{{Short description|American actress (1915–1993)}} {{Infobox person | birth_name = Minnie Lee Watson | image = File:Minniegentry.jpeg | birth_date = {{birth date|1915|12|2|mf=y}} | birth_place = Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1993|5|11|1915|12|2|mf=y}} | death_place = New York City, U.S. | spouse = Lloyd Gentry (1932–?) | children = 1 | relatives = Terrence Howard (great-grandson) }} '''Minnie Gentry''' (born '''Minnie Lee Watson,''' December 2, 1915 – May 11, 1993)<ref name="date">[http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=GMLW Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Gentry, Minnie Lee Watson]</ref> was an American actress.
Gentry was born Minnie Lee Watson in Norfolk, Virginia, the daughter of Mincie and Taylor Watson.<ref name="date"/> Her family moved to Cleveland during her childhood, where she began studying piano at the age of nine, at the Phyllis Wheatley School of Music.<ref name="date"/> She began acting at the Friendly Inn Settlement and married Lloyd Gentry in 1932.<ref name="date"/> Subsequently, she appeared in many plays at the African-American theater the Karamu House.
On Broadway, Gentry performed in ''All God's Chillun Got Wings'' (1975), ''The Sunshine Boys'' (1972), ''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'' (1971), and ''Lysistrata'' (1946).<ref>{{cite web |title=Minnie Gentry |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/minnie-gentry-91043 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020024607/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/minnie-gentry-91043 |archive-date=October 20, 2020}}</ref> She also appeared in several films, including ''The Brother from Another Planet'', ''Def by Temptation'', and ''Jungle Fever''. She portrayed Aunt Bess on the television series ''All My Children'' and Miriam George on ''Ryan's Hope''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCann |first1=Bob |title=Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television |date=21 December 2009 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5804-2 |pages=126–127 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7ZYsnTPIhwC&q=%22Minnie+Lee+Watson%22&pg=PA126 |access-date=October 20, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> She also appeared as Gramtee on ''The Cosby Show''.<ref name="date"/>
Gentry had a daughter, Marjorie Hawkins.<ref name=":0" /> Her great-grandson is actor Terrence Howard.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08271/915577-122.stm|title=Obituary: Anita Williams / Mother of actor, recruiter at Pitt|publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=27 September 2008|access-date=12 January 2013}}</ref>
On May 11, 1993, Gentry died at her home in Manhattan at age 77.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Minnie Gentry, 77, An Actress on Stage And 'Cosby Show' |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/109090106 |access-date=October 20, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=May 13, 1993 |page=B 14|id={{ProQuest|109090106}}}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
|- |1972|| ''Georgia, Georgia'' || Mrs. Alberta Anderson || |- |1972|| ''Come Back, Charleston Blue'' || Her Majesty || |- |1973|| ''Black Caesar'' || Momma Gibbs || |- |1974|| ''Claudine'' || Bus Woman || Uncredited |- |1977|| ''Greased Lightning'' || Wendell's Mother || |- |1984|| ''The Brother from Another Planet'' || Mrs. Brown || |- |1986|| ''America'' || Mrs. Justice || |- |1988|| ''Apprentice to Murder'' || Mam Isobel || |- |1990|| ''The Cosby Show'' || Harriet "Gramtee" McCutcheon || Episode: "The Storyteller" (season 6) |- |1990|| ''Def by Temptation'' || Grandma || |- |1992|| ''Bad Lieutenant'' || Elderly Woman || |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} * {{IMDb name|313182}} * [https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800069714/bio at Yahoo! Movies]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentry, Minnie}} Category:1915 births Category:1993 deaths Category:American film actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:Actresses from Cleveland Category:Actresses from Norfolk, Virginia Category:20th-century American actresses Category:20th-century African-American actresses
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