Zara Cully
Encyclopedia
Zara Cully Brown who adopted the stage name Zara Cully was an American character actress
, known for her portrayal of the irascible Olivia 'Mother' Jefferson on the popular long-running CBS
Television sitcom The Jeffersons
.
, Massachusetts
, on January 26, 1892 Brown was one of ten children. She graduated from the Worcester School of Speech and Music, and was one of the oldest performers active in television at the time of her death. In 1940 after a stint in New York City she became known as "one of the world's greatest elocutionists". After moving to Jacksonville, Florida, she began producing, writing, directing, and acting in numerous plays. For 15 years she was a drama teacher at her own studio as well as at Edward Waters College, and had become known as Florida's "Dean of Drama" before numerous experiences with racism in the South
directed her decision to leave for Hollywood, where she became a regular performer at the Ebony Showcase Theater.
By the time she acquired the role of 'Mother' Jefferson, she had accumulated a long list of acting credentials that spanned over 50 years appearing in such movies as The Learning Tree
, the Blacksploitation cult film Sugar Hill
, The Liberation of L.B. Jones
, The Great White Hope
, Ghetto Woman, and a starring role in Brother John played opposite Sidney Poitier
. Her TV career went back to what critics call 'the golden age of television' including appearances on the highly acclaimed Playhouse 90 series. Besides The Jeffersons her television credits included A Dream for Christmas, the CBS Playhouse production of The People Next Door
, the NBC Matinee Theater's Run for Your Life
, Cowboy in Africa
, Name of the Game
, Mod Squad, Night Gallery
, and All in the Family
. Though highly respected by many influential people in the film industry as a dedicated craftsman, she had gained no fame until the role of 'Mother' Jefferson quickly endeared her to television audiences throughout the United States and Canada where she became an instant celebrity.
entitled "Lionel's Engagement" which aired February 9, 1974. She was 82 years old at the time. All three actors who portrayed Tom, Helen, and Jenny Willis on that episode were replaced with different actors by the time The Jeffersons became a spin-off on January 18, 1975, but Cully was kept on as 'Mother' Jefferson.
During the first 17 episodes of the third season of The Jeffersons Brown was absent due to a severe case of pneumonia caused by a collapsed lung. Upon her recovery she returned to the show. Her last credited performance was an appearance in the ninth episode of the fourth season entitled "The Last Leaf" which aired November 12, 1977, three months before her death. No special episode was created to center on her death, but it was addressed in the second episode of the fifth season entitled "Homecoming (pt 1)" which aired September 27, 1978, some seven months after her actual death.
in Los Angeles on Tuesday February 28, 1978, at 1:25AM Pacific Time, from lung cancer
, and was buried from the Church of Christian Fellowship in Los Angeles on Thursday March 2. In attendance were all of both the cast and crew of The Jeffersons, including show producer Norman Lear. Cast member actor Paul Benedict
who had developed a close friendship with Brown was invited to be one of the memorial speakers. Despite inclement weather conditions, many of the Hollywood 'old guard' were also in attendance, and the funeral was covered by both local and national media. A widow, she was survived by her brother, Wendell Cully; her two children, a daughter Polly Buggs wife of John A. Buggs who was deputy director of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in Washington, D.C., at that time, and a son Emerson Brown, as well as four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
She was posthumously awarded an NAACP special Image Award on June 9, 1978, at the 11th Annual NAACP Award ceremony.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
, known for her portrayal of the irascible Olivia 'Mother' Jefferson on the popular long-running CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Television sitcom 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...
.
Early life and career
Born in WorcesterWorcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, on January 26, 1892 Brown was one of ten children. She graduated from the Worcester School of Speech and Music, and was one of the oldest performers active in television at the time of her death. In 1940 after a stint in New York City she became known as "one of the world's greatest elocutionists". After moving to Jacksonville, Florida, she began producing, writing, directing, and acting in numerous plays. For 15 years she was a drama teacher at her own studio as well as at Edward Waters College, and had become known as Florida's "Dean of Drama" before numerous experiences with racism in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
directed her decision to leave for Hollywood, where she became a regular performer at the Ebony Showcase Theater.
By the time she acquired the role of 'Mother' Jefferson, she had accumulated a long list of acting credentials that spanned over 50 years appearing in such movies as The Learning Tree
The Learning Tree
The Learning Tree is a 1969 drama film which tells the story of a young African American growing up in rural Kansas during the late 1920s and early 1930s, when racial discrimination was a social norm, legally sanctioned in parts of the United States. Written and directed by Gordon Parks, the film...
