Esther Rolle

Esther Rolle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Esther Elizabeth Rolle (November 8, 1920 – November 17, 1998) was a Bahamian American actress. Rolle is best known for her role as Florida Evans, on the CBS television sitcom Maude, for two seasons (1972–1974), and its spin-off series Good Times, for five seasons (1974–77, 1978–79), for which Rolle was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1976. Rolle is best known for her television role as Florida Evans, the character she played on two 1970s sitcoms. The character was introduced as Maude Findlay's housekeeper on Maude, and was spun off in the show's second season into Good Times, a show about Florida's family. Rolle was nominated in 1975 for the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy Golden Globe Award for her role in Good Times. Rolle was 19 years older than the actor (John Amos) who played her husband James Evans. The James Evans character was only added after Esther Rolle fought hard for a father figure and husband to be added to the show. Rolle had fought for the father character on the show, more relevant themes and scripts and was unhappy when the success of Jimmie Walker's character, J.J. Evans, took the show in a frivolous direction. John Amos agreed with Rolle about Walker's character and was fired from the show after the third season ended. Later on, in a stand-off with Good Times producer Norman Lear, Rolle also quit when her contract ended. Although the show continued without her for the fifth season, she returned for the show's final season. In 1979 she won an Emmy for her role in Summer of My German Soldier, a made-for-television movie. Among her guest star roles was one on The Incredible Hulk in an episode entitled "Behind the Wheel" where she played a taxicab business owner. In the 1990s, Rolle was a surprise guest on RuPaul's VH-1 talk show. Her Maude co-star Bea Arthur was the guest, and Rolle was brought out to surprise Arthur. The two had not seen each other in years, Arthur said, and embraced warmly. Rolle also appeared in a series of psychic hotline TV commercials in the 1990s. "Tell them Esther sent you," was her trademark line.

  • Title: Esther Rolle
  • Popularity: 7.89
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1920-11-08
  • Place of Birth: Pompano Beach, Florida USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As:
img

Esther Rolle Movies

  • 1989
    imgMovies

    Driving Miss Daisy

    Driving Miss Daisy

    7.2 1989 HD

    The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew...

    img
  • 1995
    imgMovies

    How to Make an American Quilt

    How to Make an American Quilt

    6.4 1995 HD

    Soon-to-be-wed graduate student Finn Dodd develops cold feet when she suspects her fiancé is cheating on her. In order to clear her head, Finn...

    img
  • 1973
    imgMovies

    Cleopatra Jones

    Cleopatra Jones

    5.8 1973 HD

    After federal agent Cleopatra Jones orders the burning of a Turkish poppy field, the notorious drug lord Mommy vows to destroy her.

    img
  • 1991
    imgMovies

    Cape Fear

    Cape Fear

    7.261 1991 HD

    Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, Bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common?...

    img
  • 1971
    imgMovies

    Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!

    Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!

    6 1971 HD

    Barney owns the last working farm in Manhattan. For various reasons, city officials have decided to close it down. A special event is planned to...

    img
  • 1993
    imgMovies

    House of Cards

    House of Cards

    6.3 1993 HD

    When Ruth Matthews's husband is killed in a fall at an archaeological dig, her daughter Sally handles her father's death in a very odd manner. As...

    img
  • 1964
    imgMovies

    Nothing But a Man

    Nothing But a Man

    7.4 1964 HD

    A proud black man and his school-teacher wife face discriminatory challenges in 1960s America.

    img
  • 1998
    imgMovies

    Down in the Delta

    Down in the Delta

    6.4 1998 HD

    A single mother plagued by alcohol and drug addictions is sent with her children from Chicago to her ancestral home in the Mississippi Delta, to live...

    img
  • 1981
    imgMovies

    See China and Die

    See China and Die

    1 1981 HD

    A maid who reads detective stories finds herself embroiled in a real life mystery involving her dead boss and a mysterious statue he brought back...

    img
  • 1993
    imgMovies

    To Dance with the White Dog

    To Dance with the White Dog

    7 1993 HD

    When Sam Peek's beloved wife, Cora, dies, a white dog suddenly materializes as his new companion and confidant.

    img
  • 1986
    imgMovies

    Ethnic Notions

    Ethnic Notions

    7.1 1986 HD

    This documentary traces the deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled anti-black prejudice.

    img
  • 1979
    imgMovies

    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    3.7 1979 HD

    Based on writer Maya Angelou's eloquent reminiscences of her days as a gifted youngster growing up in the South during the Depression years where she...

    img
  • 1978
    imgMovies

    Summer of My German Soldier

    Summer of My German Soldier

    6.3 1978 HD

    Patty Bergen is a teenager in a Jewish family living in the American South during World War II. Patty feels like an outcast even in her own family...

    img
  • 1989
    imgMovies

    Age-Old Friends

    Age-Old Friends

    7.5 1989 HD

    John Cooper is in a retirement home. There are strict rules for the residents, but he refuses to fall into passivity. He flirts constantly with Nurse...

    img
  • 1993
    imgMovies

    Message from Nam

    Message from Nam

    5.1 1993 HD

    Journalism Major Paxton Andrews loses the man she loves in the Vietnam War. Always having followed the beat of a different drum, she decides to work...

