, an Actress Best Known for 'Raisin in the Sun' |author= Pace, Eric |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/29/obituaries/claudia-mcneil-77-an-actress-best-known-for-raisin-in-the-sun.html |newspaper= New York Times |date= November 29, 1993 |access-date=December 14, 2012}}</ref>

She acted in more films, including ''The Last Angry Man'' (1959), ''There Was a Crooked Man...'' (1970), and ''Black Girl'' (1972).

In 1980, she and Sam Levene starred in a summer stock and national tour of Henry Denker's comedy, ''Horowitz & Mrs. Washington''.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Theater: Horowitz and Mrs. Washington|author=|date=August 1, 1980|work=Ithaca Journal|page=22|quote=Sam Levene stars as a cantankerous Jewish retiree recovering from a stroke, and Claudia McNeil stars as a black practical nurse who tries to care for him in this new comedy by Henry Denker at the Corning Summer Theatre, Corning Glass Center, tonight at 8:30 and Saturday at 5 and 9 p.m.|id={{ProQuest|2041691822}}}}</ref>

McNeil appeared in many TV series, including ''The DuPont Show of the Month'' (1957), ''The Nurses'' (1962), ''Profiles in Courage'' (1965), and ''Roots: The Next Generations'' (1979).

==Personal life== Aged 19, McNeil married William Henry Smith who she described as a "very wonderful man". They had two sons. Her husband died in World War II. Both her sons were reportedly killed in the Korean War.<ref>{{cite book |title= Notable Black American Women Book II |last= Smith |first= Jessica Carter |year= 1996 |publisher=Gale Research Inc. (An International Thomson Publishing Company)|page= 465 |isbn= 9780810391772 |access-date=December 20, 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ssMBzqrUpjwC}}</ref> Her second marriage (to Herman McCoy) ended in divorce in 1964 after two years.<ref>{{cite news |title= Claudia McNeil seeks to end her marriage |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U5YlAAAAIBAJ&pg=829,647338&dq=claudia+mcneil&hl=en|newspaper= Washington Afro-American|date= February 18, 1964 |access-date=December 20, 2012}}</ref>

She studied Judaism, the religion of her adoptive parents. Though she maintained a great respect for it, saying she carried a copy of both the Talmud and the Bible with her wherever she went, she converted to Catholicism in 1952 and was said to have been devout.<ref>{{cite news |title= Claudia McNeil comes back home |newspaper= Washington Afro-American |date= October 15, 1960 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoVz2rpp-skC&dq=%22Claudia+McNeil%22&pg=PA99 |title=Ebony |date=1960 |publisher=Johnson Publishing Company |language=en}}</ref>

==Retirement and death== She retired in 1983 and two years later moved into the Actors’ Fund Nursing Home in Englewood, New Jersey. McNeil died there on November 25, 1993, aged 76, from complications related to diabetes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Claudia McNeil, Actress born |url=https://aaregistry.org/story/a-true-acting-talent-claudia-mcneil/ |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=African American Registry |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Claudia Mcneil |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/128621%7C32851/Claudia-Mcneil |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206071234/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/128621%7C32851/Claudia-McNeil/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 6, 2011 |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=Turner Classic Movies |language=en}}</ref>

==Selected filmography== ===Film=== * ''The Last Angry Man'' (1959) - Mrs. Quincy * ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (1961) - Lena Younger * ''There Was a Crooked Man...'' (1970) - Madam * ''Black Girl'' (1972) - Mu' Dear

===Television=== * ''The DuPont Show of the Month'' (1957) - Bernice Sadie Brown * ''The Nurses'' (1963) - Mrs. Hill * ''Profiles in Courage'' (1965) - Mrs. Haines * ''Moon of the Wolf'' (1972) - Sara * ''Cry Panic'' (1974) - Ethel Hanson * ''Roots: The Next Generations'' (1979) - Sister Will Ada * ''The Doctors'' (May 1980) - Mrs. Johnson

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} {{Portal|Biography}} *{{IMDb name|573871}} *{{Find a Grave|6811293}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509194750/http://www.public.iastate.edu/~spires/Concord/raisin.html ISU Play Concordances] *[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7DF1139F93AA15752C1A965958260 ''New York Times'' obituary] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20071215120041/http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2506/A_true_acting_talent_Claudia_McNeil The African American Registry]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeil, Claudia}} Category:1917 births Category:1993 deaths Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Actresses from Maryland Category:Actresses from New York City Category:African-American Catholics Category:20th-century African-American women singers Category:African-American librarians Category:American adoptees Category:Burials at Kensico Cemetery Category:Deaths from diabetes in New Jersey Category:Musicians from Baltimore Category:Actresses from Englewood, New Jersey Category:Singers from New York City Category:American torch singers Category:American vaudeville performers Category:Yiddish-speaking people Category:American television actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American musical theatre actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:20th-century American librarians Category:20th-century American women librarians Category:20th-century American singers Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism Category:Singers from Maryland Category:20th-century American women singers Category:Catholics from New Jersey