Helen Martin
Biography: 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.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: July 23, 1909
Deathday: March 25, 2000
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Known For
Doc Hollywood
1991-08-02
Doc Hollywood
Overview: After leaving Washington D.C. hospital, plastic surgeon Ben Stone heads for California, where a lucrative practice in Beverly Hills awaits. After a car accident, he's sentenced to perform as the community's general practitioner.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-08-02
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Kiss the Girls
1997-09-29
Kiss the Girls
Overview: Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.
Genres: Thriller Crime Mystery Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-09-29
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Amos
1985-09-29
Amos
Overview: Amos Lasher loses his wife and home in an accident, finding himself in the care of the state, or specifically speaking, the Sunset Nursing Home. Here he finds the head nurse, Daisy Daws, ruling the cowed patients with an iron hand, but as his determination to get out of Sunset grows, the more sinister his situation becomes.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-09-29
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Hollywood Shuffle
1987-03-20
Hollywood Shuffle
Overview: Aspiring actor and hot-dog stand employee Bobby Taylor catches the ire of his grandmother for auditioning for a role in the regrettably titled exploitation film "Jivetime Jimmy's Revenge." When Tinseltown Studios casts Taylor in the title role, he has a series of conflicted dreams satirizing African-American stereotypes in Hollywood, and must reconcile his career goals with his desire to remain a positive role model for his little brother.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-03-20
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The Phenix City Story
1955-07-19
The Phenix City Story
Overview: A crime-busting lawyer and his initially reluctant attorney father take on the forces that run gambling and prostitution in their small Southern town.
Genres: Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-07-19
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Night Angel
1990-06-02
Night Angel
Overview: A legendary she-demon, in the updated guise of a beautiful model, infiltrates the offices of a successful fashion magazine with the aim of corrupting the world via mass media.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-06-02
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A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich
1977-12-14
A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich
Overview: A troubled boy becomes addicted to heroin, and his mother and foster father help him fight it.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-12-14
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Wacko
1982-11-12
Wacko
Overview: Thirteen years after the "Lawnmower Killer" killed her sister, high school student Mary Graves and obsessed detective Dick Harbinger are on the lookout for the killer to reappear during the annual Halloween Pumpkin Prom.
Genres: Comedy Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-11-12
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Death Wish
1974-07-24
Death Wish
Overview: After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.
Genres: Crime Drama Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-07-24
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Robert Townsend: Partners in Crime: Vol. 2
1988-09-24
Robert Townsend: Partners in Crime: Vol. 2
Overview: Director Robert Townsend (Hollywood Shuffle) knows how to construct and, when necessary, even milk a laugh for optimal effect. This second riotous volume in the Partners in Crime collection features more ribald moments culled from Townsend's laugh-filled HBO variety show. Sinbad, David Allen Grier and Damon Wayans also star.
Genres: Comedy Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-09-24
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Deal of the Century
1983-11-04
Deal of the Century
Overview: Arms dealers from several companies vie to sell the most expensive and highest tech weapons to a South American dictator. There are complications; understanding the exact nature of how 'gifts' are used to grease the wheels of a sale, a religious conversion from one of the salesman and a romance that begins to grow between two competitors.
Genres: Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-11-04
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Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
1996-01-12
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Overview: When Ashtray moves to South Central L.A. to live with his father (who appears to be the same age he is) and grandmother (who likes to talk tough and smoke reefer), he falls in with his gang-banging cousin Loc Dog, who along with the requisite pistols and Uzi carries a thermo-nuclear warhead for self-defense. Will Ashtray be able to keep living the straight life?
Genres: Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-01-12
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Bulworth
1998-05-15
Bulworth
Overview: A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.
Genres: Comedy Drama Crime Thriller Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-05-15
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J.T.
1969-12-13
J.T.
Overview: J. T. Gamble, a shy, withdrawn Harlem youngster, shows compassion and responsibility when he takes on the care of an old, one-eyed, badly injured alley cat days before Christmas and secretly nurses it back to health.
Genres: Drama Family
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1969-12-13
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Something to Sing About
2000-06-10
Something to Sing About
Overview: Tommy is a troubled young man with a history of crime. When he meets Memaw, an elderly lady, the two form a special bond with Memaw encouraging Charlie to sing in the local church choir, a talent he has ignored until now. While Charlie excels in church, his old friend G. Smooth remains skeptical and stays on the streets.
Genres: Music Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-06-10
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Lawman Without a Gun
1979-05-30
Lawman Without a Gun
Overview: During the 1960s' civil rights movement, a black civil rights worker returns to his small Southern town and runs for sheriff against the incumbent, a popular segregationist.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-05-30
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Cindy
1978-03-24
Cindy
Overview: A revisionist twist on Cinderella with an all-black cast and set in Harlem during WWII. Cindy is a country bumpkin who moves from South Carolina to live with her father and his new family. When her stepmother and two stepsisters refuse to take her to the Sugar Hill Ball, her draft-dodging, chauffeur neighbor whips up a little "magic" and at the ball she catches the eye of the richest man in Harlem.
Genres: Music Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1978-03-24
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Repo Man
1984-03-02
Repo Man
Overview: A down and out young punk gets a job working with a seasoned repo man, but what awaits him in his new career is a series of outlandish adventures revolving around aliens, the CIA, and a most wanted '64 Chevy.
Genres: Comedy Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-03-02
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A Raisin in the Sun
1989-02-01
A Raisin in the Sun
Overview: A substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-02-01
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Dummy
1979-05-27
Dummy
Overview: The real-life account of an illiterate, deaf-and-mute, black youth who was accused of murdering a prostitute, and the relationship that developed between him and his court-appointed attorney, who also was deaf, and the events leading up to his precedent-setting trial.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-05-27
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I Got the Hook-Up
1998-05-27
I Got the Hook-Up
Overview: Two broke buddies feel lucky when they come upon a truckload of cellular phones and begin selling them out of the back of their van. Trouble arises though, when the phones develop faults. The two friends then not only have to deal with unsatisfied customers but also the FBI.
Genres: Action Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-05-27
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House Party 2
1991-10-23
House Party 2
Overview: Kid'N'Play leave their neighborhood and enter the world of adulthood and higher education. Play attempts to get rich quick in the music business while Kid faces the challenges of college.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-10-23
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The Jerk, Too
1984-01-06
The Jerk, Too
Overview: Navin Johnson heads to Los Angeles to attend the wedding of his pen pal, Marie. On the way, he runs across a gang of hobos whose leader, Diesel, takes him to Las Vegas after learning of his skills at poker.
Genres: Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-01-06
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Better Late Than Never
1979-10-17
Better Late Than Never
Overview: Harry Landers is a feisty senior citizen who refuses to abide by the rules in a stodgy retirement home run by a dour Ms. Davis, in which Harry leads a revolt by the other goated senior citizen residents against the establishment.
Genres: Comedy Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-10-17
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Beverly Hills Cop III
1994-05-24
Beverly Hills Cop III
Overview: When his boss is killed, Detroit cop Axel Foley finds evidence that the murderer had ties to a California amusement park called Wonder World. Returning to sunny Beverly Hills once more, Foley reunites with Detective Billy Rosewood to solve the case. Along with Billy's new partner, Detective Jon Flint, they discover that Wonder World is being used as a front for a massive counterfeiting ring.
Genres: Action Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-05-24
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