227 Actress Helen Martin Makes
New Address In Winston-Salem
1
BY SHERIDAN HILL
Chronicle Assistant lu.lt tor
At 5-feet tall, she is diminutive
in size. But actress Helen Martin's
personality is plenty big enough to
fill the room in her newly settled
house in Winston-Salem.
Best known as Pearl on 227
and Weeping Weeping Wanda, the
funeral lady, on Good Times. Mar
tin has a wide following from her
appearances on many syndicated
television shows as well as in 12
feature films such as House Party
II, Doc Hollywood and Rage in
Harlem. Now she's taking her
powerhouse talent to the Piedmont.
.Martin first came to town for
the 1?91 National Black Theatre
Festival, during which she was hon
ored for her long and successful
career in theater.
"All of us are riding on the
backs of actresses, such as Helen
-jM
exhibit of Martin's career will be on
display at the Deck the Walls store
at Hanes Mall.
The veteran actress is one of a
very few black thespians who can
boast of a 50-year career in theater.
She remembers long days and
weeks between acting jobs, and the
many sacrifices made, such as the
decisions to forego havingchildren.
"We cool," Martin says, snap
ping her fingers and high-stepping
as lively as any teen-ager.
Then, she leans her head back
and falls into a melodramatic imita
tion of her favorite actress: Greta
Garbo in Grand Hotel .
"I want to be alone."
Martin says she approached
Garbo on a set one day and whis
pered, "I am a fan of yours." Garbo
simply turned and smiled.
Martin toured seven countries
on the road with Amen Corner ,
"When 1 was about 5 or 6 years
old, I went into the attic and
dragged out an old dress and a hat
with plumes," she recalls. "1 stood
in front of the mirror and acted like
I was fainting, then like I was shot.
And I got some talcum powder and
put it on my face. 1 loved it. I
always figured I was made for the
ater."
One of her favorite roles was as
the African Queen in The Blacks,
a play by French playwright Jean
Genet. They performed it in the
1940s in Venice at the West
Berlin Drama Festival. Maya
Angelou played the white queen,
and other actors included Barnes
Earle Jones, Lou Gossett Jr. and
Cicily Tyson. 7
Bill Raines, a Wake Forest
University Spanish professor, is
writing an biography on Martin.
Few black actors earn a full
time income from their craft. Mar
tin is no exception. She recalls serv
ing food at catered parties for
whites, working as domestic help
for New York Jewish families, and
cutting cloth in New York's Gar
ment District.
"I took night jobs so I could
make the rounds in the daytime,
going to agents looking for work,"
she says. She got 50 cents an hour. *
"I'm not a follower. I'm an
independent/' she says.
On Nov. 18, Martin will con
duct a lecture and workshop with
UNCG's drama department, and
says she looks forward to mixing
with the community.
She raises her arms to drama
tize a line from "The Blacks" and
says: "Negroes of the whole world,
come unto me."
"1 always figured I was made for theater.* *
I
' It's the most heartbreaking and the cruelest business you 've ever been
into."
Martin," Hamlin says. "She has
made profound contributions to the
ater and black theater and the enter
tainment industry as a whole. We
are very fortunate to have her make
Winston-Salem her home. She'll be
a valuable asset," he says.
Martin moved to Winston
Salem in May, although she main
tains a Los Angeles apartment. In
comparison to Los Angeles, she
found Winston-Salem "clean and
historical."
Martin's nephew, Calvin
Oliver, recently established Toyt
Entertainment, a theater production
company. He and his associate,
Elizabeth Ransby, are gearing to
work with the N.C. Black Reper
tory Company to produce Richard
Wright's play, Amen Corner at the
University of North Carolina at
Greensboro next year.
They also hope to arrange for
Martin to work with schools and
local organizations to offer theatri
cal workshops throughout the com
including Italy, Holland, Rome and
Jerusalem.
Martin made her Broadway
debut in 1941 in Native Son,
directed by Orson Wells. She
worked with Eliza Kazan the fol
lowing year in Deep Are the Roots.
She admits to being "a true
Southern girl. I love combread and
collards."
Helen Martin is best remem
bered for her role as this funeral
lady in Good Times , and as
Pearl in 227.
"She has struggled against
stereotypical roles and has often
been plugged into them," says
Raines. "But she is so resilient, and
the proof of that is the very fact that
rhe had three feature films released
last year, having done her first fea
turt film in 1955."
Raines is interested in blacks in
the theater and says he considers
Martin primarily as a stage actress.
Even so, Martin received the
Oscar Micheaux Award last Febru
ary from the Black Filmmakers'
Hall of Fame in Oakland, Calif.
"She has struggled against
stereotypical roles and has
often been plugged into
them."
- Bill Raines
Wake Forest University Professor
Micheaux was a black filmmaker
who is best known for his projects*
during the silent era.
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