Lillian Randolph

{{Short description|American actress and singer (1898–1980)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Lillian Randolph | image = File:Lillian Randolph Beulah Radio 1952.JPG | alt =  | caption = Randolph in 1952 | birth_name = Castello Randolph | birth_date = {{Birth date |1898|12|14}}<ref>Bob McCann, ''Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television'', 2022, p. 277</ref> | birth_place = Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1980|9|12|1898|12|14}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = {{Flatlist| * Actress * singer }} | years_active = 1931–1980 | spouse = Jack Chase <br />{{marriage|Edward Sanders|August 1951|December 1953|end=divorced}}<br />? McKee{{efn|There was also a fourth husband – Lillian Randolph McKee<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bOJCgAAQBAJ&q=lillian+randolph&pg=PA96 |publisher=McFarland |title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory |last=Ellenberger |first=Alan R. |year=2001 |pages=95–96 |isbn=978-0-7864-0983-9}}</ref>}} | children = 2, including Barbara Randolph | relatives = Amanda Randolph (sister) }} '''Lillian Randolph''' (born '''Castello Randolph'''; December 14, 1898 – September 12, 1980) was an American actress and singer, a veteran of radio, film, and television. She worked in entertainment from the 1930s until shortly before her death. She appeared in hundreds of radio shows, motion pictures, short subjects, and television shows.

Randolph is most recognized for appearing in ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), ''Magic'' (1978), and her final onscreen project, ''The Onion Field'' (1979). She prominently contributed her voice to the housekeeper in nineteen ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons released between 1940 and 1952.

==Early life and education== thumb|Randolph's 1939 advertisement [[File:Lillian Randolph in It's a Wonderful Life.jpg|thumb|Randolph as Annie in ''It's a Wonderful Life'' in 1946]] [[File:Beulah radio cast 1952 1953edited.jpg|thumb|From left to right: Randolph as Beulah, Ernest Whitman as Bill, and Ruby Dandridge as Oriole in ''Beulah'', {{Circa|1952–53}}]] [[File:Lillian randolph birdie 1955.JPG|thumb|Lillian Randolph as Birdie on TV's ''The Great Gildersleeve'' in 1955]] Randolph was born '''Castello Randolph''' in 1898 in Knoxville, Tennessee, the daughter of a Methodist minister and a teacher.<ref name="Divorce">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbsDAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph&pg=PA18 |title=Radio Actress Lillian Randolph Seeks Divorce |date=March 5, 1953 |publisher=Jet |access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Knoxville">{{cite web |url=http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/randolph-lillian-1915-1980 |title=Lillian Randolph |date=December 29, 2008 |publisher=BlackPast.org |access-date=October 19, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Find">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&q=jo+stafford&pg=PA229 |title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. (2 volume set) |last1=Wilson |first1=Scott |publisher=McFarland |year=2016 |page=613 |isbn=978-1476625997 |access-date=January 25, 2017}}</ref> She was the younger sister of actress Amanda Randolph.{{efn|Steve Gibson, with his Rhythm and Blues group, The Five Red Caps, was said to be a brother. However, this cannot be substantiated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.singers.com/jazz/vintage/fiveredcaps.html |title=The Five Red Caps |publisher=Singers.com |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=New York Beat |date=December 31, 1953 |publisher=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4L8DAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA64 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>}}<ref name="Queen"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bB0mAAAAIBAJ&pg=657,4986844&dq=lillian+randolph+cleveland&hl=en |title=Does Radio Give Our Performers a Square Deal? |author=Rea, E. B. |date=January 10, 1948 |publisher=The Afro American |access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref>

==Career== ===Radio=== Randolph began her professional career singing on local radio in Cleveland and Detroit.<ref name="Knoxville"/><ref name="Queen">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SfwLAAAAIBAJ&pg=5116,97589&dq=amanda+randolph&hl=en |title=Madame Queen Joins Cosby |author=Witbeck, Charles |date=September 1, 1969 |publisher=The Evening Independent |access-date=October 19, 2010}}</ref> At WXYZ in Detroit,<ref name="WXYZ">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=diYmAAAAIBAJ&pg=4453,3104012&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Billy Mitchell Now On The Air |date=August 22, 1931 |publisher=The Afro American |access-date=October 22, 2010}}</ref> she was noticed by George W. Trendle, station owner and developer of ''The Lone Ranger''. He got her into radio training courses, which paid off in roles for local radio shows. Randolph was tutored by a white actor for three months on racial dialect prior to obtaining any radio roles.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/voiceovermakingo00barl |url-access=registration |title=Voice over: the making of Black radio |editor-last=Barlow |editor-first=William |year=1998 |page=[https://archive.org/details/voiceovermakingo00barl/page/334 334] |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=1566396670}}</ref>

