Brenda Sykes
Brenda Sykes (born June 25, 1949) is an American actress who made a number of films and appeared in television series in the 1970s.[1] She was discovered on The Dating Game.[2]
Biographical details
Sykes was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the daughter of a postal worker. She graduated from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles in 1967.
Sykes played Jim Brown's love interest in Black Gunn. According to Brown, he was responsible for her being cast in the role, an effort he made because he was attracted to her in real life.[3] From 1973-74, she co-starred on Ozzie's Girls as a college student boarding with Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.
She played the character Mandy, one of Jimmie Walker's girlfriends on the 1970s sitcom, Good Times, made a starring role appearance on the first season of The Streets of San Francisco, and as Summer Johnson on the CBS series, Executive Suite. Sykes was married to musician Gil Scott-Heron[4] from 1978 to 1987 and is the mother of poet Gia Scott-Heron. She is married to Paul C. Hudson, whom she married on May 19, 1995.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | The Liberation of L.B. Jones | Jelly | |
1970 | Getting Straight | Luan | |
1970 | The Baby Maker | Francis | Uncredited |
1971 | Pretty Maids All in a Row | Pamela | |
1971 | Skin Game | Naomi | |
1971 | Honky | Sheila Smith | |
1972 | Black Gunn | Judith | |
1973 | Cleopatra Jones | Tiffany | |
1975 | Mandingo | Ellen | |
1976 | Drum | Calinda |
References
- Canby, Vincent (July 31, 1976). "Drum (1976)". The New York Times.
- "Cocoa Lounge Legends #001: Brenda Sykes" The Cocoa Lounge (January 18, 2007). Retrieved May 28, 2011
- Jim Brown, "Jim Brown on … life and love in Hollywood; former football great's candid book offers a revealing look at his career as a movie star" Ebony (December 1989). Retrieved May 29, 2011
- "Secret Opened for Xmas: Sykes, Scott-Heron Married" Jet (December 28, 1978). Retrieved May 28, 2011