Jonelle Allen
Jonelle R. Allen in 2016
Born
EducationProfessional Children's School
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • dancer
Years active1967–present
Known forGrace in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Doreen Jackson in Generations
Spouses
John Sharpe
(m. 1978; div. 1992)
    Richard Grimmon
    (m. 1998; div. 2001)
      Leigh Eaton
      (m. 2003; died 2020)

      Jonelle R. Allen is an American actress, singer, and dancer from Harlem, New York, United States. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s, Allen has co-starred in films, Broadway productions, and television.[1] In 1972, Allen was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the musical Two Gentlemen of Verona.

      Biography

      Early life, education and career

      Born in New York City, Allen was raised in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem. The only child of Marion, a postal worker, and Robert Allen, a NYC transit worker, Allen began performing at the age of four, and attended the Professional Children's School.[2] She made her Broadway debut at the age of six in The Wisteria Trees, Joshua Logan's Americanized adaptation of The Cherry Orchard, starring Helen Hayes.[3][4] As a child, she also made regular appearances on a local children's television series, The Merry Mailman, hosted by Ray Heatherton.[3][4]

      Career

      Allen returned to Broadway in a revival of Finian's Rainbow. She was in the cast of the original off-Broadway 1968 production of Hair at Joseph Papp's Public Theater,[4] and also appeared in George M! before receiving critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination for Two Gentlemen of Verona, which earned her New York Drama Critics' Circle, Drama Desk, Theatre World, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance.[4] Despite her success, it proved to be her last Broadway appearance to date.

      Allen's film credits include Cotton Comes to Harlem, The Hotel New Hampshire, and The River Niger, for which she won an NAACP Image Award. Other television appearances include Match Game, Barney Miller, The Love Boat, All in the Family, Trapper John, M.D., Hill Street Blues, Cagney and Lacey, ER, and Girlfriends. Allen portrayed a lesbian prison inmate in the 1975 television movie Cage Without a Key, which starred Susan Dey.

      Her most notable roles are Grace, the entrepreneurial café owner in the Old West, that she played for seven years on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,[5][4] as well as the flamboyant and outspoken Doreen Jackson on the NBC soap opera Generations, and Lucinda Cavender, the vampire witch in the horror comedy film The Midnight Hour. Before Generations, she played ambitious salesgirl-turned-boutique-manager Stacey Russell on the short-lived prime-time soap Berrenger's.[4] Allen appeared as legendary Harlem jazz queen Florence Mills in Harlem Renaissance at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

      More recently, Allen has headed the New Works/Staged Reading Projects at Saddleback College, and is writing and directing new shows which Allen calls "plays with music", which have been presented at Saddleback, notably an adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and The Journey, both with composer David Jayden Anthony.

      In 2017, Allen appeared in the film The Divorce, released on Amazon, and starred in Hello, Dolly at Saddlebacks CLO. The same year, she starred in Donald B. Welch's Secret Garden, and worked on an updated version of her Florence Mills one-woman show, written with collaborators Stevi Meredith and David Jayden Anthony.

      In 2020, Allen appeared as Felicia Richardson in the serial drama Forever and a Day. Originally starting as a recurring character, by season three Allen became a main character in the audio drama.

      Personal

      Allen has been married three times. She was married to John Sharpe on December 19, 1978, divorcing in 1992. Then she was married to Richard Grimmon from January 9, 1998 until 2001.[6] Most recently she was married to Leigh Eaton from 2003 until his death in 2020.

      Filmography

      Year Film Role Notes
      1970Cotton Comes to HarlemSecretary
      1970The Cross and the SwitchbladeBishop Deb
      1972Come Back, Charleston BlueCarol
      1974Wide World MysteryEvaEpisode: 'Legacy of Blood'
      1974Police WomanLaurette Blake/MaxinePlayed Laurette in the 1974 episode 'The End Game' & played Maxine in the 1975 episode 'Above & Beyond'
      1975Cage Without a KeyTommy
      1975Foster and LaurieJacqueline Foster
      1975Barney MillerOfficer TurnerEpisode: 'Hot Dogs'
      1975Police StoryMary Sue/Merrily GoodwinPlayed Mary Sue in the episode 'The Execution' & played Merrily in the episode 'The Company Man'
      1976The American Woman: Portraits of CourageRosa Parks
      1976The River NigerAnn Vanderguild
      1976Joe ForresterEpisode: 'The Boy Next Door'
      1978What's Happening!!Love-is-LifeEpisode: 'Rerun Sees the Light"
      1978The Love BoatAndrea MartinEpisode: 'Gopher the Rebel/Cabin Fever/Pacific Princess Overture'
      1978All in the FamilyMarabelEpisode: 'Archie's Other Wife'
      1979The White ShadowShelleyEpisode: 'Airball'
      1979VampireBrandy
      1980Brave New WorldFanny Crowne
      1980Palmerstown, U.S.A.Bessie FreemanAppeared in 11 episodes, 1980–1981
      1982VictimsMaydene Jariott
      1982Trapper John, M.D.Episode: 'Medicine Man'
      1983Cagney & LaceyElizabeth Carter/Claudia PetriePlayed Elizabeth in the 1983 episode 'Open & Shut Case' & played Claudia in the 1984 episode 'A Killer's Dozen'
      1984Hill Street BluesLinda TalbotEpisode: 'The Count of Monty Tasco'
      1984The Hotel New HampshireSabrina
      1985Berrenger'sStacey Russell
      1985The Midnight HourLucinda Cavender
      1986The Penalty PhaseSusan Jansen
      1987The HitchhikerSunnyEpisode: 'Made for Each Other'
      1987WerewolfEpisode: 'Big Daddy'
      1989GenerationsDoreen Jackson
      1992The Royal FamilyNina MartinEpisode: 'The Big Stink'. Episode was never aired.
      1992Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop DriveMadeline Garrick
      1993Dr. Quinn, Medicine WomanGraceAppeared in 106 episodes, 1993–1998
      1997The Eddie FilesEddie's Music TeacherEpisode: 'Patterns: The Big Concert'
      1998Next TimeEvelyn
      1999Blues for RedDora
      1999Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The MovieGrace
      1999Twice in a LifetimeDr. Grace Grant-Heistings, M.D./Nurse Daisy BradfordEpisode: 'Healing Touch'
      2000ERDebbie MarlinEpisodes: 'Foreign Affairs' & 'Rescue Me'
      2001FlossinViola
      2002Strong MedicineConnieEpisode: 'Stages'
      2003Mr. BarringtonMother Anne
      2005As Seen on TVShauna
      2007GirlfriendsEleanorEpisode: 'Operation Does She Yield'
      2008FloatMadge
      2016American Crime StoryMom Darden2 Episodes
      2017 Shameless Helen Cardinal Episode: 'Where's My Meth?'
      2018 Boomers Yvette Episode: 'The Gig'
      2021 9-1-1 Ellen Saxton Episode: 'Parenthood'
      2022 Bust Down Dolores Episode: 'Won't He Do It'

      References

      1. The Complete Book of 1970s Broadway Musicals By Dan Dietz
      2. Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television By Bob McCann
      3. 1 2 Lewis, Dan (May 24, 1980). "Broadway debut: Helen Hayes advises Jonelle Allen". Blytheville Courier News. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
      4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McLellan, Dennis (November 15, 1997). "Grace Under Fire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
      5. Jet, July 28, 1997
      6. Los Angeles Times – Grace Under Fire – November 15, 1997
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