    img
  • 1989
    imgMovies

    The Mighty Quinn

    The Mighty Quinn

    6.187 1989 HD

    Police chief Xavier Quinn investigates the gruesome murder of Donald Pater, one of the wealthiest residents on a Caribbean island. He was found...

    img
  • 1995
    imgMovies

    Nobody's Girls: Five Women of the West

    Nobody's Girls: Five Women of the West

    1 1995 HD

    Real stories of five women of the Old West....

    img
  • 1987
    imgMovies

    P.K. and the Kid

    P.K. and the Kid

    5 1987 HD

    P.K. runs away from home because her step-father keeps on harassing her sexually and her mother is ignoring the problem. She hides in the loading...

    img
  • 1996
    imgMovies

    My Fellow Americans

    My Fellow Americans

    6 1996 HD

    They used to run the country. Now they're running for their lives! Two on-the-lam former Presidents of the United States. Framed in a scandal by the...

    img
  • 1997
    imgMovies

    Rosewood

    Rosewood

    6.529 1997 HD

    Spurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in 1923.

    img
  • 1967
    imgMovies

    Up the Down Staircase

    Up the Down Staircase

    6.9 1967 HD

    Sylvia, a novice schoolteacher, is hired to teach English in a high school, but she’s met with an apathetic faculty, a delinquent student body...

    img
  • 1972
    imgMovies

    Don't Play Us Cheap

    Don't Play Us Cheap

    5.8 1972 HD

    As an African American family and friends gather in an apartment for a house party, two mischief-making devil-bats take human form in order to break...

    img
  • 1989
    imgMovies

    A Raisin in the Sun

    A Raisin in the Sun

    8 1989 HD

    A substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.

    img
  • 1992
    imgMovies

    Color Adjustment

    Color Adjustment

    6.9 1992 HD

    From Amos 'n' Andy to Nat King Cole, from Roots to The Cosby Show, black people have played many roles on primetime television. Brilliantly weaving...

    img
  • 1982
    imgMovies

    The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

    The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

    1 1982 HD

    The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a 1982 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, directed by William Woodman and starring Alex...

    img
  • 1990
    imgMovies

    The Kid Who Loved Christmas

    The Kid Who Loved Christmas

    6.6 1990 HD

    In this sentimental holiday tale, a young boy is taken away from his loving, adoptive household when his new mom is killed in an auto accident and...

    img
  • 2005
    imgMovies

    Train Ride

    Train Ride

    4 2005 HD

    Three college seniors who are thinking about nothing but graduation and going out with a bang from college, harshly discover that a culmination of...

    img
  • 1984
    imgS12 E24

    Murder, She Wrote

    Murder, She Wrote

    7.6 1984 HD

    An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.

    img
  • 1974
    imgS6 E24

    Good Times

    Good Times

    7.938 1974 HD

    Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by...

    img
  • 1977
    imgS5 E7

    The Incredible Hulk

    The Incredible Hulk

    7.2 1977 HD

    During an experiment gone bad, radiation turns a scientist into a raging green behemoth whenever he becomes agitated. Unable to control his...

    img
  • 1994
    imgS9 E22

    Touched by an Angel

    Touched by an Angel

    7.2 1994 HD

    Monica, an angel, is tasked with bringing guidance and messages from God to various people who are at a crossroads in their lives.

    img
  • 1972
    imgS6 E24

    Maude

    Maude

    6.7 1972 HD

    Well-educated and upper middle class, Maude Findlay is the archetypal feminist of her generation. She lives in suburban Tuckahoe, New York, with her...

    img
  • 1981
    imgS2 E22

    Flamingo Road

    Flamingo Road

    6 1981 HD

    Flamingo Road is an American prime time soap opera that aired on NBC. It was first seen as a TV movie on May 12, 1980, and as a series on January 6,...

    img
  • 1976
    imgS4 E13

    Donny & Marie

    Donny & Marie

    6.5 1976 HD

    Donny & Marie is an American variety show which aired on ABC from January 1976 to January 1979. The show stars brother and sister pop duo Donny...

    img
  • 1951
    imgS61 E1

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

    8.667 1951 HD

    Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The...

    img
  • 1990
    imgS1 E4

    Singer and Sons

    Singer and Sons

    6 1990 HD

    Singer & Sons is an American sitcom television series that aired from June 9 until June 27, 1990.

    img
  • 1994
    imgS1 E4

    Scarlett

    Scarlett

    6.6 1994 HD

    Scarlett O’Hara’s flight from the scrutiny of Atlanta society takes her on a journey to Savannah and Charleston, to England, and to...

    img
  • 1996
    imgS3 E21

    Promised Land

    Promised Land

    6.6 1996 HD

    Promised Land is an American drama series which aired on CBS from 1996 to 1999. It is a spin-off from another series, Touched by an Angel.

    img
  • 1984
    imgS1 E23

    Finder of Lost Loves

    Finder of Lost Loves

    5.7 1984 HD

    The Finder of Lost Loves TV show was a 60 minute drama series on ABC about a private investigator who specialized in finding lost loves from the past...

    img
  • 1982
    imgS1 E18

    The New Odd Couple

    The New Odd Couple

    4.5 1982 HD

    The New Odd Couple is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1982–1983, and was an updated version of the 1970s television series The Odd...

    img