Judy Pace

{{Short description|American actress (1942–2026)}}{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Judy Pace | image = Judy Pace, 1970.jpg | caption = Pace in 1970 | birth_name = Judy Lenteen Pace | birth_date = {{birth date|1942|6|15}} | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|3|11|1942|6|15}} | death_place = Marina Del Rey, California, U.S. | resting_place = Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California, U.S. | alma_mater = Los Angeles City College | known_for = ''Peyton Place''<br>''The Young Lawyers'' | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1963–2017 | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Don Mitchell<br>|1972|1984|reason=div.}} * {{marriage|Curt Flood<br>|1986|1997|reason=d.}} }} | children = 2; including Julia Pace Mitchell | awards = Image Award Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series ''The Young Lawyers'' (1970) | URL = }}

'''Judy Lenteen Pace'''<ref>{{Cite news|title=8 Black Women You Should Definitely Know|author=|date=February 10, 2021|work=Call & Post, All-Ohio edition; Cleveland, Ohio.|page=3C|quote=JUDY PACE: Judy Lenteen Pace was a woman of many firsts. In addition to being the first Black woman to ever receive a contract from a major motion picture studio, she is also the first Black television vilíainess, starring in the hit show "Peyton Place" in 1964. The dramatic series was the first to feature a Black family on prime time television.|id={{ProQuest|2495533894}}}}</ref> (June 15, 1942 – March 11, 2026) was an American actress known for her roles in films and television shows, particularly blaxploitation films. Pace portrayed Vickie Fletcher on the TV series ''Peyton Place'' (1968–1969) and Pat Walters on the ABC drama series ''The Young Lawyers'' (1970–1971), for which she won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 1970.

==Early life and career== Pace was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 15, 1942,<ref>McCann, Bob (2010). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=d0iKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA257 Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television]''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 257. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-3790-0}}.</ref> to an airplane mechanic and a dressmaker.<ref name="snyder">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tpt845rGohkC&q=curt+flood+the+dating+game+judy+pace&pg=PT65 |title=A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports |author=Brad Snyder |publisher=Penguin |date=2007|isbn=9781440619014 }}</ref> After graduation from Dorsey High School,<ref name="LDN 1968.12.28">{{cite news |author= |date=Dec 28, 1968 |title=Young Negro actress joins Peyton cast |work=Longview (WA) Daily News |quote=Judy attended Louis Pasteur Junior High and Dorsey High School before enrolling at Los Angeles City College.}}</ref><ref name="Judy Pace is Bright Star in Young Lawyers">{{cite news |author= |date=Feb 13, 1971 |title=Judy Pace is Bright Star in Young Lawyers |work=The Louisiana Weekly |quote=She attended Louis Pasteur Junior High and Dorsey High School before enrolling at Los Angeles City College.}}</ref> Pace attended Los Angeles City College, majoring in sociology.<ref name="ref"/>

She made her film debut as one of the title characters in William Castle's ''13 Frightened Girls'' (1963).<ref name="lisanti">{{cite book |title=Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies |author=Lisanti, Tom |publisher=McFarland |date=2010 |isbn=9781476601168 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kWeCQAAQBAJ&q=curt%20flood%20the%20dating%20game%20judy%20pace&pg=PA221}}</ref> She got her first major break in Hollywood in 1968 as the first black villainess on TV with her role as Vickie Fletcher in the hit ABC-TV soap-opera/drama series ''Peyton Place''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blackamericaweb.com/2013/03/31/little-known-black-history-fact-judy-pace/|title=Little Known Black History Fact: Judy Pace|date=1 April 2013|publisher=}}</ref> Also in 1968, Pace was singled out for praise by noted film critic Roger Ebert, for her performance in the popular youth-oriented film, ''Three in the Attic'':<blockquote>The find in this movie, for my money, is the young black actress Judy Pace, who is terrific. ''Variety'' calls her "the most beautiful black actress in Hollywood," which is debatable since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, etc., but she's a quick, funny actress who can put an edge on a line and keep a scene sparkling.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/three-in-the-attic-1968|author=Ebert, Roger|title=THREE IN THE ATTIC|website=RogerEbert.com|publisher=Chicago Sun-Times|date=20 December 1968}}</ref></blockquote> Pace quickly became a familiar face in the 1970s on both the big and small screens, appearing in popular blaxploitation movies and popular television shows. She appeared on television shows including ''Batman'', ''Tarzan'', ''Bewitched'', ''I Dream of Jeannie'', ''The Flying Nun'', ''Days of Our Lives'', ''I Spy'', ''Ironside'', ''Peyton Place'', ''The Mod Squad'', ''Medical Center'', ''That's My Mama,'' ''O'Hara, US Treasury'', ''The New People'', ''Insight'', ''Kung Fu'', ''Shaft'', ''Caribe'', ''Sanford and Son,'' ''What's Happening!!'', and ''Good Times''.

