Brenda Sykes
Sykes in a publicity photo for television series Ozzie's Girls, c. 1972
Born (1949-06-25) June 25, 1949
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
EducationSusan Miller Dorsey High School
OccupationActor
Years active1968–1977

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]

Life and career

Sykes was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the daughter of a postal worker. She graduated from Susan Miller 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 to 1974, 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.[5] "She was exquisitely beautiful, soft and refined. He was so full of fire, and she was the opposite. She was the water in his life," said the filmmaker Esther Anderson.[6]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1970The Liberation of L.B. JonesJelly
1970Getting StraightLuan
1970The Baby MakerFrancisUncredited
1971Pretty Maids All in a RowPamela
1971The SheriffJanet WilderABC Movie of the Week
1971Skin GameNaomi
1971HonkySheila Smith
1972Black GunnJudith
1973Cleopatra JonesTiffany
1975MandingoEllen
1976DrumCalinda

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1968One Life to LiveJudy Tate
1969Mayberry R.F.D.Dorothy Juneepisode "Driver Education"
1969The New PeopleBarbaraepisode #1.0
1969Room 222Elaine Harrisepisode "Triple Date"
1969The Bold Ones: The New DoctorsJanetepisode "Crisis" (uncredited)
1971The Doris Day ShowDulcieepisode "Young Love" (unsold TV pilot)
1972Love, American StyleSally Wilsonepisode "Love and the Perfect Wedding"
1973The Streets of San FranciscoJenaea Dancyepisode "A Trout in the Milk"
1973Ozzie's GirlsBrenda MacKenzie24 episodes
1974Police WomanLinda Danielsepisode "Smack"
1975Harry ORuthie Danielsepisode "Sound of Trumpets"
1975Mobile OneWilmaepisode "Roadblock"
1976–1977Executive SuiteSummer Johnson18 episodes
1977The Love BoatGinny O'Brienepisode "Captain & the Lady"
1978Good TimesMandyepisode "Where There's Smoke"

References

  1. ↑ Canby, Vincent (July 31, 1976). "Drum (1976)". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ "Cocoa Lounge Legends #001: Brenda Sykes", The Cocoa Lounge (January 18, 2007). Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  3. ↑ Brown, Jim, "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.
  4. ↑ "Secret Opened for Xmas: Sykes, Scott-Heron Married" Jet (December 28, 1978). Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  5. ↑ Omovre, Comfort. "Gil Scott-Heron and Brenda Sykes' Daughter Gil Scott-Heron Is Continuing the Family's Legacy and Has a Boyfriend Who Supports Her in That". AmoMama. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  6. ↑ Baram, Marcus (2014). Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 173. ISBN 9781250012784.
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