{{short description|American actress}} {{BLP sources|date=September 2010}} {{Infobox person | name = Tonye T. Patano | image = Tonye Patano on the set in 2011 (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Patano in 2011 | birth_date = | birth_place = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1984–present | known_for = | notable_works = }}
'''Tonye T. Patano''' is an American actress. She may be best known as Heylia James on the television series ''Weeds''.
She has appeared in television shows such as ''Law & Order'', ''Sex and the City'', ''Monk'' and ''Third Watch''. Patano was in the original cast of the Broadway play, ''45 Seconds from Broadway'' by Neil Simon.
==Career==
===Film and television=== Patano's first screen role was in the 1984 television film ''The Jesse Owens Story''. She has appeared on several television series in guest roles, including ''Sex and the City'',<ref>{{cite book|page=327|title=Manhattan Dating Game: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Every Episode of Sex and the City|last=Smith|first=Jim|date=2004|publisher=Virgin Books|isbn=9780753509258}}</ref> ''Monk'', ''Third Watch'', ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' and ''Elementary''. Patano has played various characters throughout the ''Law & Order'' franchise.
She appeared as Carolyn in ''Highway Heartbreaker'' (1992),<ref>{{cite book|page=229|title=Movies Made for Television, 1964-2004: 1990-1999|last=Marill|first=Alvin H.|date=2005|publisher=Scarecrow Press}}</ref> and had a small role in ''A Price Above Rubies'' (1998).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=si5M_xZSO54C&dq=%22Tonye+Patano%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA35|page=35|title=Screen World 1999|last1=Monush|first1=Barry|last2=Willis|first2=John|date=April 2000|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=9781557834119|author-link2=John A. Willis}}</ref> Other film work includes ''Little Manhattan''<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F60TAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Tonye+Patano%22+-wikipedia&pg=PT1406|title=Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide|last=Maltin|first=Leonard|date=September 2, 2014|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|isbn=9780698183612|author-link=Leonard Maltin}}</ref> and ''The Great New Wonderful'', both released in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/tonye-patano-p440651|title=Tonye Patano|last=Seibert|first=Perry|website=AllMovie|access-date=November 7, 2022}}</ref>
In 2005, Patano landed the role of Heylia James,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXvXCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Tonye+Patano%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA196|page=196|title=The Top 100 American Situation Comedies|last1=Shapiro|first1=Mitchell A.|last2=Jicha|first2=Tom|date=October 16, 2015|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=9781476664040}}</ref> a marijuana dealer, on ''Weeds''.<ref>{{cite news|title='Weeds,' 10 p.m. Showtime|page=D8|newspaper=Bangor Daily News}}</ref> She received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series alongside her ''Weeds'' co-stars in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sagawards.org/media-pr/press-releases/13th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards®-nominations|title=13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® Nominations|website=Screen Actors Guild Awards|access-date=November 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191905/http://www.sagawards.org/media-pr/press-releases/13th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards%C2%AE-nominations|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> Two years later, Patano earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series as Heylia.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lEIEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Tonye+Patano%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA32|title=39th NAACP Image Awards|magazine=The Crisis|publisher=National Association for the Advancement of Colored People|date=2008}}</ref> Patano left the series at the conclusion of its third season, later returning in season 7 on a recurring basis.
Following ''Weeds'', she portrayed Emily in Hallmark movie ''Loving Leah'' (2009).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k8XJ6UcCumYC&dq=%22Tonye+Patano%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA61|page=61|title=Movies Made for Television: 2005-2009|last=Marill|first=Alvin H.|date=October 11, 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810876590}}</ref> Patano was Beverly, a counselor, in ''A Vigilante'' (2018).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdjHDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Tonye+Patano%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA194|page=194|title=Vigilantes: Private Justice in Popular Cinema|last=Grant|first=Kevin|date=January 3, 2020|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=9781476638683}}</ref> She played a probation officer in drama ''Jack of the Red Hearts'' (2015).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-mini-jack-red-hearts-review-20160226-story.html|title=Review: 'Jack of the Red Hearts' implausibly stacks the deck|last=Goldstein|first=Gary|date=February 25, 2016|website=The Los Angeles Times|access-date=November 7, 2022}}</ref>
