1. Ellen Holly is noted as the first African American to appear on daytime television in a leading role.
20 Facts About Ellen Holly
1. 2.
Ellen Holly was African American, and claimed African, English, French, and Shinnecock Native heritage.
3.
Ellen Holly's grandaunt was Sarah Smith Thompson Garnet, an educator and suffragist from New York City who was a pioneering African-American female school principal in the New York City public school system.
4.
Ellen Holly's great-grandfather was the Rev James Theodore Ellen Holly, the first African-American bishop in the Protestant Episcopal church, who spent most of his episcopal career as missionary bishop of Haiti.
5.
Ellen Holly appeared in several Broadway productions including Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright and A Hand Is on the Gate; she played Desdemona in a production of Othello by the New York Shakespeare Festival.
6.
In 1960, Ellen Holly resolved a "feud" with producer Lester Osterman when he cast her in a play.
7.
Ellen Holly guest-starred on Sam Benedict and The Nurses prior to starring on One Life to Live.
8.
Ellen Holly came to the attention of Agnes Nixon, the creator of One Life to Live, after writing a letter to the editor of The New York Times about what it was like to be a light-skinned African American.
9.
In 1968, Ellen Holly became the first African-American actress to star on daytime television.
10.
When Ellen Holly began on One Life to Live in October 1968, her African-American heritage was not publicized as part of the storyline.
11.
Ellen Holly's character, named Carla Benari, was a touring actress of apparently Italian-American heritage.
12.
Ellen Holly left the series in 1980, but returned in 1983.
13.
In 1972, Ellen Holly was public in her criticism of Anthony Quinn being cast to play Haitian general Henri Christophe.
14.
Ellen Holly returned to the question of race and casting when she commented on Jonathan Pryce's role in Miss Saigon in 1990.
15.
In 1988, Ellen Holly appeared in Spike Lee's School Daze as Mission College president Mr McPherson's wife Odrie.
16.
Ellen Holly returned to daytime in the long-term recurring role of a judge on Guiding Light from 1989 until 1993.
17.
Ellen Holly made a return to the small screen in 2002, when she appeared as Selena Frey in the television film 10,000 Black Men Named George, alongside Andre Braugher and Mario Van Peebles.
18.
Ellen Holly retired from acting in 1993 and became a librarian in White Plains, New York.
19.
Ellen Holly had a relationship with her One Life to Live co-star Roger Hill, who is known for his role as Cyrus in the cult film The Warriors.
20.
Ellen Holly died at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx on December 6,2023, at the age of 92.