Actress Jane White (Josephine Gregory) 1922-2011 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 07-28-2011, 04:11 PM

Link

Jane White, a stage veteran who created the role of Queen Aggravain in Once Upon a Mattress, died on July 24 in New York. She was 88.

Ms. White, a New York City native who grew up in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem, attended Smith College and the New School. She landed her first Broadway role in the 1945 play Strange Fruit. She would go on to act in the Broadway productions The Insect Comedy (1948), Razzle Dazzle (1951), The Climate of Eden (1952), Take a Giant Step (1953), Jane Eyre (1958) and The Power and the Glory (1958), all of which had short runs.

Her luck changed with Mattress, Mary Rodgers' lightly comic tale of the famous fairly tale, which began life Off-Broadway. As Queen Aggravain, she was nemesis to the ungainly, would-be princess played by Carol Burnett. Brooks Atkinson called her "a queen with the evil smile of a dragon." She repeated her work in a 1964 television movie of the musical.

Off-Broadway, she frequently appeared at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, where she benefited from the producer's devotion to color-blind casting. She won a 1966 Obie Award for roles in Coriolanus and Love's Labour's Lost at Central Park's Delacorte Theater—a stage she frequently performed upon. In 1971, she was given an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement.

In 1989, she won a Los Angeles Critics Circle Award for her role as the Mother in Lorca's Blood Wedding. Later New York work included Michael John LaChiusa's The Petrified Prince at the Public Theater in 1995. More recently, she was one of the veteran stars who was cast in the 2001 Broadway revival of Follies, in which she played Solange LaFitte.

In 1979 Jane White starred in a one-woman cabaret show, written by friend and librettis Joe Masteroff, entitled Jane White, Who? "Her voice is full of warm rich colors," wrote the New York Times, "and she has a very positive delivery that gives emphasis and shadings to songs that do not always get such perceptive treatment." She continued to perform it throughout the years. Her films included "Klute" and "Beloved."

Jane White was born to Gladys Leah Powell and Walter Francis White, a civil rights leader and the national secretary of the NAACP from 1931–1955. Her childhood home was a gathering place for prominent political and social figures. The couple later divorced.

In 1962, White met and married the New York restaurateur Alfredo Viazzi. They moved to Europe in 1965, but moved back to the U.S. in the late 1960s. Viazzi died of a heart attack in 1987.

Big3sCompanyFan · 09-17-2011, 09:07 PM

What does she have to with Amen??

Zoneboy · 09-17-2011, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big3sCompanyFan

What does she have to with Amen??

Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

Amen (TV series)
Josephine Gregory
– Miracle on 134th Street: Part 1 (1990) … Josephine Gregory
– Miracle on 134th Street: Part 2 (1990) … Josephine Gregory
– The Deacon and the Mother-In-Law (1990) … Josephine Gregory
– Nothing But the Truth (1989) … Josephine Gregory

Big3sCompanyFan · 09-18-2011, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

Amen (TV series)
Josephine Gregory
– Miracle on 134th Street: Part 1 (1990) … Josephine Gregory
– Miracle on 134th Street: Part 2 (1990) … Josephine Gregory
– The Deacon and the Mother-In-Law (1990) … Josephine Gregory
– Nothing But the Truth (1989) … Josephine Gregory

LOL..guess I haven't seen those.

I thought you meant she was a regular.

catlover79 · 09-18-2011, 01:19 AM

I remember her guest appearances. Like many mothers-in-law on TV, Mrs. Gregory didn't feel Thelma was good enough for her son.

to Jane White!!

Marvo301 · 09-18-2011, 01:30 AM

Jane White

Big3sCompanyFan · 09-18-2011, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I remember her guest appearances. Like many mothers-in-law on TV, Mrs. Gregory didn't feel Thelma was good enough for her son.

to Jane White!!

Oh wait, I have seen that episode. But in the show she was a light skinned black woman but in the pic/link posted she looks white.

NoriNice · 11-19-2011, 06:23 AM

Thank you for posting this!
I thought she was a great choice to play the mother of the educated, well-mannered Reverend. Clearly she was a classy, sophisticated lady, both on and off the screen.
I believe I secretly hoped that she and the Deacon would end up together. Or at least have reoccurring trysts.
She would have been an interesting addition to the cast, allowing for further plot possibilities.

ThomasE · 04-20-2012, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoriNice

Thank you for posting this!
I thought she was a great choice to play the mother of the educated, well-mannered Reverend. Clearly she was a classy, sophisticated lady, both on and off the screen.
I believe I secretly hoped that she and the Deacon would end up together. Or at least have reoccurring trysts.
She would have been an interesting addition to the cast, allowing for further plot possibilities.

