Lynne Thigpen

Acting

Lynne Thigpen

Born — Died

1948-12-22 — 2003-03-12

Place of birth

Joliet, Illinois, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

70 titles

Cherlynne Theresa 'Lynne' Thigpen (December 22, 1948 – March 12, 2003) was an American actress of stage and screen. She was known for her roles as The Chief of ACME Crimenet on the game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and various spinoffs, Luna (The Moon) on the Playhouse Disney children's series Bear in the Big Blue House, and Ella Farmer on The District (2000–2003). For her varied television work, she was nominated for six Daytime Emmy Awards and she also won a Tony Award in 1997 for portraying Dr. Judith Kaufman in An American Daughter.

Known for

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

King of the Hill poster
7.4

Set in Texas, this animated series follows the life of propane salesman Hank Hill, who lives with his overly confident substitute Spanish teacher wife Peggy, wannabe comedian son Bobby, and naive niece Luanne. Hank has conservative views about God, family, and country, but his values and ethics are often challenged by the situations he, his family, and his beer-drinking neighbors/buddies find themselves in.

King of the Hill

1997

L.A. Law poster
7.0

L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off-the-wall humor. It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights, homophobia, sexual harassment, AIDS, and domestic violence. The series often also reflected social tensions between the wealthy senior lawyer protagonists and their less well-paid junior staff. The show was popular with audiences and critics, and won 15 Emmy Awards throughout its run, four of which were for Outstanding Drama Series.

L.A. Law

1986

Tony Awards poster
NR

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 productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Homicide: Life on the Street poster
8.1

An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.

Homicide: Life on the Street

1993

The Cosby Show poster
7.0

The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.

The Cosby Show

1984

Film credits

2000s · 7 titles

Anger Management poster
6.2

After a small misunderstanding aboard an airplane escalates out of control, timid businessman Dave Buznik is ordered by the court to undergo anger management therapy at the hands of specialist Dr. Buddy Rydell. But when Buddy steps up his aggressive treatment by moving in, Dave goes from mild to wild as the unorthodox treatment wreaks havoc with his life.

Anger Management

2003

Shaft poster
6.0

New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.

Shaft

2000

Novocaine poster
6.1

A dentist finds himself a murder suspect after a sexy patient seduces him into prescribing her drugs.

Novocaine

2001

An American Daughter poster
4.7

A Senator's daughter seems to have a lock on a nomination as the US Surgeon General, until a background check reveals she once neglected to return a jury-duty notice. Then she makes a mistake in comments about her homemaker mother that leaves her open to a media blitz and her sure-fire nomination suddenly appears shaky.

An American Daughter

2000

Bear in the Big Blue House - Party Time with Bear poster
NR

Let your child learn, explore and have fun with this award-winning series. Celebrate good times with Bear and all his friends in three party-hearty episodes that teach sharing, encourage self-expression through movement, and reinforce the value of friendship. In "Mouse Party," everyone gets busy preparing for Tutter's surprise birthday, complete with presents and cake, too. A day of peaceful relaxation turns upside down at "Bear's Birthday Bash," and with a few lessons, Tutter's pals have him "Dancin' The Day Away," in this celebration of friendship and caring, bursting at the seams with six sing-along songs!

Bear in the Big Blue House - Party Time with Bear

2001

Bear in the Big Blue House: Everybody's Special poster
7.0

Join Bear and friends for fun and humorous learning

Bear in the Big Blue House: Everybody's Special

2002

Bear in the Big Blue House: A Berry Bear Christmas poster
NR

The winter holidays find Bear and his friends planning a big celebration. They're all getting ready for Christmas, but also learn about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Bear also celebrates his favorite tradition, the finding of the winter berry. As things start out, Pip and Pop have put together a reindeer wreath. Everyone wants to help out with the wreath, so Bear suggests they all add something of their own. Later, the group meets Santa Hogg and presents him with a large list of holiday wishes. Then there's a bit of an argument when Treelo wants to open everyone's presents and not just his own. In the Shadow segment, Shadow thanks Bear for his gift of a scarf --- Shadows don't get cold, but it's the thought that counts. She then sings the song "It's Kwanzaa Time." After hearing a howling noise, the group takes in an old hound named Jack with no home and invites him to stay at the Big Blue House for the holidays. This gets everyone thinking about the true meaning of the holidays.