In 1936, she moved on to Los Angeles to work on Al Jolson's radio show,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/aj-bigsister.jpg |title=Copy of promotional material for Al Jolson's radio show |publisher=museumoffamilyhistory.com |access-date=October 22, 2010}}</ref> on ''Big Town'', on the Al Pearce show,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WkxGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1025,1267149&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Via Your Dial |author=Jovien, Harold |date=April 2, 1940 |publisher=The Afro American |access-date=January 16, 2011}}</ref> and to sing at the Club Alabam.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eighthandwall.org/gallery/audience.htm |title=Club Alabam |publisher=Eighth & Wall |access-date=December 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923234455/http://www.eighthandwall.org/gallery/audience.htm |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Knoxville"/><ref name="Queen"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tFcbAAAAIBAJ&pg=1833,1884074&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Girls Can't Qualify For Announcing Jobs, Says Network Leader |author=Steinhauser, Si |date=May 24, 1942 |publisher=The Pittsburgh Press |access-date=November 13, 2010}}</ref>

===Actress=== Randolph and her sister Amanda were continually looking for roles to make ends meet. In 1938, she opened her home to Lena Horne, who was in California for her first movie role in ''The Duke Is Tops'' (1938); the film was so tightly budgeted, Horne had no money for a hotel.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Bogle |editor-first=Donald |title=Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood |year=2006 |page=432 |publisher=One World/Ballantine |isbn=0345454197 |access-date=October 17, 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BI-lsA0gWRYC&q=lillian+randolph&pg=PT236}}</ref>

Randolph opened her home during World War II with weekly dinners and entertainment for service people in the Los Angeles area through American Women's Voluntary Services.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jBZlAAAAIBAJ&pg=932,297134&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Network and Local Radio Listings |date=January 4, 1942 |publisher=The Sunday Sun |access-date=January 16, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UmBGAAAAIBAJ&pg=4128,948388&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Encores and Echoes |author=Rea, E.B. |date=March 16, 1943 |publisher=Baltimore Afro-American |access-date=March 17, 2011}}</ref>

Randolph played the role of the maid Birdie Lee Coggins in ''The Great Gildersleeve'', a radio comedy and subsequent films,<ref name="Peacock">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5sVaAAAAIBAJ&pg=7382,3463801&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=A Color Peacock To Shore Show; Notes |author=Fanning, Will |date=April 23, 1958 |publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |access-date=November 13, 2010}}</ref> and as Madame Queen on the ''Amos 'n' Andy'' radio show and television show from 1937 to 1953.<ref name="Peacock"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Riding the Airwaves |publisher=Milwaukee Journal |author=BCL |date=October 1, 1945}}</ref> She also portrayed Birdie in the television version of ''The Great Gildersleeve''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Forecast |date=April 29, 1954 |publisher=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EL8DAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA13 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref> She was cast in the ''Gildersleeve'' job on the basis of her wonderful laugh.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5Ks1AAAAIBAJ&pg=5805,1041154&dq=lillian+randolph+gildersleeve&hl=en |title=Canny Judgment Boosted 'The Great Gildersleeve' |author=Shaffer, Rosalind |date=December 23, 1945 |publisher=St. Petersburg Times |access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref> She had been a member of the chorus at MGM when, during a rehearsal break, she heard that auditions were underway for ''Gildersleeve''. Randolph made a dash to NBC. She ran down the halls; when she opened the door for the program, she fell on her face. Randolph was not hurt and she laughed, which got her the job.<ref name="Queen"/>

In 1955, Lillian was asked to perform the Gospel song, "Were You There" on the television version of the ''Gildersleeve'' show. The positive response from viewers resulted in a Gospel album by Randolph on Dootone Records.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ENUmAAAAIBAJ&pg=717,4829202&dq=lillian+randolph+gildersleeve&hl=en |title=Theatrical Whirl |date=March 3, 1956 |publisher=The Afro American |access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EdUmAAAAIBAJ&pg=693,5366967&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |date=April 7, 1956 |title=Theatrical Whirl |publisher=The Afro American |access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/la/dootone/dootone.html |title=Dootone/Dooto Album Discography |last1=Edwards |first1=Dave |last2=Callahan |first2=Mike |last3=Eyries |first3=Patrice |publisher=BSN Pubs.com |access-date=November 13, 2010}}</ref> She found the time for the role of Mrs. Watson on ''The Baby Snooks Show'' and Daisy on ''The Billie Burke Show''.<ref name="Milwaukee_Journal ">{{cite news |title=Newcomers With Snooks |page=12 |newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal (magazine section) |date=September 15, 1946}}</ref><ref name="Radio Shows">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwtRbXNca0oC&dq=%22The+Billie+Burke+Show,+situation+comedy%22&pg=PA89 |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |section=The Billie Burke Show |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |page=89 |edition=Revised |access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref>

Her best known film roles were those of Annie in ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) and Bessie in ''The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer'' (1947).<ref name="Actresses">{{cite web |url=http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/lillian-randolph-film-and-television-jewel |title=Lillian Randolph, a film and television jewel |publisher=African-American Registry |access-date=September 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028040555/http://aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/lillian-randolph-film-and-television-jewel |archive-date=October 28, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television |editor-last=McCann |editor-first=Bob |page=461 |year=2009 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0786437900 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7ZYsnTPIhwC&q=randolph&pg=PA60 |access-date=October 19, 2010}}</ref>

The West Adams district of Los Angeles was once home to lawyers and tycoons, but during the 1930s, many residents were either forced to sell their homes or take in boarders because of the economic times. The bulk of the residents who were earlier members of the entertainment community had already moved to places such as Beverly Hills and Hollywood. In the 1940s, members of the African-American entertainment community discovered the charms of the district and began purchasing homes there, giving the area the nickname "Sugar Hill". Hattie McDaniel was one of the first African-American residents. In an attempt to discourage African-Americans from making their homes in the area, some residents resorted to adding covenants to the contracts when their homes were sold, either restricting African-Americans from purchasing them or prohibiting them from occupying the houses after purchase.<ref name="Adams">{{cite web |url=http://www.westadamsheightssugarhill.com/HistoricWestAdams.html |title=West Adams History |publisher=westadamsheightssugarhill.com |access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref> Lillian and her husband, boxer Jack Chase,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/8275/chasing-jack-chase-part-fade-black/ |title=Chasing Jack Chase: Part 5 – Fade to Black |author=Springs, Toledo |publisher=thesweetscience.com |access-date=October 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903021736/http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/8275/chasing-jack-chase-part-fade-black/ |archive-date=September 3, 2010}}</ref> were victims of this type of discrimination.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?&index=tw/&databaseID=968&count=10&tag=245&terms=Lillian%20Randolph%20and%20Jack%20Chase |title=Lillian Randolph and husband Jack Chase |publisher=Los Angeles Public Library |access-date=July 30, 2011 |archive-date=October 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009132303/http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?&index=tw%2F&databaseID=968&count=10&tag=245&terms=Lillian%20Randolph%20and%20Jack%20Chase |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1946, the couple purchased a home on West Adams Boulevard with a restrictive covenant that barred them from moving into it.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8rUlAAAAIBAJ&pg=1067,5619161&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Actress Fights Home Covenants |date=September 14, 1946 |publisher=Baltimore Afro-American |access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref> The US Supreme Court declared the practice unconstitutional in 1948.<ref name="Adams"/> After divorcing Chase, Randolph married railroad dining car server Edward Sanders, in August 1951.<ref name="Divorce"/> The couple divorced in December 1953.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2L8DAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph&pg=PA15 |title=Actress Lillian Randolph Divorces Mate |date=December 17, 1953 |publisher=Jet |access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref>

Like her sister, Amanda, Lillian was also one of the actresses to play the part of ''Beulah'' on radio. Randolph assumed the role in 1952 when Hattie McDaniel became ill; that same year, she received an "Angel" award from the Caballeros, an African-American businessmen's association, for her work in radio and television for 1951.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x7pjAAAAIBAJ&pg=263,21277181&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Lillian Randolph |date=May 17, 1952 |publisher=Baltimore Afro-American |access-date=January 16, 2011}}</ref> She played Beulah until 1953, when Amanda took over for her.<ref>{{cite book |title=Lillian Randolph Sets Busy Pace On Radio |date=April 10, 1952 |publisher=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KEMDAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA57 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>

In 1954, Randolph had her own daily radio show in Hollywood, where those involved in acting were featured.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B78DAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA50 |title=People |date=October 28, 1954 |publisher=Jet |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref> In the same year, she became the first African American on the board of directors for the Hollywood chapter of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GMADAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA59 |title=Entertainment |date=April 15, 1954 |publisher=Jet |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>

In William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio during the 1940s and early 1950s, she was uncredited for voicing the housekeeper/maid character. The character's last appearance in the cartoons was in ''Push-Button Kitty'' in September 1952. MGM, Hanna-Barbera and Randolph had been under fire from the NAACP, which called the role a stereotype. Activists had been complaining about the maid character since 1949. The character was written out entirely. Many of these had a white actress (June Foray) redubbing the character in American TV broadcasts and in the DVD collections.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Colored Cartoon |editor-last=Lehman |editor-first=Christopher P. |pages=152 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1558497795 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ntaZJs91Fp0C&q=amos+n+andy&pg=PA30 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>

This was not the only time Randolph received criticism. In 1946, ''Ebony'' published a story critical of her role of Birdie on ''The Great Gildersleeve'' radio show. Randolph and Sam Moore, a scriptwriter on the program, provided a rebuttal to them in the magazine.<ref name="Knoxville"/><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_ebony_1946-04_1_6/page/50/mode/2up |title=Letters and Pictures To The Editor |date=April 1946 |magazine=Ebony}}</ref> Lillian Randolph believed these roles were not harmful to the image or opportunities of African-Americans. Her reasoning was that the roles themselves would not be discontinued, but the ethnicity of those in them would change.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jfredmacdonald.com/postwar.htm |title=Don't Touch That Dial!: radio programming in American life, 1920–1960 |author=MacDonald, J. Fred |publisher=jfredmacdonald.com |access-date=October 20, 2010}}</ref>

In 1956, Randolph and her choir, along with fellow ''Amos 'n' Andy'' television show cast members Tim Moore, Alvin Childress, and Spencer Williams set off on a tour of the US as "The TV Stars of ''Amos 'n' Andy''". However, CBS claimed it was an infringement of its rights to the show and its characters. The tour soon came to an end.<ref name="Tragedy">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4uK_KEF-KT8C&q=all+about+amos+%27n%27+andy&pg=PA66 |title=The Tragedy of Amos 'n' Andy |author=Clayton, Edward T. |date=October 1961 |publisher=Ebony |access-date=September 27, 2010}}</ref>

By 1958, Lillian, who started out as a blues singer, returned to music with a nightclub act.<ref>{{cite book |title=New York Beat |date=May 1, 1958 |publisher=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=abcDAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA64 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>

Randolph was selected to play Bill Cosby's character's mother in his 1969 television series, ''The Bill Cosby Show''.<ref name="Queen"/> She later appeared in several featured roles on ''Sanford and Son'' and ''The Jeffersons'' in the 1970s. She also taught acting, singing and public speaking.<ref>{{cite book |title=Marla Gibbs: TV Maid for The Jeffersons |editor-last=Kisner |editor-first=Ronald E. |date=April 6, 1978 |publisher=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUIDAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle:jet&pg=PA21 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>

Randolph made a guest appearance on a 1972 episode of the sitcom ''Sanford and Son'', entitled "Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Bride" as Aunt Hazel, an in-law of the Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) character who humorously gets a cake thrown in her face, after which Fred replies "Hazel, you never looked sweeter!".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k7wqAAAAIBAJ&pg=6247,6032880&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Sarasota Herald-Tribune TV Week |date=May 5, 1972 |publisher=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |access-date=October 22, 2010}}</ref> Her ''Amos 'n' Andy'' co-star, Alvin Childress, also had a role in this episode.<ref>{{cite book |title=Television |date=January 27, 1972 |publisher=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVsDAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA66 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d5glAAAAIBAJ&pg=4705,1738566&dq=alvin+childress&hl=en |title=Alvin Childress on ''Sanford and Son'' |date=May 25, 1976 |publisher=Washington Afro-American |access-date=October 16, 2010}}</ref> She played Mabel in ''Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough'' (1975) and also appeared in the television miniseries, ''Roots'' (1977),<ref>{{cite book |title=Roots Of Blacks Shown In Eight Days Of TV Drama |editor-last=Lucas |editor-first=Bob |date=January 27, 1977 |publisher=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eb8DAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA61 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref> ''Magic'' (1978) and ''The Onion Field'' (1979).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QXcUAAAAIBAJ&pg=4850,4161009&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Deaths Elsewhere |date=September 15, 1980 |publisher=Toledo Blade |access-date=September 20, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In March 1980, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.<ref name="Award">{{cite book |title=Black Film Hall of Fame Inducts 7 |date=March 20, 1980 |publisher=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-rYDAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA54 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>

Randolph's daughter, Barbara, grew up watching her mother perform. At age eight, Barbara had already made her debut in ''Bright Road'' (1953) with Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wVsDAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA2 |title=Like Mother, Like Daughter |date=September 25, 1952 |publisher=Jet |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>

Choosing to adopt her mother's maiden name, Barbara Randolph appeared in her mother's nightclub acts, including with Steve Gibson and the Red Caps, and had a role in ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' in 1967.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SzgDAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA55 |title=Film Boost For Star's Daughter |editor-last=Robinson |editor-first=Louie |date=May 23, 1968 |publisher=Jet |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pnpWAAAAIBAJ&pg=1294,3820137&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=Lillian and Barbara Randolph at Allen's Tin Pan Alley |date=July 29, 1958 |publisher=The Spokesman-Review |access-date=October 22, 2010}}</ref> She decided to follow a singing career.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fq8DAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA62 |title=Barbara Randolph Seeks Record Stardom |date=December 29, 1960 |publisher=Jet |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0709872 |title=Barbara Randolph |publisher=IMDb |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uncamarvy.com/RedCaps/redcaps.html |title=Marv Goldberg's R & B Notebook – Back to the Red Caps |author=Goldberg, Marv |publisher=Goldberg, Marv |access-date=February 4, 2011}}</ref>

==Death== Randolph died of cancer at Arcadia Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, California, in 1980.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |title=Lillian Randolph, 65; Movie and TV Actress |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/121111763 |access-date=December 4, 2020 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=September 17, 1980 |page=D 27 |id={{ProQuest|121111763}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GcAsAAAAIBAJ&pg=5162,3323259&dq=lillian+randolph&hl=en |title=People and Places |date=September 16, 1980 |publisher=Star-News |access-date=September 20, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Census |date=October 9, 1980 |publisher=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_UEDAAAAMBAJ&q=lillian+randolph+intitle%3Ajet&pg=PA8 |access-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref> She is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California. Her sister, Amanda, is buried beside her.<ref name="Find"/>

