Rosalind Cash (December 31, 1938 – October 31, 1995) was an American actress. Her best-known film role is in the 1971 science-fiction film The Omega Man. Cash also had another notable role as Mary Mae Ward in ABC's General Hospital, a role she portrayed from 1994 until her death in 1995.

Biography

Early life and education

Cash was the second of four children born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to John O. Cash Sr., a clerk, and Martha Elizabeth Cash. Her siblings were John Jr., Robert, and Helen. Cash graduated with honors from Atlantic City High School in 1956. After high school, Cash attended City College of New York. Her career extended to theater, television, film, and recording.

Career

Cash appeared in the 1962 revival of Fiorello! and was an original member of the Negro Ensemble Company, founded in 1968. In 1973, Cash played the role of Goneril in King Lear at the New York Shakespeare Festival alongside James Earl Jones's Lear. Cash appeared on the New York-area television show Callback!, which featured musical director Barry Manilow. The episode on which Cash was featured was filmed on March 31, 1969, at the Village Gate in New York City. The episode aired on Saturday, April 19, 1969 at 3:30 pm on CBS. Cash performed "God Bless the Child" on the show. No recordings of the performance are known to exist. Her other television credits include The Cosby Show, What's Happening!!, A Different World, Good Times, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Frank's Place, Kojak, Barney Miller, Benson, Roc, Police Woman, Family Ties, Head of the Class, The Golden Girls, and L.A. Law.

Cash was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on the Public Broadcasting Service production of Go Tell It on the Mountain. In 1996, she was posthumously nominated for an Emmy Award, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for her role on General Hospital. Cash's films included Omega Man (1971), Klute (1971), The New Centurions (1972) with George C. Scott and Stacy Keach, Uptown Saturday Night (1974) with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, and Wrong Is Right (1982). In 1995, she appeared in Tales from the Hood, her last film appearance.

Cash supplied the voices of Sesame Street Muppet Roosevelt Franklin's mother and his sister, Mary Frances, on the 1970 record album The Year of Roosevelt Franklin, Gordon's Friend from Sesame Street alongside Matt Robinson's voices for Roosevelt and his brother, Baby Ray, and friend, A.B. Cito.

Personal life and death

Cash never married nor had children. She died of cancer on October 31, 1995, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, aged 56.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1961The HustlerWaitressUncredited
1971KlutePat
1971The Omega ManLisa
1972The New Centurions (also known as Precinct 45: Los Angeles Police)Lorrie
1972MelindaTerry Davis
1972Hickey & BoggsNyona
1973The All-American BoyPoppy
1974King Lear (TV series)Goneril
1974Uptown Saturday NightSarah Jackson
1974Amazing GraceCreola Waters
1975Ceremonies in Dark Old Men (TV movie)Adele
1975Cornbread, Earl and Me (also known as Hit the Open Man)Sarah Robinson
1976Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (also released as Dr. Black and Mr. White; The Watts Monster)Dr. Billie Worth
1976The Monkey Hu$tleMama
1974The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Episode: "A Girl Like Mary")Enid BerringerTV
1976Good TimesJessica BishopTV series
1976–1977What's Happening!!LorettaTV series
1977Starsky & Hutch (Episode: "The Crying Child")Sgt. Sheila PetersonTV
1977A Killing Affair (also known as Behind the Badge)Beverly YorkTV movie
1978The Class of Miss MacMichaelUna Ferrar
1978Death DrugDoctor
1978Barney Miller (Episode: "Dog Days")Carol SladeTV
1979FlashpointTV movie
1980Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (also known as The Mad Messiah)Jenny HammondTV movie
1981Benson (Episode: "Rainbow's End")ElizabethTV
1981The Sophisticated GentsChristine JacksonTV series
1981Keeping OnTV movie
1982Wrong Is Right (also known as The Man with the Deadly Lens)Mrs. Ford
1982Sister, SisterFreida Lovejoy-BurtonTV movie
1983Special BulletinFrieda BartonTV movie
1983This Is the LifeHerselfTV series
1983Just an Overnight GuestTV short
1984The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th DimensionJohn Emdall
1985Go Tell It on the MountainFlorenceTV movie
1986Knight Rider (Episode: "Voo Doo Knight")HaranaTV
1986The Cosby Show (Episode: "Denise Gets a D")Dr. HughesTV
1987Mighty PawnsMrs. RobinsonTV movie
1987From a Whisper to a ScreamSnake Woman
1987Highway to Heaven (Episode: "A Song of Songs")Ellie LivingstonTV
1988The Golden Girls (Episode: "Mixed Blessings")LorraineTV
1988Death Spa (also known as Witch Bitch)Sgt. Stone
1989Forced March
1989Family Ties (Two-part episode: "All in the Neighborhood")Maya ThompsonTV
1989A Different World (Episode: "Under One Roof")Dean HughesTV
1992You Must Remember This (also known as Wonderworks: You Must Remember This)Janet MickensTV movie
1992The Second ComingShort
1993The Fresh Prince of Bel-AirMrs. BassinTV series
1994–1995General HospitalMary Mae WardTV series
1995A Dangerous AffairDr. RobertsonTV movie
1995Tales from the HoodDr. Cushing
1996Circle of PainFinal film role; TV movie (posthumous release)

External links