Bear in the Big Blue House: A Berry Bear Christmas

2000

1990s · 19 titles

Bicentennial Man poster
7.3

Richard Martin buys a gift, a new NDR-114 robot. The product is named Andrew by the youngest of the family's children. "Bicentennial Man" follows the life and times of Andrew, a robot purchased as a household appliance programmed to perform menial tasks. As Andrew begins to experience emotions and creative thought, the Martin family soon discovers they don't have an ordinary robot.

Bicentennial Man

1999

The Insider poster
7.5

A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.

The Insider

1999

Random Hearts poster
5.6

After losing their spouses in a plane crash, an internal affairs cop and a congresswoman find each other's keys in each other's loved ones' possessions and discover that the two were having an affair.

Random Hearts

1999

The Paper poster
6.6

Henry Hackett, a workaholic tabloid editor, has to juggle personal issues, difficult coworkers, a tempting job offer, a looming deadline and a race to land an exclusive on a recent high-profile murder case, all during one hectic workday.

The Paper

1994

Just Cause poster
6.3

A Harvard professor is lured back into the courtroom after twenty-five years to take the case of a young black man condemned to death for the horrific murder of a child.

Just Cause

1995

Article 99 poster
6.1

Dr. Richard Sturgess leads a team of compassionate doctors at a veteran's hospital. Along with Drs. Morgan, Handleman and Van Dorn, he fights to deliver adequate care to needy veterans in the face of funding cuts and a corrupt administration. To succeed, the staff may have to bend the rules and circumvent the villainous "Article 99," a bureaucratic loophole that prevents veterans from receiving the benefits they deserve.

Article 99

1992

Blankman poster
5.4

Darryl is a childlike man with a genius for inventing various gadgets out of junk. When he stumbles on a method to make his clothes bulletproof, he decides to use his skills to be the lowest budgeted superhero of all.

Blankman

1994

Chance of a Lifetime poster
7.7

Irreverent freelance investigative reporter Tom Maguire hits rock bottom when bigot editor in chief Ivan refuses to print his pieces anymore and his bad back most be operated, but his health insurance just expired. Sympathetic editor Irene Dunbar, feeling guilty she didn't save his job, volunteers for a fake marriage so he can use her insurance. The 'happy couple' in now constantly beleaguered by her mother and an insurance inspector, while each has his own affairs, but the co-habitation also seems to generate meaningful affection.

Chance of a Lifetime

1998

Bob Roberts poster
6.6

Millionaire conservative Bob Roberts launches an insurgent campaign against incumbent senator Brickley Paiste, firing up crowds at his rallies by singing '60s-style acoustic folk songs with lyrics espousing far-right conservative social and economic views.

Bob Roberts

1992

Impulse poster
5.6

A Los Angeles vice cop, caught between her undercover role as a sex worker and her personal relationships, is thrown into a web of murder and deceit.

Impulse

1990

Separate but Equal poster
6.5

A dramatization of the events of Brown vs. Board of Education, the American court case that destroyed the legal validity of racial segregation.

Separate but Equal

1991

Naked in New York poster
4.8

Naked in New York begins in the car of grown up Jake, he is talking to us about his girlfriend, Joanne, and to whom you can turn to for help while facing life. From there it flashes back to his memories of his parents, college, house across from a squirrel infested peanut factory, best friend, writing career and Joanne.

Naked in New York

1993

Pretty Poison poster
4.0

A clueless cheerleader falls for a mysterious young man who tells her he's a secret agent. But the truth is much simpler and darker.

