Theodore Wilson
Theodore Wilson | |
---|---|
Born | Theodore Rosevelt Wilson December 10, 1943 New York City, U.S. |
Died | July 21, 1991 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 47)
Other names | Teddy Wilson |
Alma mater | Florida A&M University |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1970–1991 |
Children | 3[1] |
Theodore Rosevelt "Teddy" Wilson (December 10, 1943 – July 21, 1991) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Wilson is best known for his recurring roles as Earl the Postman on the ABC sitcom That's My Mama, and Sweet Daddy Williams on the CBS sitcom Good Times and Phil Wheeler on Sanford Arms (1977).
Career[]
Born in Harlem, New York City, Wilson studied music at Florida A&M University before switching to drama. Upon returning to New York, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company and later worked with the Arena Stage Repertory. He made his acting debut in the blaxploitation film, Cotton Comes to Harlem, in 1970. The following year, Wilson moved to Los Angeles. He made his television debut in a two-episode role as Hawthorne Dooley on the television series The Waltons. In 1973, Wilson was cast as High Strung on the CBS sitcom Roll Out. The series was cancelled after 12 episodes.[2] The following year, Wilson was cast as Earl Chambers, a postman on the ABC sitcom That's My Mama. That series was also short-lived and cancelled after two seasons. Wilson also starred in national TV commercials for Aamco in the 1970s as a character named "Walter T." Wilson appeared as CWO2 Martin H. Williams, a chopper pilot and buddy of Trapper and Hawkeye in the Season 3 episode of M*A*S*H titled The General Flipped at Dawn 1974.
In September 1976, Wilson signed with Tandem Productions, the production company owned by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear who produced some of the most popular sitcoms of the 1970s. Wilson went on to guest star in several Yorkin/Lear-produced series including All in the Family, Sanford and Son, What's Happening!!, The Jeffersons, and 13 Queens Boulevard.[2] In 1976, Wilson was cast as Sweet Daddy Williams, a street hustler on the CBS sitcom Good Times. Wilson appeared as Sweet Daddy in a recurring role. In August 1977, it was announced that Wilson would star in a spin-off of the hit sitcom Sanford and Son called Sanford Arms. The series was intended to be a continuation of the highly popular Sanford and Son, which ended in March 1977 when both the series' stars, Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson, left the series. Wilson starred as Phil Wheeler, an Army veteran and widower who has purchased the Sanford Arms, a rooming house, from his old Army buddy Fred G. Sanford.[3] Upon its premiere in September 1977, Sanford Arms was critically panned and drew low ratings. It was cancelled after four episodes.
After the series was cancelled, Wilson made various guest appearances in episodes of The White Shadow (he also wrote a 1980 episode), Enos, Gimme a Break!, The Golden Girls, and What's Happening Now. In 1986, he had a role as Jim-Jam on another short-lived series, The Redd Foxx Show. Wilson continued to work throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, appearing in Alien Nation, Dallas, Family Matters, Tales from the Crypt, Gabriel's Fire, Mama's Family, and Quantum Leap. He was also featured in films The Hunter (1980), Blake Edwards' A Fine Mess, and That's Life! (both 1986). Wilson made his last onscreen appearance in Blood in Blood Out, a 1993 crime drama released after his death.[4]
Personal life[]
Wilson had two children with actress Joan Pringle. Pringle was named executrix of Wilson's estate when he died in 1991.[5]
Death[]
On July 21, 1991, Wilson died of complications from a stroke at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, at the age of 47.[1][4][5][6][7] He had undergone open-heart surgery several years prior to his death.[8]
Filmography[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | Cotton Comes to Harlem | Barry | |
1972 | Come Back, Charleston Blue | Cemetery Guard | |
1973 | Cleopatra Jones | Pickle (Doodlebug's hood) | |
1974 | Newman's Law | Lindy | |
1974 | Black Eye | Jaycee | |
1976 | The River Niger | Chips | |
1976 | Gang Wars | Black Spade | |
1977 | The Greatest | Joe, the Gardener | Credited as Theodore R. Wilson |
1977 | Run for the Roses | Flash | |
1978 | Loose Shoes | Elijah Abdoul Jamaal Muhammed | Alternative titles: Coming Attractions Quackers |
1980 | Carny | Nails | |
1980 | The Hunter | Winston Blue | |
1984 | Weekend Pass | Nat | |
1986 | Big Trouble | Porter | |
1986 | Stewardess School | Probation Officer | |
1986 | A Fine Mess | Covington | |
1986 | That's Life! | Corey | |
1987 | Maid to Order | Woodrow | |
1990 | Billy | ||
1990 | Penny Ante: The Motion Picture | Willie | |
1991 | Life Stinks | Fumes | Alternative title: Life Sucks |