Wow! I really overlooked this comment. I didn't realize she was almost 90 years old. She was fabulous and had some sexy about her.

James"Thunder"Early · 04-22-2012, 10:09 PM

A little trivia, Amen was the second program where White and Davis played mother and son, years earlier, they acted together on the short lived soap opera "A World Apart".

Big3sCompanyFan · 04-23-2012, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James"Thunder"Early

A little trivia, Amen was the second program where White and Davis played mother and, years earlier, they acted together on the short lived soap opera "A World Apart".

You mean mother and son right? You left out the "son".

James"Thunder"Early · 04-23-2012, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big3sCompanyFan

You mean mother and son right? You left out the "son".

Yes, I fixed it.

07-28-2011, 04:11 PM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,338	Actress Jane White (Josephine Gregory) 1922-2011 Link Jane White, a stage veteran who created the role of Queen Aggravain in Once Upon a Mattress, died on July 24 in New York. She was 88. Ms. White, a New York City native who grew up in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem, attended Smith College and the New School. She landed her first Broadway role in the 1945 play Strange Fruit. She would go on to act in the Broadway productions The Insect Comedy (1948), Razzle Dazzle (1951), The Climate of Eden (1952), Take a Giant Step (1953), Jane Eyre (1958) and The Power and the Glory (1958), all of which had short runs. Her luck changed with Mattress, Mary Rodgers' lightly comic tale of the famous fairly tale, which began life Off-Broadway. As Queen Aggravain, she was nemesis to the ungainly, would-be princess played by Carol Burnett. Brooks Atkinson called her "a queen with the evil smile of a dragon." She repeated her work in a 1964 television movie of the musical. Off-Broadway, she frequently appeared at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, where she benefited from the producer's devotion to color-blind casting. She won a 1966 Obie Award for roles in Coriolanus and Love's Labour's Lost at Central Park's Delacorte Theater—a stage she frequently performed upon. In 1971, she was given an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement. In 1989, she won a Los Angeles Critics Circle Award for her role as the Mother in Lorca's Blood Wedding. Later New York work included Michael John LaChiusa's The Petrified Prince at the Public Theater in 1995. More recently, she was one of the veteran stars who was cast in the 2001 Broadway revival of Follies, in which she played Solange LaFitte. In 1979 Jane White starred in a one-woman cabaret show, written by friend and librettis Joe Masteroff, entitled Jane White, Who? "Her voice is full of warm rich colors," wrote the New York Times, "and she has a very positive delivery that gives emphasis and shadings to songs that do not always get such perceptive treatment." She continued to perform it throughout the years. Her films included "Klute" and "Beloved." Jane White was born to Gladys Leah Powell and Walter Francis White, a civil rights leader and the national secretary of the NAACP from 1931–1955. Her childhood home was a gathering place for prominent political and social figures. The couple later divorced. In 1962, White met and married the New York restaurateur Alfredo Viazzi. They moved to Europe in 1965, but moved back to the U.S. in the late 1960s. Viazzi died of a heart attack in 1987.
	__________________ 'Twas The Night Before Christmas And All Through The Full House Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even Mighty Mouse. All My Children We're Nestled All Snug In Their Beds While Visions Of Sugarbakers Danced In Their Heads.

09-18-2011, 01:19 AM	#5
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	I remember her guest appearances. Like many mothers-in-law on TV, Mrs. Gregory didn't feel Thelma was good enough for her son. to Jane White!!
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

09-18-2011, 01:30 AM	#6
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,450	Jane White
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

04-22-2012, 10:09 PM	#10
James"Thunder"Early Whoever's In New England Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 23, 2004 Location: The Apollo Posts: 7,087	A little trivia, Amen was the second program where White and Davis played mother and son, years earlier, they acted together on the short lived soap opera "A World Apart".
	__________________ Esther Anderson: Get thee behind me, Satan, but I'm gon' get behind you, 'cause I'm gonna put my foot in your--- Peggy Mitchell: Get outta my pub! You better pray you get the last laugh, it's a kick in the teeth when you don't get it. Last edited by James"Thunder"Early; 04-23-2012 at 02:19 PM.

09-17-2011, 09:07 PM	#2
Big3sCompanyFan Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 16, 2003 Posts: 2,493	What does she have to with Amen??

11-19-2011, 06:23 AM	#8
NoriNice Member Forum Hawk Join Date: Oct 05, 2011 Location: New York, NY Posts: 3	Thank you for posting this! I thought she was a great choice to play the mother of the educated, well-mannered Reverend. Clearly she was a classy, sophisticated lady, both on and off the screen. I believe I secretly hoped that she and the Deacon would end up together. Or at least have reoccurring trysts. She would have been an interesting addition to the cast, allowing for further plot possibilities.