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Brenda Sykes

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Brenda Sykes
Sykes in a publicity photo for television series Ozzie's Girls, c. 1972
Born (1949-06-25) June 25, 1949 (age 75)
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
EducationSusan Miller Dorsey High School
OccupationActress
Years active1968–1978
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1978⁠–⁠1987)​
Children1

Brenda Sykes (born June 25, 1949)[1] is a former American actress who made a number of films and appeared in television series in the 1970s.[2] She was discovered on The Dating Game.[3]

Life and career

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Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and raised in Los Angeles,[1] Sykes is the daughter of a postal worker.[citation needed] She attended Susan Miller Dorsey High School,[4] graduating in 1967, following which she spent two years at UCLA, with a major in political science and minor in French. On the recommendation of producer Aaron Spelling, she attended the Professional Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles for six months.

Aaron Spelling, the producer, told me to go to the workshop. I auditioned for a part and he said I wasn't ready for it. So I went and was taught how to kiss, take punches, and burst into tears at a moment's notice.[5]

Sykes later continued her studies with actor Jeff Corey.[1]

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.[6] From 1973 to 1974, she co-starred on Ozzie's Girls as a college student boarding with Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.

Cast of Pretty Maids All in a Row (L-R): June Fairchild, Joy Bang, Aimee Eccles; (middle row) Joanna Cameron, Gene Roddenberry, Rock Hudson, Roger Vadim; (back row) Margaret Markov, Brenda Sykes, Diane Sherry, Gretchen Burrell

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.

Personal life

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Sykes was married to musician Gil Scott-Heron[7] from 1978 to 1987 and is the mother of poet Gia Scott-Heron.[8] "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.[9]

Filmography

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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 The Sheriff Janet Wilder ABC Movie of the Week
1971 Skin Game Naomi
1971 Honky Sheila Smith
1972 Black Gunn Judith
1973 Cleopatra Jones Tiffany
1975 Mandingo Ellen
1976 Drum Calinda

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1968 One Life to Live Judy Tate
1969 Mayberry R.F.D. Dorothy June episode "Driver Education"
1969 The New People Barbara episode #1.0
1969 Room 222 Elaine Harris episode "Triple Date"
1969 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Janet episode "Crisis" (uncredited)
1971 The Doris Day Show Dulcie episode "Young Love" (unsold TV pilot)
1972 Love, American Style Sally Wilson episode "Love and the Perfect Wedding"
1973 The Streets of San Francisco Jenaea Dancy episode "A Trout in the Milk"
1973 Ozzie's Girls Brenda MacKenzie 24 episodes
1974 Police Woman Linda Daniels episode "Smack"
1975 Harry O Ruthie Daniels episode "Sound of Trumpets"
1975 Mobile One Wilma episode "Roadblock"
1976–1977 Executive Suite Summer Johnson 18 episodes
1977 The Love Boat Ginny O'Brien episode "Captain & the Lady"
1978 Good Times Mandy episode "Where There's Smoke"

References

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  1. ^ a b c Robertson, Gene (October 16, 1971). "On the Beam". San Francisco Sun-Reporter. p. 33. ProQuest 370764305. 'Skin Game' marks lovely BRENDA SYKES's fifth major . . . role in the scant two years since she decided to become an actress. Born in Shreveport, La., June 25, 1949, Miss Sykes has been a California resident since infancy. She's had major roles in 'THE LIBERATION OF LORD BYRON JONES,' 'GETTING STRAIGHT,' 'THE BABY MAKER,' 'SHEILA' and most recently, 'PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN AROW.' She is presently continuing her acting studies with famed Hollywood drama coach Jeff Corey and has been seen in numerous guest shot roles in TV shows.
  2. ^ Canby, Vincent (July 31, 1976). "Drum (1976)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014.
  3. ^ "Cocoa Lounge Legends #001: Brenda Sykes", The Cocoa Lounge (January 18, 2007). Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  4. ^ "Brenda Sykes Climbs New Rung of Film Ladder With Ossie Davis In 'The Sheriff'". Los Angeles Sentinel. March 11, 1971. p. B. ProQuest 565018073. After graduation from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, Brenda attended UCLA as political science major.
  5. ^ Brachman, James (May 5, 1974). "Television – "Brenda as Coed: Disney and Drama Together". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 23. "She was graduated from high school in 1967 [...] In between all this she managed to squeeze two years at U.C.L.A., where she majored in political science and minored in French, and six months at the Professional Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles." Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Secret Opened for Xmas: Sykes, Scott-Heron Married" Jet (December 28, 1978). Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Baram, Marcus (2014). Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 173. ISBN 9781250012784.
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