Pretty Poison

1996

The Boys Next Door poster
6.7

Kind-hearted social worker Jack Palmer feels guilty about not spending enough time with his wife due to the pressures of his job taking care of four developmentally disabled men: obsessive-compulsive Norman, bipolar Arnold, childlike Lucien, and schizophrenic Barry. When Jack announces his decision to leave his job, his four charges react quite unexpectedly to the news.

The Boys Next Door

1996

Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling poster
7.5

Cagney and Lacey work a case involving police corruption and document forgery. Chris seeks a prestigious promotion, while Mary Beth has to deal with the return of her sickly, aged father.

Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling

1995

Night Ride Home poster
5.8

When a devastating accident tears apart the already frayed marriage of Neal and Nora Mahler, each family member must learn that their own emotions are best dealt with by relying on each other and their bonds as a family.

Night Ride Home

1999

No artwork available
NR

Two teenage girls, one black and one white, become friends while working on a mural to honor a black classmate killed by random gunshots.

Girlfriend

1993

A Mother's Instinct poster
5.6

Holly Mitchell a divorcee, remarries widower, Carl Gibbons, the father of two small boys. When she begins to question his past, he disappears with the boys. She then learns that the boys' mother is still alive, having been deserted five years ago. The two 'wives' join forces to find him and the boys.

A Mother's Instinct

1996

A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom poster
9.0

Ask most people who led the 1963 March on Washington and they'll probably tell you Martin Luther King, Jr. But the real force behind the event was the man many call the pre-eminent black labor leader of the century and the father of the modern civil rights movement: A. Philip Randolph. Randolph believed that economic rights was the key to advancing civil rights. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH: FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM takes viewers on a tour of 20th-century civil rights and labor history as it chronicles Randolph's legendary efforts to build a more equitable society.

A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom

1996

1980s · 12 titles

Streets of Fire poster
6.9

Raven Shaddock and his gang of merciless biker friends kidnap rock singer Ellen Aim. Ellen's former lover, soldier-for-hire Tom Cody, happens to be passing through town on a visit. In an attempt to save his star act, Ellen's manager hires Tom to rescue her. Along with a former soldier, they battle through dangerous cityscapes, determined to get Ellen back.

Streets of Fire

1984

Lean On Me poster
7.3

When principal Joe Clark takes over decaying Eastside High School, he's faced with students wearing gang colors and graffiti-covered walls. Determined to do anything he must to turn the school around, he expels suspected drug dealers, padlocks doors and demands effort and results from students, staff and parents. Autocratic to a fault, this real-life educator put it all on the line.

Lean On Me

1989

Tootsie poster
7.2

When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego—Dorothy Michaels—in order to land a part in a daytime drama, he unwittingly becomes a feminist icon and ends up in a romantic pickle.

Tootsie

1982

Running on Empty poster
7.4

The Popes are a family who haven't been able to use their real identity for years. In the late sixties, the parents set a weapons lab afire in an effort to hinder the government's Vietnam war campaign. Ever since then, the Popes have been on the run with the authorities never far behind. Their survival is threatened when their eldest son falls in love with a girl, and announces his wish to live his life on his own terms.

Running on Empty

1988

Hello Again poster
5.7

A suburban housewife chokes to death and is brought back to life by a spell cast by her wacky sister.

Hello Again

1987

Sweet Liberty poster
5.4

Michael Burgess is an academic who has written a scholarly book on the American Revolution which Hollywood has bought the film rights to. The arrival of the film crew seriously disrupts him as actors want to change their characters, directors want to re-stage battles, and he becomes infatuated with Faith who will play the female lead in the movie. At the same time, he is fighting with his crazy mother who thinks the Devil lives in her kitchen, and his girlfriend who is talking about commitment.

Sweet Liberty

1986

Tintypes poster
NR

Debuting on Broadway in 1980, Tintypes is a musical review featuring songs from the early twentieth century providing the audience with a look into that turbulent time in American history. Nominated for three Tony Awards, and winner of several Obie Awards, this production stars Carolyn Mignini, Lynne Thigpen, Trey Wilson, Mary Catherine Wright, and Jerry Zaks.

