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Judy Pace

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Judy Pace
Pace in 1970
Born
Judy Lenteen Pace

(1942-06-15)June 15, 1942(age 82)
Los Angeles,California,U.S.
Alma materLos Angeles City College
OccupationActress
Years active1963–present
Known forPeyton Place
The Young Lawyers
Spouses
​
​
(m.1972;div.1984)​
​
​
(m.1986; died 1997)​
Children2; includingJulia Pace Mitchell
AwardsImage AwardOutstanding Actress in a Drama SeriesThe Young Lawyers(1970)

Judy Lenteen Pace[1](born June 15, 1942[2]) is an American actress known for her roles in films and television shows, particularlyblaxploitationfilms. Pace portrayed Vickie Fletcher on the TV seriesPeyton Place(1968–1969) and Pat Walters on theABCdrama seriesThe Young Lawyers(1969–1971), for which she won anImage Awardfor Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 1970.

Early life and career[edit]

Pace was born the second of two daughters inLos Angeles, California,to an airplane mechanic and a dressmaker.[3]Pace's older sister Jean Pace Brown was an activist who was married to musician and actorOscar Brown, Jr.After graduation fromDorsey High School,[4][5]Pace attendedLos Angeles City College,majoring in sociology.[6]Pace made her film debut as one of the title characters inWilliam Castle's13 Frightened Girls(1963).[7]She got her first major break in Hollywood in 1968 as the first black villainess on TV with her role as Vickie Fletcher in the hit ABC-TV soap-opera/drama seriesPeyton Place.[8]Also in 1968, Pace was singled out for praise by noted film criticRoger Ebert,for her performance in the popular youth-oriented film,Three in the Attic:

The find in this movie, for my money, is the young black actress Judy Pace, who is terrific.Varietycalls her "the most beautiful black actress in Hollywood," which is debatable since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, etc., but she's a quick, funny actress who can put an edge on a line and keep a scene sparkling.[9]

Pace quickly became a familiar face in the 1970s on both the big and small screens, appearing in popular blaxploitation movies and popular television shows. Television shows on which she appeared includeBatman,Tarzan,Bewitched,I Dream of Jeannie,The Flying Nun,Days of Our Lives,I Spy,Ironside,Peyton Place,The Mod Squad,Medical Center,That's My Mama,O'Hara, US Treasury,The New People,Insight,Kung Fu,Shaft,Caribe,Sanford and Son,What's Happening!!,andGood Times.

Cast ofABCTV seriesThe Young Lawyers(1970): From left-Pace,Lee J. Cobb(both seated) andZalman King.

For one season, she starred in the dramaThe Young Lawyersbroadcast on ABC. Pace also had a key supporting role asGale Sayers's wife, Linda, in the critically acclaimed 1971 ABC-TV movieBrian's Song.[7][10]

Personal life[edit]

In 1972, Pace married actorDon Mitchell.[6]They had two daughters together before their divorce in 1984.[6][11]Their daughters are actressJulia Pace Mitchelland Shawn Meshelle Mitchell.[citation needed]Pace had been courted by late baseball greatCurt Floodin 1966 when he saw her as a bachelorette contestant on the game showThe Dating Game.[7]They dated until 1970. After divorcing Mitchell in 1984, Pace and Flood met again, leading to their 1986 marriage.[7]They remained together until Flood's death in 1997.[6][12]

TV and filmography[edit]

As actress:

As herself:

  • Stevie Wonder/The Moments/Fully Guaranteed(1973) (TV episode)
  • Soul Train(1973)
  • Christopher Jones(1999)
  • E! True Hollywood Story(1999)
  • Curt Flood(2000) (TV episode)
  • ESPN SportsCentury(two episodes, 2000–2004)
  • Disciples of Jackie Robinson(2004) (TV episode)

Sources[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"8 Black Women You Should Definitely Know".Call & Post, All-Ohio edition; Cleveland, Ohio.February 10, 2021. p. 3C.ProQuest2495533894.JUDY PACE: Judy Lenteen Pace was a woman of many firsts. In addition to being the first Black woman to ever receive a contract from a major motion picture studio, she is also the first Black television vilíainess, starring in the hit show "Peyton Place" in 1964. The dramatic series was the first to feature a Black family on prime time television.
  2. ^McCann, Bob (2010).Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television.Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 257.ISBN978-0-7864-3790-0.
  3. ^Brad Snyder (2007).A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports.Penguin.ISBN9781440619014.
  4. ^"Young Negro actress joins Peyton cast".Longview (WA) Daily News.Dec 28, 1968.Judy attended Louis Pasteur Junior High and Dorsey High School before enrolling at Los Angeles City College.
  5. ^"Judy Pace is Bright Star in Young Lawyers".The Louisiana Weekly.Feb 13, 1971.She attended Louis Pasteur Junior High and Dorsey High School before enrolling at Los Angeles City College.
  6. ^abcdMcCann, Bob (2009).Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television.McFarland. pp. 257–258.ISBN9780786458042.
  7. ^abcdLisanti, Tom (2010).Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies.McFarland.ISBN9781476601168.
  8. ^"Little Known Black History Fact: Judy Pace".1 April 2013.
  9. ^Ebert, Roger (20 December 1968)."THREE IN THE ATTIC".RogerEbert.Chicago Sun-Times.
  10. ^"Judy Pace".TVGuide.TV Guide.Retrieved19 April2020.
  11. ^Harris M. Lentz III (2014).Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2013.McFarland. p. 259.ISBN9781476616520.
  12. ^Ebert, Roger (January 10, 1969)."Interview with Judy Pace".RogerEbert.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJudy Pace.
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