CARTER, NELL

CARTER, NELL (Nell Hardy; 1948–2003), U.S. actor-singer. One of nine children, Carter grew up Presbyterian and sang in her church choir in Birmingham, Alabama. As a teenager she sang in coffeehouses with The Renaissance Ensemble and on the radio with the Y Teens. The 4-foot-11 singer moved to New York at 19 to study acting and performed in such local nightclubs as Dangerfield's, the Village Gate, and the Rainbow Room. Carter made her Broadway debut in Soon (1971), which featured yet-to-be-discovered talent Richard Gere and Peter Allen. But her real success came in 1977 with her Tony-, Obie-, and Emmy-winning performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin'. Carter made her big-screen debut with a small singing part in Hair (1979), followed by her memorable role as the voodoo maid Dorita in the comedy Modern Problems (1981) and then lent her voice to the African American animated feature Bébé's Kids (1992). It was her success in Ain't Misbehavin' that helped Carter land the role of sassy housekeeper Miss Nellie Ruth Harper in the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break\! (1981–87), for which she received two Emmy nominations. In 1982, Carter converted to Judaism before her marriage to Jewish lumber company executive George Krynicki; she maintained memberships at Los Angeles-area synagogues Temple Shalom and Temple Emanuel. Carter had a daughter, Tracey Hardy, and adopted two African American sons, Joshua and Daniel, with Krynicki. The couple divorced in 1989, and a 1992 marriage to Canadian record producer Roger Larocque lasted one year. Carter struggled with drug and alcohol addiction from early in her career, but was able to overcome her problems with a 12-step program in the mid-1980s. She also suffered from type-two diabetes, and in 1992 had two brain surgeries to repair aneurysms. After her surgery, she returned to the small screen from 1993 to 1995 as principal P.J. Moore on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and to the stage in 1996 in the role of Miss Hannigan for the 20th anniversary revival of Annie. Following her death from diabetes-related complications in 2003, Carter left custody of her children to her partner, Ann Kaser. (Adam Wills (2nd ed.)