1992 | The Vagrant | X-Rays | Released posthumously |
1993 | Blood In Blood Out | Wallace | Alternative title: Bound by Honor Released posthumously, (final film role) |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1972–1973 | The Waltons | Hawthorne Dooley | 2 episodes |
1973 | The Partridge Family | Sam Mulvoney | Episode: "Hate Thy Neighbor" |
1973 | Roll Out | High Strung | 8 episodes |
1974 | M*A*S*H | Warrant Officer Martin "Marty" Williams | Episode: "The General Flipped at Dawn" |
1974–1975 | That's My Mama | Earl Chambers | 38 episodes |
1975 | Medical Story | Hadley | Television movie |
1976 | Baretta | Flash | Episode: "Pay or Die" |
1976 | Good Heavens | Special Bingham | Episode: "Jack the Ribber and Me" |
1976–1979 | Good Times | Sweet Daddy Williams | 7 episodes |
1977 | Phyllis | Jimmy Carter | Episode: "Boss or Buddy or Both or Neither" |
1977 | The Bionic Woman | Warner Williams | Episode: "Iron Ships and Dead Men" |
1977 | Sanford Arms | Phil Wheeler | 8 episodes |
1977 | Kojak | Joe Penney | Episode: "Once More from Birdland" |
1977 | Police Woman | Harold Martin | Episode: "Shadow of a Doubt" |
1976-1978 | What's Happening!! | Al Dunbar/Marty/Mr. Wilson | 4 episodes |
1979 | The Dukes of Hazzard | Morgan | Episode: "Route 7-11" |
1979 | The White Shadow | Doug Buchanan | Episode: "A Christmas Present" |
1981 | The Oklahoma City Dolls | Tom Petree | Television movie |
1982 | The Ambush Murders | Jay King | Television movie |
1983 | Amanda's | Philip Oliver | Episode: "Last of the Red Hot Brothers" |
1985 | A Bunny's Tale | Older Club Employee | Television movie |
1985 | Malice in Wonderland | Collins | Television movie |
1985 | What's Happening Now!! | Mr. Lee/Bum | 2 episodes |
1985 | The New Twilight Zone | Henderson | Segment: "Night of the Meek" |
1985 | Crazy Like a Fox | Eddie | 2 episodes |
1986 | The Golden Girls | Diner Owner | Episode "Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas (20 Dec. 1986)" |
1986 | 227 | Cousin Ray | Episode: "We the People" |
1986 | The Redd Foxx Show | Jim-Jam | 5 episodes |
1986 | Easy Street | Jackie | Episode: "Be-Bop Man" |
1987 | The New Mike Hammer | Booker | Episode: "Body Shot" |
1987 | Cagney & Lacey | Judge Charnas | Episode: "Easy Does It" |
1987-1988 | You Can't Take It with You | Durwood M. Pinner | 3 episodes |
1988 | Annie McGuire | Jordan | Episode: "The Journey" |
1988 | The Golden Girls | Ben | Episode: "Brother, Can You Spare That Jacket?" |
1989 | Mama's Family | Gus | Episode: "More Power to You" |
1989 | Sweet Bird of Youth | Fly | Television movie |
1989 | Midnight Caller | Quinton Oliver | Episode: "Take Back the Streets" |
1989 | Alien Nation | Dr. Roscoe Brennan | 2 episodes |
1989 | The Munsters Today | Louis | Episode: "The Melting Pot" |
1989-1990 | Dallas | Clem | 2 episodes |
1990 | Beauty and the Beast | Raymond Ensign | Episode: "Legacies" |
1990 | Family Matters | Captain Casper Davenport | Episode: "Sitting Pretty" |
1990 | The New Adam-12 | Street Artist | Episode: "The Landlord" |
1990 | Tales from the Crypt | Clyde | Episode: "Fitting Punishment" |
1990 | Quantum Leap | Ernie Tyler / Jimmy Grady | 2 episodes, "Rebel Without a Clue" & "Pool Hall Blues" |
1991 | Wings | John | Episode: "Plane Nine from Nantucket" |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Actor Theodore Wilson, 47, Dies Of Stroke In L.A." Jet. Vol. 80 no. 17. August 12, 1991. p. 56. ISSN 0021-5996.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "'Sanford and Son' Replacement Set". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Spokane, Washington. August 26, 1977. p. 23. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ "New stars to shine in 'Sanford Arms'". Boca Raton News. Boca Raton, Florida. August 24, 1977. p. 8B. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Theodore Wilson dies; appeared on TV shows". The Hour. Norwalk, Connecticut. July 24, 1991. p. 31. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Actress Joan Pringle Will Oversee $40,000 Estate Of Late Actor Theodore Wilson". Jet. Vol. 81 no. 3. November 4, 1991. p. 36. ISSN 0021-5996.
- ^ "Obituaries: Theodore Wilson, Actor, 47". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 25, 1991. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
His sister-in-law, Naomi Pringle, said he had suffered a stroke.
- ^ "Theodore Wilson Dies, Television, Movie Actor". orlandosentinel.com. July 25, 1991. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ "Theodore R. Wilson; Actor in Many TV Comedies, Movies". Los Angeles Times. July 25, 1991. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
External links[]
- 1943 births
- 1991 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- African-American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male stage actors
- American male television actors
- Florida A&M University alumni
- Male actors from New York City
- People from Harlem