[[File: The young lawyers 1970.JPG|thumb|right|Cast of ABC TV series ''The Young Lawyers'' (1970), from left: Pace, Lee J. Cobb (both seated) and Zalman King]]

For one season, she starred in the drama ''The Young Lawyers'', broadcast on ABC. She also had a key supporting role as Gale Sayers's wife, Linda, in the critically acclaimed 1971 ABC-TV movie ''Brian's Song''.<ref name="lisanti"/><ref name=TVGuide>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/judy-pace/credits/159213/|title=Judy Pace| website=TVGuide.com|publisher=TV Guide|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref>

==Personal life and death== In 1972, Pace married actor Don Mitchell.<ref name="ref"/> They had two daughters together before their divorce in 1984.<ref name="ref">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television |author= McCann, Bob |pages=257–258 |date=2009 |publisher=McFarland |isbn= 9780786458042 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7ZYsnTPIhwC&q=%22judy%20pace%22%20actress&pg=PA257}}</ref><ref name="obit">{{cite book |title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2013 |author= Harris M. Lentz III |publisher=McFarland |date= 2014|page=259 |isbn= 9781476616520 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MoHGCwAAQBAJ&q=Shawn%20Meshelle%20Mitchell%20pace&pg=PA258}}</ref> Their daughters are actress Julia Pace Mitchell and Shawn Meshelle Mitchell.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Abrams |first=Jonathan |date=March 16, 2026 |title=Judy Pace, 83, Dies; Actress Brought Layers to Black Characters |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/arts/television/judy-pace-dead.html |access-date=March 17, 2026 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Pace had been courted by former baseball player Curt Flood in 1966, when he saw her as a bachelorette contestant on the game show ''The Dating Game.''<ref name="lisanti"/> They dated until 1970. After divorcing Mitchell in 1984, Pace and Flood met again, leading to their 1986 marriage.<ref name="lisanti"/> They remained together until Flood's death in 1997.<ref name="ref"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Interview with Judy Pace |author=Ebert, Roger|date=January 10, 1969|publisher=RogerEbert.com |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/interview-with-judy-pace}}</ref>

Pace died in her sleep on March 11, 2026, while visiting her family in Marina del Rey, at the age of 83.<ref> {{Cite web |last=Garner |first=Glenn |date=2026-03-15 |title=Judy Pace Dies: Groundbreaking Black Actress Who Starred In ‘Brian’s Song’ Was 83 |url=https://deadline.com/2026/03/judy-pace-dies-83-1236754391/ |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Filmography== '''As actress:''' {{Div col}} * ''13 Frightened Girls'' (1963) * ''I Spy'' (1966) * ''The Fortune Cookie'' (1966) as Elvira * ''Batman'' (1966) * ''Bewitched'' (1966) * ''Days of Our Lives'' (1967) * ''The Flying Nun'' (1967) * ''I Dream of Jeannie'' (1967) * ''Three in the Attic'' (1968) * ''The Mod Squad'' (1968) * ''The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968) as Pretty Girl * ''Tarzan'' (1968) * ''Peyton Place'' (1968–1969) * ''The New People'' (TV movie) (1969) * ''The Young Lawyers'' (TV series) (1970–1971) * ''Up in the Cellar'' (1970) * ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' (1970) as Iris Brown * ''Brian's Song'' (1971) as Linda Sayers * ''O'Hara, U.S. Treasury'' (1971) * ''Cool Breeze'' (1972) as Obalese Eaton * ''Oh, Nurse!'' (1972 TV movie) * ''Frogs'' (1972) * ''Shaft'' (TV series) (1973) * ''The Slams'' (1973) as Iris Daniels * ''Ironside'' (1974) * ''That's My Mama'' (1974) * ''Sanford and Son'' (1974) * ''Kung Fu'' (1974) * ''Medical Center'' (1974) * ''Good Times'' (1975) * ''Caribe'' (1975) * ''What's Happening!!!!'' (two episodes, 1977–1979) * ''Beyond Westworld'' (1980) * ''Sucker Free City'' (2004) * ''Beauty and the Baller'' (four episodes, 2017) {{div col end}}

'''As herself:''' * ''Stevie Wonder/The Moments/Fully Guaranteed'' (1973) (TV episode) * ''Soul Train'' (1973) * ''Christopher Jones'' (1999) * ''E! True Hollywood Story'' (1999) * ''Curt Flood'' (2000) (TV episode) * ''ESPN SportsCentury'' (two episodes, 2000–2004) * ''Disciples of Jackie Robinson'' (2004) (TV episode)

==References== {{Reflist|2}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060506212838/http://macumbalove.tripod.com/id29.html Macumba Love Spotlight On Actress Judy Pace] * [https://cocoalounge.blogspot.com/2007/03/cocoa-lounge-legends-002-judy-pace.html The Cocoa Lounge recognizes acting legend Judy Pace]

==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|id=0655142|name=Judy Pace}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pace, Judy}} Category:1942 births Category:2026 deaths Category:American television actresses Category:Actresses from Los Angeles Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:21st-century African-American actresses Category:Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni