{{short description|American actress}} {{about||the professor of African-American studies and women's history|Frances Smith Foster|the children's books editor|Frances Foster (editor)|the fictional character|Frankie Foster}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | image = Frances Foster resize.jpg | birth_name = Frances Helen Brown | birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|6|11}} | birth_place = Yonkers, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1997|6|17|1924|6|11}} | death_place = Fairfax, Virginia, U.S. | resting_place = Pine Lawn Cemetery, Farmingdale, Long Island, New York, U.S. | years_active = 1950–1997 | known_for = Vera – ''Guiding Light'' | occupation = {{hlist|Actress|theatre director}}Beverly Tate | spouse = {{unbulleted list | {{marriage|Robert Standfield Foster|1941|1957|reason=died}} | {{marriage|Roy Glenn|1961|1961|reason=}} | {{marriage|Morton Goldsen|1983|}} }} | children = 4 stepchildren | relatives = }} '''Frances Helen Foster''' (née '''Brown'''; June 11, 1924 – June 17, 1997)<ref name="DoBitPA">Mapp, Edward (1978). ''[https://archive.org/details/directoryofblack00mapp/page/120/mode/2up?q=%22June+11+1924%22+%22Frances+Foster%22 Directory of Blacks in the Performing Arts]''. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. p. 120. {{ISBN|0-8108-1126-X}}.</ref><ref name="NYANobit">{{Cite news|title=Actress Frances Foster Dies|author=|date=August 29, 1973|work=New York Amsterdam News|page=4|quote=Frances Foster, actor, director and teacher, died June 17 at Fair Oaks Hospital, Fairfax, Va., as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. [...] She was an original member of the Negro Ensemble Company and appeared in most of the productions which made NEC the national treasure it became. She was proclaimed by Mel Gussow of the New York Times as one of America's finest actors. [...] Foster was proud to have been the first African-American woman to ever appear in a commercial on national television. In addition to her stage, television and screen work, Foster sat on council at Actors Equity, the highest governing body of that union; was very involved in the civil rights movement and was a mentor and teacher to many young actors. A grave site service was held June 2 at 1 p.m. at Pine Lawn Cemetery, Farmingdale. Two memorial tributes are presently being planned, one in New York, the other in Los Angeles. She is survived by her husband, Morton Goldsen; son, Terrell Foster; sister, Beverly Tate; 3 stepchildren; [...] Foster requested that no flowers be sent; instead donations may be made in her name to Hale House, New York City as wells as Broadway Cares, Actors Equity Fights AIDS|id={{ProQuest|2632182877}}}}</ref> was an American film, television and stage actress. In addition to being an actress, Foster was also an award–winning stage director and an original member of the Negro Ensemble Company. Moreover, in 1955, she became the first African American to appear in a nationally broadcast television commercial.
==Life and career== Foster was born in Yonkers, New York,<ref name="DoBitPA"/> the daughter of George H. Brown, a postal worker, and Helen E. Lloyd.<ref name='1930-USCensus'> {{cite web |url=http://www.ancestry.com |title= Fifteenth Census of the United States (1930) [database on-line], Yonkers (2nd Ward), Westchester County, New York, Enumeration District: 60-12, Page: 15A, Line: 24-30, household of Geo. H. Brown |publisher= The Generations Network |location= United States |date=1930-04-12 |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref><ref>"United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K97-54QK : 10 February 2023), George H Brown in entry for Frances Helen Foster, .</ref> From 1949 through 1952, she studied acting at American Theatre Wing in Manhattan; three years later, she made her stage debut as Dolly May in ''The Wisteria Trees'' at the City Center Theater.<ref name="NYTobit">{{Cite news|title=Frances Foster, 73, Actress And Director in the Theater: [Obituary (Obit)]|author=Pace, Eric|date=June 23, 1997|work=The New York Times|page=9|quote=Frances Foster, a character actress, a stage director and an original member of the Negro Ensemble Company, died on Tuesday at a hospital in Fairfax, Va. She was 73 and had homes in Manhattan and in Far Rockaway, Queens. [...] Ms. Foster was at the Negro Ensemble Company from 1967 until 1986, appearing in more than 25 of its productions. She won an Obie Award in 1985 for sustained excellence of performance. The other honors she received included one of the company's Adolph Caesar awards in 1987 and two of the annual Audelco Awards, which honor achievement in black theater: a best actress award in 1978 for ''Do Lord Remember Me,'' and a best director award for 1983 for ''Hospice.'' Both plays were at the New Federal Theater in Manhattan. [...] Her work in television included acting in daytime television staples like ''One Life to Live,'' ''Ryan's Hope'' and ''All My Children.'' She also appeared in the Spike Lee movies ''Malcolm X'' (1992) and ''Crooklyn'' (1994) and in other films. She was on the Actors Equity Association council from 1953 to 1967 and an artist in residence at City College of New York from 1973 to 1977. [...] She married Robert Standfield Foster in 1941. He died in 1977. She is survived by her husband of 14 years, Morton Goldsen; a son, Terrell Foster, of San Francisco; three stepchildren; six stepgrandchildren, and a sister, Beverly Tate of Far Rockaway.|id={{ProQuest|109788021}}}}</ref> That same year, several black-owned papers reported that Foster had, on Procter & Gamble's behalf, gained the distinction of being the first African American to appear in a nationally aired television commercial.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/41037565/?clipping_id=136274109 "Fran Foster to Do TV Commercial"]. ''The New York Age''. May 7, 1955. p. 19. Retrieved December 4, 2023. See also: *{{Cite news|title=FOOTLIGHTS and SIDELIGHTS: ANOTHER FIRST|author=Webb, Alvin Chick|date=May 14, 1955|work=New Amsterdam News|page=24|quote=A few weeks ago this newspapers great a shout from announcing that Street Frances Foster had been signed in do a network TV commercial.|id={{ProQuest|225679808}}}} *{{Cite news|title=After Twelve|author=Pitts, George E.|date=May 14, 1955|work=Pittsburgh Courier|page=19|quote=Frances Foster, selected to do a TV commercial for a name brand, is said to be the first Negro to appear on television selling a nation-wide product.|id={{ProQuest|202326190}}}}</ref> Many years later, in the days following her death, the ''New York Amsterdam News'' noted that Foster took great pride in being the one who had broken that barrier.<ref name="NYANobit"/>
Foster was an original member of the Negro Ensemble Company,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QsMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA65&dq=Negro+Ensemble+Company+%22Frances+Foster%22 "Frances Foster, Acclaimed Actress, Dies in Fairfax, VA"]. ''Jet''. July 7, 1997. p. 65. Retrieved December 5, 2023.</ref><ref>Howell, Ron (March 1987). [https://books.google.com/books?id=PtkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA98&dq=below+members+%22historic+theater+company%22 "20 Years of Theatrical Excellence"]. ''Ebony''. p. 96. Retrieved December 5, 2023.</ref> performing in over 25 of its productions from 1967 to 1986. She won a 1985 Obie Award for sustained excellence of performance. She was also a recipient of two AUDELCO Awards, one as an actress and the other as a director for work at the New Federal Theatre in Manhattan. In 1978, she received the best actress award for ''Do Lord Remember Me'', and the best director award in 1983 for ''Hospice''.<ref name="NYTobit"/>
Foster also appeared in several films, including ''Malcolm X'', ''Crooklyn'', and ''Clockers'', as well as the recurring role of Vera on the soap opera ''Guiding Light'' from 1985 to 1994. She's also known for her appearance as Gertie Vinson in one of the most infamous episodes of ''Good Times'', "The Dinner Party". (In that episode, the character of Gertie is forced to eat dog food.)
== Personal life and death == Foster was married at least three times. In 1941 she married Robert Standfield Foster, with whom she had one child, a son.<ref name="NYTobit"/> In June 1961, she married actor Roy Glenn.<ref>Gordon, Phil (May 25, 1961). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/california-eagle/136318032/ "New York Scene"]. ''The California Eagle''. p. 10. Retrieved December 5, 2023.</ref><ref>Robinson, Major (June 29, 1961). [https://books.google.com/books?id=e7MDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA64&dq=%22actress+Frances+Foster%22 "New York Beat"]. ''Jet''. p. 64. Retrieved December 5, 2023.</ref> From 1983 until her own death, she was married to Morton Goldsen, acquiring three stepchildren from his previous marriage in the process.<ref name="NYTobit"/>
On June 17, 1997, at age 73, Foster died of a cerebral hemorrhage at Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia. In lieu of flowers being sent, Foster left instructions that donations be made in her name to Hale House in New York City, as well as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.<ref name="NYANobit"/><ref>"North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ81-WYNT : Wed Oct 18 05:10:58 UTC 2023), Entry for Terrell Robert Foster and Robert S Foster, 20 Jun 1959.</ref> On September 15 a memorial service was conducted in Harlem at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Frances Foster Memorial|author=|date=September 12, 1997|work=Back Stage|page=4|quote=There will be a memorial service for Frances Foster on Sep. 15, 5–8 pm, at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard, NYC 10037.|id={{ProQuest|963102096}}}}</ref> Foster's remains are interred at the Pine Lawn Cemetery in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York.<ref name="NYANobit"/>
==Selected credits== ===Theatre=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Production ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Theatre(s) ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1996 | ''The Juror'' | Housewife, Juror | | |- | rowspan=2 | 1995 | ''Having Our Say''<ref name='IBDB-Having'> {{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4293 |title= Having Our Say |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref> | Miss Sadie Delany (standby) | Booth Theatre | |- | ''The Young Man from Atlanta''<ref name='IOBDB-Atlanta'>{{cite web | url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=791 |title=The Young Man from Atlanta |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location=New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028035317/http://www.lortel.org//lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=791 |archive-date=2007-10-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | Clara | Signature Theatre | |- | 1992 | ''Malcolm X'' | Woman Outside Audubon Ballroom | | |- | 1990 | ''Ground People''<ref name='IOBDB-Ground'> {{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=1357 |title= Ground People |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref> | Viola | America Place Theatre | |- | 1986 | ''House of Shadows''<ref name='IOBDB-Shadows'> {{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=2065 |title= House of Shadows |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref> | Cassie | America Place Theatre | |- | 1982 | ''Do Lord Remember Me''<ref name='IOBDB-Lord'> {{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=2348 |title= Do Lord Remember Me |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref> | Unknown | American Place Theatre | |- | 1980 | ''Zooman