==Partial filmography== {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''Life Goes On'' (1938)<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7ZYsnTPIhwC&q=lillian+randolph+%22life+goes+on%22&pg=PA277 |title=Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television |isbn=9780786458042 |last1=McCann |first1=Bob |date=December 21, 2009 |publisher=McFarland}}</ref> – Cinthy * ''The Duke Is Tops'' (1938) – Woman with Sciatica (uncredited) * ''The Toy Wife'' (1938) – Black Nun with Rose (uncredited) * ''Streets of New York'' (1939) – Judge's Maid (uncredited) * ''Way Down South'' (1939) – Slave (uncredited) * ''The Marx Brothers at the Circus'' (1939) – Black Woman - 'Swingali' (uncredited) * ''Am I Guilty?'' (1940) – Mrs. Jones * ''Barnyard Follies'' (1940) – Birdie (uncredited) * ''Little Men'' (1940) – Asia * ''One Big Mistake'' (1940), a featurette starring Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham * ''Tom and Jerry'' (1940-1952) – housekeeper * ''West Point Widow'' (1941) – Sophie * ''Kiss the Boys Goodbye'' (1941) – Bethany Plantation Chorus Servant (uncredited) * ''Gentleman from Dixie'' (1941) – Aunt Eppie * ''Birth of the Blues'' (1941) – Dancing Woman (uncredited) * ''All-American Co-Ed'' (1941) – Deborah, the Washwoman * ''Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost'' (1942) – Hyacinth * ''Hi, Neighbor'' (1942) – Birdie * ''The Palm Beach Story'' (1942) – Maid on Train (uncredited) * ''The Glass Key'' (1942) – Basement Club Entertainer (uncredited) * ''The Great Gildersleeve'' (1942) – Birdie Lee Calkins * ''No Time for Love'' (1943) – Hilda (uncredited) * ''Happy Go Lucky'' (1943) – Tessie (uncredited) * ''Hoosier Holiday'' (1943) – Birdie * ''Gildersleeve on Broadway'' (1943) – Birdie * ''Phantom Lady'' (1944) – Woman at Train Platform (uncredited) * ''Up in Arms'' (1944) – Black Woman in Cable Car (uncredited) * ''The Adventures of Mark Twain'' (1944) – Black Woman (uncredited) * ''Gildersleeve's Ghost'' (1944) – Birdie, Gildersleeve's Housekeeper * ''Three Little Sisters'' (1944) – Mabel * ''A Song for Miss Julie'' (1945) – Eliza Henry * ''Riverboat Rhythm'' (1946) – Azalea (uncredited) * ''Child of Divorce'' (1946) – Carrie, the Maid * ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) – Annie * ''The Hucksters'' (1947) – Violet (voice, uncredited) * ''The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer'' (1947) – Bessie * ''Sleep, My Love'' (1948) – Parkhurst's Maid (uncredited) * ''Let's Live a Little'' (1948) – Sarah (uncredited) * ''Once More, My Darling'' (1949) – Mamie * ''Dear Brat'' (1951) – Dora * ''That's My Boy'' (1951) – May, Maid * ''Bend of the River'' (1952) – Aunt Tildy (uncredited) * ''Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' (1964) – Cleaning Woman * ''The Great White Hope'' (1970) – Housekeeper (uncredited) * ''How to Seduce a Woman'' (1974) – Matilda * ''Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins'' (1975) – Elderly Woman Driver * ''The Wild McCullochs'' (1975) – Missy * ''Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough'' (1975) – Mabel * ''The World Through the Eyes of Children'' (1975) – Susan * ''Jennifer'' (1978) – Martha * ''Magic'' (1978) – Sadie * ''The Onion Field'' (1979) – Nana, Jimmy's Grandmother (final film role) {{div col end}}

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} * {{IMDb name|id=0709917}} * {{TCMDb name |id=157819%7C99132}} * {{Find a Grave|4188}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20121103041945/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/58754/Lillian-Randolph Lillian Randolph Movies & TV New York Times] * [http://www.eighthandwall.org/gallery/party.htm Lillian Randolph-early 1940s-photo] Eighth & Wall * [https://radiogoldin.library.umkc.edu/Home/RadioGoldin_Records?searchString=Randolph,%20Lillian&type=Artists Index of radio shows Lillian Randolph performed in] David Goldin

===Watch=== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150906142455/http://www.hulu.com/watch/48119 ''Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy'' Video by Hulu] * [https://archive.org/details/Lbines-RetroVisionTheaterPresentsTheGreatGildersleeve812 ''The Great Gildersleeve'' TV Episode] at Internet Archive.

===Listen=== * [https://archive.org/details/TheBeulahShow ''The Beulah Show''] at Internet Archive – 1953. * [https://archive.org/details/GreatGildersleeve-2NewEpisodes ''The Great Gildersleeve'' Radio Episodes] at Internet Archive.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randolph, Lillian}} Category:1898 births Category:1980 deaths Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:20th-century American singers Category:20th-century American women singers Category:Actresses from Knoxville, Tennessee Category:African-American female military personnel Category:20th-century African-American military personnel Category:American female military personnel Category:20th-century African-American women singers Category:African Americans in World War II Category:American blues singers Category:American film actresses Category:American gospel singers Category:American Methodists Category:American radio actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American women in World War II Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Deaths from cancer in California Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people Category:Musicians from Knoxville, Tennessee Category:Military personnel from Knoxville, Tennessee Category:Military personnel from Tennessee Category:People from West Adams, Los Angeles Category:Singers from Tennessee