Ellen Holly

Ellen Holly, noted ground-breaking African American actress of stage, screen and television passed away peacefully in the early hours of Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at the age of 92.  Ellen Virginia Holly was born and raised in Richmond Hills, Queens, New York on January 16, 1931 to William Garnet Holly and Grayce Arnold Holly. She was a graduate of Hunter College and a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Holly began her career on stage in 1956 when she made her Broadway debut at the Belasco Theater as Stephanie in Alan Patton’s Too Late The Phalarope with Barry Sullivan..Of her performance, critic Elliot Norton noted that “Among the other good performances of the season so far, attention should be paid to that of Ellen Holly” and Walter Kerr wrote “Ellen Holly’s arrogantly sensuous native girl… is perfect playing.” Barry Sullivan referred to her as one of the most talented actresses he had ever worked with.

In 1966 Holly was a member of an all-star ensemble cast in the Broadway production of A Hand Is on the Gate, An Evening of Poetry and Folk Music by American Negroes, arranged and directed by Roscoe Lee Browne.  Other Broadway credits include Face of a Hero and Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright with Alvin Ailey. Holly also studied with dance pioneer Katherine Dunham and was passionate about the role of dance in revealing the richness of African-American culture.

In the early 1960s Holly co-starred in Television series, including Dr. Kildare, The Nurses, and The Defenders and played leading roles for the New York Shakespeare Festival, headed by Joe Papp. Notable roles included Kate in Taming of the Shrew, Desdemona in Othello, Varya in The Cherry Orchard, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, and Regan in King Lear. In 1966 Holly wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Times about what it was like to be a light-skinned African American. It caught the attention of Agnes Nixon, the creator of the daytime soap opera “One Life to Live” inspired her to create Carla Benari (Grey-Hall) and to offer the role to Holly, making her the first African American to appear on daytime television in a leading role. When Holly began on “One Life to Live” in October 1968, her African American heritage was not publicized as part of the storyline; her character, named Carla Benari, was a touring actress of apparently Italian-American heritage. Carla and white physician Dr. Jim Craig fell in love and became engaged, but she was falling for an African American doctor. When the two kissed on screen, it was reported that the switchboards at ABC were busy with fans who thought that the show had shown an African American and white person kissing. The fact that Carla Benari was the African American Carla Grey posing as white was revealed when Sadie Grey, played by Lillian Hayman was identified as her mother. Sadie convinced her daughter to embrace her heritage and tell the truth. Holly played Carla Grey for 12 consecutive years from 1968-1980 and then returned to reprise the role from 1983-1985. From 1989-1993 she had a long-term recurring role as a judge on the daytime soap opera “Guiding Light.”  She made a return to the small screen in 2002  when she appeared as Selena Frey in the TV movie “10,000 Black Men Named George”, alongside Andre Braugher and Mario Van Peebles. In 1996, Holly released her autobiography, One Life; The Autobiography of an African American Actress describing her life and her struggles as a light-skinned black actress. Ellen spent the remainder of her life spending time with family and friends. This included several cruise vacations with her dear sister, Jean Gant, and summers in Sag Harbor, NY.

Ellen Holly hails from an illustrious family of scientists, inventors, artists, and civil rights activists and is survived by her grand-nieces Alexa and Ashley Jones (White Plains, NY) granddaughters of her beloved sister, Jean Gant, who predeceased her, niece, Holly Gant Jones, who predeceased her, and their father, Xavier Jones and a host of other loving family members. She is sorely missed and mightily celebrated.