, the Blacksploitation cult film Sugar Hill
Sugar Hill (1974 film)
Sugar Hill is a 1974 zombie film released by AIP, who had previously combined the horror and blaxploitation genres with Blacula and its sequel, Scream Blacula Scream.-Plot:...
, The Liberation of L.B. Jones
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
The Liberation of L.B. Jones is a 1970 American drama film directed by William Wyler, his final project in a career that spanned 45 years.The screenplay by Jesse Hill Ford and Stirling Silliphant is based on Ford's 1965 novel The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones. The novel, in turn, was based on...
, The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on October 3, 1968 for a run of 546 performances, directed by Edwin Sherin...
, Ghetto Woman, and a starring role in Brother John played opposite Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
. Her TV career went back to what critics call 'the golden age of television' including appearances on the highly acclaimed Playhouse 90 series. Besides The Jeffersons her television credits included A Dream for Christmas, the CBS Playhouse production of The People Next Door
The People Next Door
The People Next Door is an American situation comedy which aired briefly on CBS as part of its Fall 1989 schedule.-Synopsis:Set in Covington, Ohio, The People Next Door stars Jeffrey Jones, previously regarded as a character actor, as cartoonist Walter Kellogg, a man whose imagination was so vivid...
, the NBC Matinee Theater's Run for Your Life
Run for Your Life (TV series)
Run for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.-Synopsis:Gazzara plays lawyer...
, Cowboy in Africa
Cowboy in Africa
Cowboy in Africa is an ABC television series produced in 1967-1968 by Ivan Tors and starring Chuck Connors. A 1966 television pilot turned into a movie and released to cinemas starring Hugh O'Brian as Jim Sinclair was called Africa - Texas Style.-Plot:...
, Name of the Game
Name of the Game
"Name of the Game" is the first single to come from Tweekend, The Crystal Method's second studio album. Despite the massive popularity of the song, The Crystal Method almost never plays it live. The track features guitars by Tom Morello, vocals by Ryan "Ryu" Maginn, and scratching by DJ Swamp; it...
, Mod Squad, Night Gallery
Night Gallery
Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...
, and All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
. Though highly respected by many influential people in the film industry as a dedicated craftsman, she had gained no fame until the role of 'Mother' Jefferson quickly endeared her to television audiences throughout the United States and Canada where she became an instant celebrity.
The Jeffersons
Brown's first appearance as 'Mother' Jefferson was in a guest appearance on an episode of All in the FamilyAll in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
entitled "Lionel's Engagement" which aired February 9, 1974. She was 82 years old at the time. All three actors who portrayed Tom, Helen, and Jenny Willis on that episode were replaced with different actors by the time The Jeffersons became a spin-off on January 18, 1975, but Cully was kept on as 'Mother' Jefferson.
During the first 17 episodes of the third season of The Jeffersons Brown was absent due to a severe case of pneumonia caused by a collapsed lung. Upon her recovery she returned to the show. Her last credited performance was an appearance in the ninth episode of the fourth season entitled "The Last Leaf" which aired November 12, 1977, three months before her death. No special episode was created to center on her death, but it was addressed in the second episode of the fifth season entitled "Homecoming (pt 1)" which aired September 27, 1978, some seven months after her actual death.
Death
Brown died at Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterCedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
in Los Angeles on Tuesday February 28, 1978, at 1:25AM Pacific Time, from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, and was buried from the Church of Christian Fellowship in Los Angeles on Thursday March 2. In attendance were all of both the cast and crew of The Jeffersons, including show producer Norman Lear. Cast member actor Paul Benedict
Paul Benedict
Paul Benedict was an American actor who made numerous appearances in television and movies beginning in the 1960s...
who had developed a close friendship with Brown was invited to be one of the memorial speakers. Despite inclement weather conditions, many of the Hollywood 'old guard' were also in attendance, and the funeral was covered by both local and national media. A widow, she was survived by her brother, Wendell Cully; her two children, a daughter Polly Buggs wife of John A. Buggs who was deputy director of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in Washington, D.C., at that time, and a son Emerson Brown, as well as four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
She was posthumously awarded an NAACP special Image Award on June 9, 1978, at the 11th Annual NAACP Award ceremony.