Tintypes

1981

Fear Stalk poster
7.0

A producer from Beverly Hills is shocked when someone steals all of her belongings out of her purse. The thief begins to make threatening phone calls and withdraws money from her accounts. The stalker becomes more and more dangerous until he finally tries to kill the producer.

Fear Stalk

1989

Rockabye poster
8.2

A young woman, striking out on her own after having left her husband in California, has her young son snatched from her moments after getting off the bus in New York City on her way to Vermont, and reluctantly accepts the help of a hard-nosed reporter in tracking him down after being given the runaround from the police.

Rockabye

1986

Working poster
4.8

This musical adaptation of the Studs Terkel book examines the average worker's viewpoint--showing that he or she is anything but average. Based on a series of interviews with real working people--construction workers, waitresses, firemen, secretaries, and cleaning women, Working is both an exploration of the individuals' occupations and a lament for lost hopes and dreams.

Working

1982

Private Affairs poster
1.0

A departure from most ABC Afterschool Specials, this one focuses on Madeline Green, a teenage girl who discovers her father's affair with a friend of her mother, and struggles to keep it from tearing her family apart.

Private Affairs

1989

Flanagan poster
10.0

Aging New York cabbie Flanagan still has hopes of making it as a stage actor. He can recite any Shakespeare sonnet and is facile with accents, but he can't land an agent or a job. During the course of one summing-it-all-up day, he drives his cab around the city dealing with fare evaders, an insolent stage manager determined to keep him from auditioning for his choice director, his estranged wife who has a new lover, his mistress who seems awfully close to her "drawing teacher", and two teenage sons whose bright visions of the future don't seem to include jobs. If he can only cope with all the annoyances of this day, maybe he can deal with the limitations in his abilities and his future.

Flanagan

1985

1970s · 4 titles

Series credits

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

King of the Hill poster
7.4

Set in Texas, this animated series follows the life of propane salesman Hank Hill, who lives with his overly confident substitute Spanish teacher wife Peggy, wannabe comedian son Bobby, and naive niece Luanne. Hank has conservative views about God, family, and country, but his values and ethics are often challenged by the situations he, his family, and his beer-drinking neighbors/buddies find themselves in.

King of the Hill

1997

L.A. Law poster
7.0

L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off-the-wall humor. It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights, homophobia, sexual harassment, AIDS, and domestic violence. The series often also reflected social tensions between the wealthy senior lawyer protagonists and their less well-paid junior staff. The show was popular with audiences and critics, and won 15 Emmy Awards throughout its run, four of which were for Outstanding Drama Series.

L.A. Law

1986

Tony Awards poster
NR

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 productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Tony Awards poster
NR

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 productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Homicide: Life on the Street poster
8.1

An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.

Homicide: Life on the Street

1993

The Cosby Show poster
7.0

The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.

The Cosby Show

1984

American Playhouse poster
6.6

American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.

American Playhouse

1982

American Playhouse poster
6.6

American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.

American Playhouse

1982

The Equalizer poster
7.2

Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.

The Equalizer

1985

Hunter poster
7.1

Hunter is an American police drama television series created by Frank Lupo, and starring Fred Dryer as Sgt. Rick Hunter and Stepfanie Kramer as Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1991. However, Kramer left after the sixth season to pursue other acting and musical opportunities. In the seventh season, Hunter partnered with two different women officers. The titular character, Sgt. Rick Hunter, was a wily, physically imposing, and often rule-breaking homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. The show's main characters, Hunter and McCall, resolve many of their cases by shooting dead the perpetrators. The show's executive producer during the first season was Stephen J. Cannell, whose company produced the series.

Hunter

1984

The District poster
6.9

The District is a television police drama which aired on CBS from October 7, 2000 to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s Police Department.