===Stage=== Patano portrayed Nurse O'Neil in a 1997 production of ''The Sunshine Boys'' at the George Street Playhouse. One reviewer claimed she was "excellent" in the role.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/12/nyregion/theater-review-the-kind-of-sniping-that-gives-sustenance.html|title=THEATER REVIEW; The Kind of Sniping That Gives Sustenance|last=Klein|first=Alvin|date=October 12, 1997|website=The New York Times|access-date=November 7, 2022|author-link=Alvin Klein}}</ref> In 2000, she received a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for best ensemble after acting in ''From the Mississippi Delta''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=David A.|date=July 25, 2000|page=D5|newspaper=The Hour|title=The winners are...}}</ref> Patano appeared on Broadway as Ms. Gravátt in ''45 Seconds from Broadway'' (2001).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-btschPC0YC&dq=%22Tonye+Patano%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA34|page=34|title=Theater World 2001-2002|last1=Willis|first1=John|last2=Hodges|first2=Ben|last3=Lynch|first3=Tom|date=July 2004|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=9781557836267|author-link1=John A. Willis}}</ref>
She played the role of brothel owner Mama Nadi in ''Ruined'' for the Huntington Theater.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://playbill.com/article/photo-call-tonye-patano-stars-in-ruined-at-the-huntington-theatre-company-com-174980|title=PHOTO CALL: Tonye Patano Stars in Ruined at the Huntington Theatre Company|last=Khodorovsky|first=Irina|date=January 7, 2011|website=Playbill|access-date=November 7, 2022}}</ref> Her performance in this production received positive reception, with one critic calling her "delightful" and "magnetic."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Ruined-review-Ray-of-hope-amid-rape-in-Congo-2457206.php|title='Ruined' review: Ray of hope amid rape in Congo|last=Hurwitt|first=Robert|date=March 4, 2011|website=San Francisco Gate|access-date=November 7, 2022}}</ref> Another found her superb in the role of Mama Nadi.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2011/01/14/ruined_makes_the_political_personal/|title=Making the political personal|last=Aucoin|first=Don|date=January 14, 2011|website=The Boston Globe|access-date=November 7, 2022}}</ref>
==Personal life== At age 35, she was diagnosed with diabetes, and she suffered a stroke in 2005.<ref>[http://women.webmd.com/features/tonye_patano_weighs_her_options "Tonye Patano Weighs Her Options"] Women Health web site</ref>
==Filmography==
===Films=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Film ! Role ! Awards |- | 1984 | ''The Jesse Owens Story'' | Laverne Owens | |- | 1992 | ''Highway Heartbreaker'' | Carolyn | |- | 1994 | ''Fresh'' | Girl #2 | |- | 1998 | ''A Price Above Rubies'' | Earring woman | |- | 1999 | ''The Hurricane'' | Woman at prison | |- | 2004 | ''Messengers'' | Linda Mabry | |- | 2004 | ''Imaginary Heroes'' | Big Mean Teacher | Voice role |- | 2005 | ''Room'' | Homeless woman | |- | 2005 | ''The Great New Wonderful'' | Shirley | |- | 2005 | ''The Thing About My Folks'' | Nurse | |- | 2005 | ''Little Manhattan'' | Birdie | |- | 2007 | ''The Savages'' | Mrs. Robinson | |- | 2007 | ''Trainwreck: My Life as an Idiot'' | Mrs. Shelby | |- | 2009 | ''The Taking of Pelham 123'' | Regina | |- | 2009 | ''Loving Leah'' | Emily | TV movie |- | 2009 | ''Bunker Hill'' | Nurse Evans | TV movie |- | 2009 | ''Come What May'' | Thema | |- | 2010 | ''The Company Men'' | Joyce Robertson | |- | 2010 | ''Ponies'' | Cashier | |- | 2014 | ''The David Dance'' | Mrs. P. | |- | 2014 | ''Every Secret Thing'' | Clarice | |- | 2014 | ''Time Out of Mind'' | Ms. Jackson | |- | 2015 | ''Jack of the Red Hearts'' | Miz | |- | 2017 | ''Roxanne Roxanne'' | Ms. Denise | |- | 2018 | ''A Vigilante'' | Beverly | |- | 2020 | ''Topside'' | Violet | |- | 2023 | ''Eileen'' | Mrs. Stevens | |- |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Series ! Role ! Episodes |- | 1996 | ''New York Undercover'' | Mrs. Samuels | Episode 3.01: "A Time of Faith (Part 1)" |- | 2000 | ''Now and Again'' | Jimmy's Mom | Episode 1.17: "Boy Wonder" |- | 2000, 2003, 2009–12; 2022 | ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' | Ann, Sally, Judge Maskin | 9 episodes |- | 2001 | ''Deadline'' | Nurse Alice | Episode 1.08: "The Undesirables" |- | 2003 | ''Sex and the City'' | Ruby | Episode 6.11: "The Domino Effect" |- | 2003 | ''Hope & Faith'' | Receptionist | Episode 1.07: "Car Commercial" |- | 2004 | ''Law & Order'' | Feldman | Episode 14.11: "Darwinian" |- | 2004 | ''Monk'' | Woman on the Train | Episode 3.01: "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan" |- | 2005 | ''Third Watch'' | Danielle | Episode 6.18: "Too Little Too Late" |- | 2005–2008, 2011 | ''Weeds'' | Heylia James | 38 episodes |- | 2006–2009 | ''Handy Manny'' | Mrs. Thompson | Voice role |- | 2008 | ''Eli Stone'' | Judge Flora Simms | 2 episodes |- | 2009–12 | ''One Life to Live'' | Phylicia Evans | Recurring; Beginning from September 10, 2009 |- | 2011 | ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' | Board Member #2 | Episode 8.10: "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox" |- | 2013 | ''The Americans'' | Viola | Episodes 1.02: "The Clock" and 1.12: "The Oath" |- | 2016 | ''The Blacklist'' | Judy Sickler | Episode 3.14: "Lady Ambrosia" |- | 2016 | ''Elementary'' | Dolores Murphy | Episode 5.03: "Render, and Then Seize Her" |- | 2017 | ''Sneaky Pete'' | Libby Metzger | Episodes 1.02: "Safe" and 1.03: "Ms. Success" |- | 2018 | ''Younger'' | Akilah | Episode 5.07: "A Christmas Miracle" |- | 2019 | ''SMILF'' | Aunt Valerie | Episode 2.07: "Smile More if Lying Fails" |- | 2019 | ''Madam Secretary'' | Verline Grant | Episode 5.17: "The Common Defense" |- | 2021–2023 | ''FBI: Most Wanted'' | Susan Barnes | 4 episodes |- |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0665256}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Patano, Tonye}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Actresses from Los Angeles Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American soap opera actresses Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:21st-century African-American actresses