Known For
Acting
Born
Jul 23, 1909
Died
Mar 25, 2000
Place of Birth
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Credits
52 titles
Helen Martin
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Helen Dorothy Martin (July 23, 1909 – March 25, 2000) was an American actress of stage and television who is perhaps most well known for her role in the sitcom 227 as Marla Gibbs' neighbor Pearl. Martin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Amanda Frankie (née Fox) and William Martin, a minister. Martin was a Broadway character actress for many decades, debuting in Orson Welles' production of Native Son in 1941. She appeared in at least a dozen Broadway shows including Jean Genet's The Blacks, Raisin from 1973 to 1975, Ossie Davis' Purlie Victorious (and later the musical version, which was called Purlie), The Amen Corner and Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment. She was an original member of the American Negro Theater. She first became famous later in life for her guest role as Wanda on the television series Good Times, and later as the wisecracking neighbor Pearl Shay on the television sitcom 227. She also played on the short-run sitcoms Baby, I'm Back (as mother in-law, Luzelle) and That's My Mama; as Loc Dog's grandma, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), the matronly grandmother Mama Doll in the 1998 film Bulworth, and the no-nonsense grandmother in the film Hollywood Shuffle. Helen Martin died of a heart attack on March 25, 2000. Description above from the Wikipedia article Helen Martin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
Something to Sing About
Elderly Woman
I Got the Hook-Up
Grandmother
Bulworth
Momma Doll
Kiss the Girls
Nana Cross
The Jamie Foxx Show
Mother Superior
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Loc Dog's Grandma
The Parent 'Hood
The Wayans Bros.
Mother Evans
Beverly Hills Cop III
Grandma
House Party 2
Mrs. Deevers
Doc Hollywood
Maddie, Welcoming Committee
The Flash
Sadie Grosso
Night Angel
Sadie
A Raisin in the Sun
Mrs. Johnson
Robert Townsend: Partners in Crime: Vol. 2
Full House
Shirley
Hollywood Shuffle
Bobby's Grandmother
Amos
Mrs. McKenzie
The NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There
227
Pearl Shay
The Bill
Repo Man
Mrs. Parks
The Jerk, Too
Grandma Johnson
Deal of the Century
Baptist #3
Hardcastle and McCormick
Wacko
Harbinger's Mother
St. Elsewhere
Elderly Lady
T. J. Hooker
Mrs. Sears
American Playhouse
Mrs. Johnson
Hill Street Blues
The Stockard Channing Show
Better Late Than Never
Benson
Lawman Without a Gun
Mrs. Cartwright
Dummy
Mrs. Harrod
The White Shadow
Old Woman
Cindy
Flower Lady
Baby, I'm Back
A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich
Mrs. Bell
Roots
Aunt Sukey
What's Happening!!
Millie
Starsky & Hutch
Vivian Fellers
The Jeffersons
That's My Mama
Death Wish
Alma Lee Brown
Good Times
Maude
Sanford and Son
J.T.
Mrs. Hill
The Phenix City Story
Helen Ward