
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Helen Dorothy Martin (July 23, 1909 – March 25, 2000) was an American actress of stage and television who is perhaps most well known for her role in the sitcom 227 as Marla Gibbs' neighbor Pearl. Martin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Amanda Frankie (née Fox) and William Martin, a minister. Martin was a Broadway character actress for many decades, debuting in Orson Welles' production of Native Son in 1941. She appeared in at least a dozen Broadway shows including Jean Genet's The Blacks, Raisin from 1973 to 1975, Ossie Davis' Purlie Victorious (and later the musical version, which was called Purlie), The Amen Corner and Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment. She was an original member of the American Negro Theater. She first became famous later in life for her guest role as Wanda on the television series Good Times, and later as the wisecracking neighbor Pearl Shay on the television sitcom 227. She also played on the short-run sitcoms Baby, I'm Back (as mother in-law, Luzelle) and That's My Mama; as Loc Dog's grandma, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), the matronly grandmother Mama Doll in the 1998 film Bulworth, and the no-nonsense grandmother in the film Hollywood Shuffle. Helen Martin died of a heart attack on March 25, 2000. Description above from the Wikipedia article Helen Martin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
as Self (archive footage)

as Shirley
1987

1981

as Self (archive footage)
1993

as Elderly Lady
1982

as Mrs. Sears
1982

as Vivian Fellers
1975

1984

1972

1975

as Mother Superior
1996

1983

1979
as Momma Doll
1998

as Elderly Woman
2000

as Grandmother
1998

as Momma Doll
1998

as Nana Cross
1997

as Loc Dog's Grandma
1996

as Grandma
1994

as Mrs. Deevers
1991

as Maddie, Welcoming Committee
1991

as Sadie
1990

as Mrs. Johnson
1989

1988

as Bobby's Grandmother
1987

as Mrs. McKenzie
1985

1985

as Mrs. Parks
1984

as Grandma Johnson
1984

as Baptist #3
1983

as Harbinger's Mother
1982

1979

as Mrs. Cartwright
1979

as Mrs. Harrod
1979

as Flower Lady
1978

as Mrs. Bell
1977

as Alma Lee Brown
1974
as Self (archive footage)
1 ep.

as Shirley
1 episodes

1 episodes

as Self (archive footage)
1 episodes

as Elderly Lady
1 episodes

as Mrs. Sears
1 episodes

as Vivian Fellers
3 episodes

1 episodes

4 episodes

1 episodes

as Mother Superior
1 episodes

1 episodes

1 episodes

8 episodes

as Pearl Shay
116 episodes

as Mother Evans
1 episodes

as Sadie Grosso
1 episodes

2 episodes

1 episodes

as Old Woman
1 episodes

as Aunt Sukey
1 episodes

as Millie
2 episodes

6 episodes

13 episodes

1 episodes
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