Jonelle Allen

Infobox actor
name = Jonelle Allen
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birthdate = birth date and age|1944|7|18
birthplace = New York City, New York U.S.
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occupation = Stage, film, television actress, singer, dancer
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spouse = Richard Grimmon (1998-2001)
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Jonelle Allen (born July 18, 1944) is an American actress, singer, and dancer.

Born in New York City, Allen grew up in Harlem's Sugar Hill among neighbors that included Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins, and Johnny Hodges, all of whom had an influence on her career choice. She made her Broadway debut at the age of six in "The Wisteria Trees", Joshua Logan's Americanized adaptation of "The Cherry Orchard" starring Helen Hayes. As a child she also made regular appearances on a local children's television series, "The Merry Mailman", hosted by Ray Heatherton.

Allen returned to Broadway for a 1955 revival of "Finian's Rainbow". She was in the cast of the original off-Broadway production of "Hair" at Joseph Papp's Public Theater and also appeared in "George M!" before receiving critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination for "Two Gentlemen of Verona", which earned her New York Drama Critics' Circle, Drama Desk, Theatre World, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance. Despite her success, it proved to be her last Broadway appearance to date.

In 2007, Allen appeared as the legendary Harlem Jazz Queen Florence Mills in "Harlem Renaissance" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Allen's film credits include "Cotton Comes to Harlem", "The Hotel New Hampshire", and "The River Niger", for which she won an NAACP Image Award. She had a regular role in the dramatic series "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" from 1993-97. Other television appearances include "Barney Miller", "The Love Boat", "All in the Family", "Trapper John, M.D.", "Hill Street Blues", "Cagney and Lacey", "ER", and "Girlfriends". However, the role she seems to be most noticed for is that of the flamboyant and outspoken Doreen Jackson on the NBC soap opera, "Generations" and her movie role as Lucinda Cavender the vampire witch in the horror comedy 'The Midnight Hour'.

She is currently working at the Conservatory of the Arts in San Juan Capistrano.

External links

*imdb|0020693
*ibdb|29667
*amg name|2:1029
* [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jcoles/jallen.html Official website]
* [http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&keyword=name&first=Jonelle&last=Allen&middle= Lortel Archives listing]
* [http://www.gallimaufry.info/nowshowing_harlem.html Review: Harlem Renaissance]