and the Sign''<ref name='IOBDB-Zooman'>{{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=2543 |title=Zooman and the Sign |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location=New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070917170649/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=2543 |archive-date=2007-09-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | Ash Boswell | Theatre Four | |- | 1978 | ''Nevis Mountain Dew''<ref name='IOBDB-Nevis'> {{cite web |url = http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=2790 |title = Nevis Mountain Dew |publisher = Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location = New York, NY |accessdate = 2009-11-25 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070913205902/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=2790 |archive-date = 2007-09-13 }} </ref> | Everelda Philibert Griffin | St. Mark's Playhouse |1979 Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play<ref name='IBDB-Foster'> {{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=82928 |title= Frances Foster |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref> |- | 1975 | ''The First Breeze of Summer''<ref name='Breeze'> {{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3750 |title= The First Breeze of Summer |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref> | Gremmer | Palace Theatre | |- | 1972 | ''The River Niger''<ref name='IOBDB-Niger'>{{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3244 |title=The River Niger |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location=New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002150922/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3244 |archive-date=2007-10-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name='IBDB-Niger'> {{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3185 |title= The River Niger |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref><ref name='ITDB-Niger'> {{cite web |url=http://www.theatredb.com/QShow.php?sid=s1577 |title= The River Niger |publisher=Internet Theatre Database |location= United States |accessdate=2009-11-25 }} </ref> | Grandma Wilhelmina Brown | St. Mark's Playhouse<ref name='IOBDB-Niger'/><br>Brooks Atkinson Theatre<ref name='IBDB-Niger'/><ref name='ITDB-Niger'/> |Originally an Off-Broadway production that was transferred to Broadway.<ref name='IOBDB-Niger'/><ref name='IBDB-Niger'/><ref name='ITDB-Niger'/> |- | 1971 | ''Rosalee Pritchett''<ref name='IOBDB-Pritchett'>{{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3371 |title=Rosalee Pritchett |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location=New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905103036/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3371 |archive-date=2012-09-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | Rosalee 'Rose' Pritchett | St. Mark's Playhouse | |- | 1970 | ''The Good Woman of Setzuan''<ref name='Setzuan'> {{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3095 |title= The Good Woman of Setzuan |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref> | Mrs. Mi Tzu | Vivian Beaumont Theater | |- | 1968 | ''Kongi's Harvest''<ref name='Kongi'>{{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3752 |title=Kongi's Harvest |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location=New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070917135042/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3752 |archive-date=2007-09-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | Ogbo Aweri<br>Segi | St. Mark's Playhouse | |- | rowspan=2 | 1965 | ''Day of Absence''<ref name='IOBDB-Absence'>{{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3928 |title=Happy Ending/Day of Absence |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location=New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913083354/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3928 |archive-date=2007-09-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |Supervisor<br>Aide |St. Mark's Playhouse |Program of two one-act plays by Douglas Turner Ward. |- |''Happy Ending''<ref name='IOBDB-Absence'/> | Vi | St. Mark's Playhouse |Program of two one-act plays by Douglas Turner Ward. |- | rowspan=1 | 1963 | ''The Last Minstrel''<ref name='IOBDB-Minstrel'> {{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=4240 |title= The Last Minstrel |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref> | Mrs. Ash | Pocket Theatre | |- | 1959 | ''A Raisin in the Sun''<ref name='IBDB-Raisin'> {{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2083 |title= A Raisin in the Sun |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 }} </ref> | Ruth Younger (understudy)<br>Beneatha Younger (understudy) | Ethel Barrymore Theatre<br>Belasco Theatre | |- | 1956 | ''Take a Giant Step''<ref name='IOBDB-Step'>{{cite web |url=http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=4654 |title=Take a Giant Step |publisher=Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database |location=New York, NY |accessdate=2009-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007093345/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=4654 |archive-date=2012-10-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | Violet | Jan Hus Playhouse | |- | 1955 | ''The Wisteria Trees''<ref name="NYTobit"/> | Dolly May | City Center Theater | |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} *{{IMDb name|0287804|Frances Foster}} *{{IBDB name}} *[http://www.filmreference.com/film/91/Frances-Foster.html Biography] at filmreference.com
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Frances}} Category:1924 births Category:1997 deaths Category:American film actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:20th-century American singers Category:Actresses from Yonkers, New York