15 Facts About Helen Martin

Helen Dorothy Martin was an American actress of stage and television.

Helen Martin is best known for her roles as Wanda Williams on the CBS sitcom Good Times and as Pearl Shay on the NBC sitcom 227.

Helen Martin was born in St Louis and raised in Nashville, Tennessee.

Helen Martin was an only child born to a family of musicians.

Helen Martin's parents wanted their daughter to become a concert pianist.

At the urging of her parents, Helen Martin attended Fisk University for a two-year span before dropping out to embark on an acting career.

Helen Martin was a founding member of the American Negro Theater in Harlem.

Helen Martin became a Broadway character actress for many decades, debuting in 'Orchids Preferred' in 1937 and thereafter Orson Welles's production of Native Son in 1941.

Helen Martin appeared in a dozen Broadway shows, including Jean Genet's The Blacks, the musical Raisin from 1973 until 1975, Ossie Davis's Purlie Victorious, The Amen Corner and Tennessee Williams's Period of Adjustment.

Helen Martin became widely known later in life due to her roles in popular television series, which brought her a large audience.

Helen Martin had a recurring role as Wanda "Weeping Wanda" Williams on the television series Good Times, and later as the neighbor Pearl Shay on the television sitcom 227, which lasted from 1985 until 1990.

Helen Martin had a role on the short-lived sitcoms Baby, I'm Back and That's My Mama.

Helen Martin portrayed a variety of grandmothers in films: Hollywood Shuffle, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, I Got the Hook Up, House Party 2, and Mama Doll in Bulworth.

Helen Martin said she would have been a stripper had she not gone into acting and followed her statement with a suggestive dance.

Helen Martin died of a heart attack on March 25,2000, in Monterey, California, at the age of 90.