Esther Rolle

Rolle died in Los Angeles, California due to complications from diabetes. Sylvia Sidney has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to Motion Pictures at 6245 Hollywood Boulevard. After Good Times, she starred in a number of made-for-television movies and feature films, including Driving Miss Daisy, A Raisin in the Sun, and My Fellow Americans. She died from throat cancer in New York. The daughter of Bahamian immigrants, Rolle was born in Pompano Beach, Florida and attended Spelman College. She was married three times, including a marriage to acting teacher Luther Adler from 1938 until 1947. Esther Rolle (November 8, 1920 - November 17, 1998) was an American actress, best known for her role as Florida Evans, the character she played on two successful 1970s sitcoms: Maude and its spinoff, Good Times. She played the grandmother in the television production of An Early Frost for which she won a Golden Globe Award, as well as roles in Beetlejuice (1988) and Used People.

As an elderly woman she continued to play supporting roles, and was identifiable by her husky voice, the result of a lifetime cigarette smoking habit. She received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973). In 1952 she played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables, and her performance was widely praised and allowed her opportunities to develop as a character actress. Her career diminished somewhat during the early 1940s and a comeback later in the decade failed to renew her popularity.

Among her films of this period were An American Tragedy and Street Scene (both 1931), Sabotage (1936) and Dead End (1937). During the Great Depression Sidney appeared in a string of films, playing either the girlfriend or the sister of a gangster. In 1927 she was seen by a Hollywood talent scout and made her first film appearance later that year. A student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting, Sidney appeared in several of their productions during the 1920s and earned praise from theater critics.

Born Sophia Kosow in The Bronx, New York, New York, Sidney became an actress at the age of 15 as a way of overcoming shyness. Sylvia Sidney (August 8, 1910 - July 1, 1999) was an American actress.