Roxie Roker
Encyclopedia
Roxie Albertha Roker was an American actress, best known for her groundbreaking role as Helen Willis on the sitcom
The Jeffersons
, half of the first interracial couple to be shown on regular prime time television. She is the mother of musician
Lenny Kravitz
and the cousin of NBC
's Today Show's Al Roker
.
. Her mother, Bessie (née Mitchell), was from Georgia
and worked as a domestic, and her father, Albert Roker, was a native of The Bahamas
and a porter. She grew up in Brooklyn
, New York
. She attended Howard University
, where she was a member of the drama club and Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, Inc. She began her professional career with the Negro Ensemble Company
and became a successful stage actress. She won an Obie Award
in 1974 and was nominated for a Tony Award
for her portrayal of Mattie Williams in The River Niger
.
Roker was a reporter on WNEW-TV
in New York in the 1970s. She hosted a public affairs
show for the station known as Inside Bed-Stuy
, dealing with events in the Brooklyn neighborhood.
She appeared in guest starring roles on many United States television programs from the 1970s through the 1990s, including Punky Brewster
, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
, A Different World, Murder, She Wrote
, The Love Boat
, 227
, and Beat the Clock
. She also had a small role in the television miniseries Roots
and in the movie Claudine
.
Roker was also a children’s advocate who was cited by the city of Los Angeles
for her community work.
Roker was married to television producer
Sy Kravitz
from 1962 to 1985, and had a son, Lenny Kravitz
.
Roker died in Los Angeles on December 2, 1995 of breast cancer
at the age of 66.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
, half of the first interracial couple to be shown on regular prime time television. She is the mother of musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
and the cousin of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today Show's Al Roker
Al Roker
Albert Lincoln "Al" Roker, Jr. is an American television meteorologist as well as an actor and book author. He is best known as being the weather anchor on NBC's Today. On Monday, July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show, Wake Up with Al, on The Weather Channel, which airs weekdays...
.
Life and career
Roker was born in Miami, FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Her mother, Bessie (née Mitchell), was from Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and worked as a domestic, and her father, Albert Roker, was a native of The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
and a porter. She grew up in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She attended Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, where she was a member of the drama club and Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
Sorority, Inc. She began her professional career with the Negro Ensemble Company
Negro Ensemble Company
The Negro Ensemble Company is a New York City-based theater company. Established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer/actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S...
and became a successful stage actress. She won an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
in 1974 and was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for her portrayal of Mattie Williams in The River Niger
The River Niger
The River Niger is a play by American playwright, Joseph A. Walker, first performed by New York City's Negro Ensemble Company off-Broadway in 1972. The production made its Broadway debut with a transfer to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 27 March 1973 for a run of 162 performances.-Characters :*...
.
Roker was a reporter on WNEW-TV
WNYW
WNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
in New York in the 1970s. She hosted a public affairs
Public affairs (broadcasting)
Public affairs, a broadcasting industry term, refers to television programs which focuses on matters of politics and public policy. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission regulatory expectations and are not scheduled in prime time...
show for the station known as Inside Bed-Stuy
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Bedford-Stuyvesant is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Formed in 1930, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3, Brooklyn Community Board 8 and Brooklyn Community Board 16. The neighborhood is patrolled by the NYPD's 79th and 81st...
, dealing with events in the Brooklyn neighborhood.
She appeared in guest starring roles on many United States television programs from the 1970s through the 1990s, including Punky Brewster
Punky Brewster
Punky Brewster was an American sitcom about a girl named Punky Brewster being raised by her foster parent...
, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from 1992 to 1997, starring Mark Curry and Holly Robinson. The show took place in Curry's hometown of Oakland, California. Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions, in association with...
, A Different World, Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
, The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, 227
227 (TV series)
227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
, and Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman game show which has aired on American television in several versions since 1950.The original show, hosted by Bud Collyer, ran on CBS from 1950–1958 and ABC from 1958–1961. The show was revived in syndication as The New Beat the Clock from 1969–1974, with Jack Narz...
. She also had a small role in the television miniseries Roots
Roots (TV miniseries)
Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...
and in the movie Claudine
Claudine
The Claudine books are a series of four early novels by the French author Colette published from 1900-1904. The stories are the diaries of protagonist Claudine, which outline the education and growing up of the young girl, who is aged fifteen at the beginning of the first novel Claudine à l'école...
.
Roker was also a children’s advocate who was cited by the city of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
for her community work.
Roker was married to television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
Sy Kravitz
Sy Kravitz
Seymour "Sy" Kravitz was an American filmmaker and NBC TV news producer.Kravitz was of Russian Jewish descent. He was married to actress Roxie Roker from 1962 to 1985. Kravitz and Roker were the parents of the rock musician Lenny Kravitz...
from 1962 to 1985, and had a son, Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
.
Roker died in Los Angeles on December 2, 1995 of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
at the age of 66.