Ellen Holly

Acting

Ellen Holly

Born 1931-01-16 · Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Ellen Virginia Holly (January 16, 1931 – December 5, 2023) was an American actress. Beginning her career on stage in the late 1950s, Holly was perhaps best known for her role as Carla Gray–Hall on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. Holly is noted as the first African American to appear on daytime television in a leading role.

Acting credits

School Daze poster
5.7

Fraternity and sorority members clash with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend.

School Daze

1988

High School Narc poster
NR

A 22-year-old police officer poses as a student to find the identity of a drug supplier at an inner-city high school.

High School Narc

1985

10,000 Black Men Named George poster
3.9

In the 1920s, the rights of American workers to join a labor union was still considered an open question, and African-Americans were routinely denied their civil and economic rights. 10,000 Black Men Named George, the title, refers to the fact Pullman porters were often called "George" by white passengers, which was considered a racial slur.

10,000 Black Men Named George

2002

King Lear poster
9.0

James Earl Jones delivers a riveting performance as paranoid patriarch King Lear, an aging monarch who insists that his three daughters prove their love for him, only to learn he's exalted the two who seek to destroy him. This live performance recording of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival production deftly envisions the bard's haunting tragedy with a fine supporting cast, including Raul Julia, Paul Sorvino and Rene Auberjonois.

King Lear

1974

Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force poster
4.4

The true story of Leonard Matlovich, a U.S. Air Force sergeant who, in 1975, publicly divulged his homosexuality and fought to remain in service.

Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force

1978

Take a Giant Step poster
5.2

After African-American teenager Spence Scott gets expelled from his private school for arguing with a teacher, he turns to his grandmother for advice. Spence, who lives in a genteel white area and has mostly white friends, feels like an outsider. He visits a bar in a black neighborhood, where he meets a few prostitutes, which doesn't help. Eventually, Spence starts a friendship with the housekeeper, Christine, who tells him her own difficult story.

Take a Giant Step

1959