Wednesday, October 09, 2019
Remembering TV Legend Diahann Carroll; Marvel and Hulu Bring New Series

Actress, singer, model and activist Diahann Carroll, who starred as Julia Baker in Julia and as Dominique Deveraux in Dynasty, has died. She died of cancer on October 4 in Los Angeles, California. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. Ms. Carroll was 84.
Carroll made her television debut at age 18 on January 8, 1954, as a singing contestant on the Dumont Television Network's talent show Chance of a Lifetime. She appeared four consecutive weeks, winning three times. She made guest appearances on variety series and talk shows including The Red Skelton Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Garry Moore Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Danny Kaye Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Dean Martin Show, The Mike Douglas Show and The Carol Burnett Show.
Some of her early television drama guest appearances included General Electric Theater, Peter Gunn, Naked City and The Eleventh Hour. She received her first Emmy nomination in 1963 for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her appearance in Naked City.
She was the first black woman to star in a weekly series in a non-stereotypical role in the 1968-1971 NBC sitcom Julia. Carroll played widowed single mother Julia Baker. She worked as a nurse in a doctor's office at a large aerospace company called Astrospace Industries. Carroll won a Golden Globe Award in 1969 for Best TV Star - Female for the role. She received an Emmy nomination for the Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series category in 1969. The single-camera series also starred Lloyd Nolan, Marc Copage, Michael Link, Betty Beaird, Mary Wickes, Ned Glass (1968-1970) and Lurene Tuttle (1968-1970).
Carroll starred as Dominique Deveraux in the ABC prime time soap opera Dynasty. She appeared in 74 episodes from 1984 to 1987. Dominique Deveraux was the mixed-race jet set diva and half-sister of Blake Carrington (John Forsythe). Billy Dee Williams played her onscreen husband, Brady Lloyd. She also appeared in seven episodes of the spin-off series The Colbys.
She had a recurring role as Marion Gilbert, Whitley's (Jasmine Guy) mother, in nine episodes of the NBC sitcom A Different World from 1989 to 1993. She received her third Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 1989.
Some of her other sitcom guest appearances included The Love Boat, Webster, The Sinbad Show, Evening Shade, Half & Half, Whoopi and Back to You.
Carroll had a recurring role as Ida Grayson in seven episodes of the syndicated western drama Lonesome Dove: The Series from 1994 to 1995. She starred as Justice Angela DeSett in the short-lived 2002 ABC legal drama The Court. She had a recurring role as Jane Burke, the demanding mother of Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), in five episodes of Grey's Anatomy from 2006 to 2007. Carroll played an elderly widow named June Ellington in 25 episodes of USA Network's White Collar from 2009 to 2014.
Some of her other television drama guest appearances included Burke's Law, Touched by an Angel, Twice in a Lifetime, Strong Medicine, Soul Food and Diary of a Single Mom.
She made her film debut in 1954's Carmen Jones. Some of her other film credits included Porgy and Bess, Paris Blues, Hurry Sundown, The Split, Claudine, The Five Heartbeats, Eve's Bayou, Peeples and The Masked Saint. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the film Claudine (1974) in 1975.
Carroll won a Tony Award for best actress, a first for a black woman, in 1962 for her role as Barbara Woodruff in the Broadway musical No Strings. Some of her other theater credits included House of Flowers, Agnes of God, Love Letters and Sunset Boulevard.
She was interviewed for The Interviews: An Oral History of Television on March 3, 1998.
Ms. Carroll was a true TV legend and pioneer. She was wonderful in Julia, Dynasty and her many other television and film roles. We thank her for the many hours of entertainment she brought us during her long career. She will be deeply missed.
Share your memories on our Julia message board. View photos in our galleries.
Aspire is airing Julia all day Saturday in remembrance of star Diahann Carroll. The series airs on their regular schedule. View a listing of upcoming episodes.
Marvel Television and Hulu have announced casting for Marvel's Helstrom - the live-action series based on the popular Marvel comic book. The series will mark Marvel's first foray into terror and is slated for debut in 2020. In Marvel's Helstrom, Daimon and Ana Helstrom are the son and daughter of a mysterious and powerful serial killer. The siblings have a complicated dynamic as they track down the terrorizing worst of humanity - each with their attitude and skills. Tom Austen as Daimon Helstrom - A professor of ethics who moonlights as an exorcist, Daimon has no illusions about saving a world he has no patience for; he just hopes he can help a few of the people closest to him. In his battle against a hidden world, Daimon is determined to root out demons as they arise, and will not stop until they're vanquished.
Sydney Lemmon as Ana Helstrom - By day, Ana runs a successful auction house and suffers no fools, but her true interest lies in hunting down those who hurt others. Traumatized by her father as a child, Ana is driven to rid the world of those like him, even as she secretly worries her father will return. Elizabeth Marvel as Victoria Helstrom - Plagued by demons both real and imagined, Victoria has been institutionalized for twenty years. While she struggles to be herself, she hopes to repair her relationship with her children. Robert Wisdom as Caretaker - Caretaker is a guardian of knowledge of the occult. He uses his knowledge and his relationship with Ana to help keep demonic forces at bay.
June Carryl as Dr. Louise Hastings - A psychologist with a strong faith but an open mind, Hastings is head of the psychiatric hospital where Victoria is being monitored. She has watched over the Helstrom family for years, caring for them as best she can. Ariana Guerra as Gabriella Rosetti - A woman balancing logic and faith, Gabriella arrives from the Vatican to help Daimon and Hastings uncover cases of demonic possession. She wants to save everyone she can, including Daimon. Alain Uy as Chris Yen - Yen is Ana's business partner and her closest friend -- some would say surrogate brother. He carries out the bulk of the auction house's responsibilities and assists Ana with whatever she needs.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Friday, May 27
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 23)
Friday, May 27
- Josh Charles (Sports Night) - Watch Josh on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) - Miley appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Jenna Fischer (The Office/Splitting Up Together) and Angela Kinsey (The Office/The Hotwives of Orlando) - Jenna and Angela talk about their new book, The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There, on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- David Arquette (In Case of Emergency/Double Rush/Parenthood) - David appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Queen Latifah (Living Single) - Queen Latifah chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Courteney Cox (Shining Vale/Cougar Town/Friends/Family Ties) - Courteney is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri guest hosts The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Mayim Bialik (Call Me Kat/The Big Bang Theory/Blossom/Molloy) - Mayim appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The Last O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jennifer Grey (Red Oaks/It's Like, You Know...) - Jennifer talks about her new memoir, Out of the Corner: A Memoir, on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
- Glen Powell (Scream Queens) - Glen talks about Top Gun: Maverick on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (February-May)
02/08 - Last Man Standing - The Complete Ninth Season
02/22 - Everybody Hates Chris - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
02/22 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season Eight
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/15 - Head of the Class - The Complete Fourth Season
03/15 - The Proud Family - The Complete Original Series - Anniversary Collection
03/22 - The Honeymooners Specials - The Complete Collection
03/29 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-5 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/29 - Young Rock - Season One
04/05 - Up All Night - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
04/26 - The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy) - The Complete Fourth Season
04/26 - Jackie Gleason TV Treasures - 70th Anniversary Collection (including Honeymooners Rarities)
05/03 - No Activity - Season Three
05/31 - Becker - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
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