The District

2000

Dear John poster
5.7

Dear John starred Judd Hirsch as easygoing Drake Prep high school teacher John Lacey who is dumped by his wife, Wendy, via a Dear John letter. Wendy ends up with everything in the divorce settlement, including custody of the couple's son, forcing John to move into an apartment in Ozone Park, Queens. John soon joins the One-2-One Club, a self help group for divorced, widowed or lonely people. The group is led by Louise (Jane Carr), a sex-obsessed British woman. Other members of the group include Kate McCarron (Isabella Hofmann), a sweet divorcée; Kirk Morris (Jere Burns), a cocky ladies' man; Ralph Drang (Harry Groener), a shy and neurotic tollbooth collector; Bonnie Philbert (Billie Bird), a feisty senior citizen; and Tom, Mrs. Philbert's quiet boyfriend (Tom Willett).

Dear John

1988

thirtysomething poster
6.3

Thirtysomething is an American television drama about a group of baby boomers in their late thirties. It was created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick for MGM/UA Television Group and The Bedford Falls Company, and aired on ABC. It premiered in the U.S. on September 29, 1987. It lasted four seasons, with the last of its 85 episodes airing on May 28, 1991. The title of the show was designed as thirtysomething by Kathie Broyles, who combined the words of the original title, Thirty Something. In 1997, "The Go Between" and "Samurai Ad Man" were ranked #22 on TV Guide′s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2002, Thirtysomething was ranked #19 on TV Guide′s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and in 2013 TV Guide ranked it #10 in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time.

thirtysomething

1987

Reading Rainbow poster
8.4

Journey to exciting places and build a lasting connection with your favorite books. Each episode centers on a theme from a book, or other children's literature, which is explored through a number of segments or stories.

Reading Rainbow

1983

Bear in the Big Blue House poster
7.6

The series provides children with valuable tools for growth in key areas of music, social skill development, and cognitive learning through integrated programs combining music, movement, and exploration. With Bear and all his friends, learn about cooperation, teamwork and more.

Bear in the Big Blue House

1997

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd poster
6.8

Molly Dodd, a divorced woman in her mid-thirties living in New York, navigates the ups and downs of a rapidly changing career, the challenges of apartment life, and the complexities of love and its consequences.

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd

1987

Gimme a Break! poster
6.7

Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC for six seasons, October 29, 1981, until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.

Gimme a Break!

1981

Roseanne poster
6.8

A working-class family struggles to get by on a limited income in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois.

Roseanne

1988

Love, Sidney poster
3.8

A middle-aged gay artist shares his New York apartment with a single mother and her little girl. Based on a short story written by Marilyn Cantor Baker, which was subsequently adapted into a TV movie entitled Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend. Love, Sidney was the first program on American television to feature a gay character as the central lead, although for the series, Sidney's homosexuality was almost entirely downplayed from its subtle yet unmistakable presence in the two-hour pilot.

Love, Sidney

1981

Hallmark Hall of Fame poster
8.8

Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

Hallmark Hall of Fame poster
8.8

Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? poster
7.4

A game show based on the Carmen Sandiego computer game series created by Brøderbund Software.

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

1991

The Ellen Burstyn Show poster
7.5

Ellen Brewer is a Baltimore college professor living with her overbearing mother Sydney and recently divorced daughter Molly as well as young grandson Nick.

The Ellen Burstyn Show

1986

Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? poster
7.5

A game show based on the Carmen Sandiego computer game series created by Brøderbund Software.

Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?

1996

Separate but Equal poster
6.0

A two-part miniseries. Dramatizes the events leading up to the 1954 Supreme Court decision on school desegregation, "Brown vs. Board of Education."

Separate but Equal

1991

FM poster
6.8

FM is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from August 17, 1989 to June 29, 1990.

FM

1989

America's War on Poverty poster
8.0

In the midst of unprecedented national prosperity in the 1960s, poverty was "rediscovered" by American policy makers, media and the public. This series examines how the poor fared during these years and the resultant evolution of foundation and public sector programs addressing the challenges of poverty.

America's War on Poverty

1995