R.I.P. Lynn Hamilton: ‘Sanford and Son’ & ‘The Waltons’ Star Dead at 95

Lynn Hamilton, a seasoned stage and screen actress best known for her roles on Sanford and Son and The Waltons, has died at the age of 95. According to her former manager and publicist Rev. Calvin Carson, Hamilton passed away of natural causes at her home in Chicago on Thursday.

Hamilton brought warmth, strength, and depth to a range of characters across television’s golden age. On Sanford and Son, she played Donna Harris — the poised, no-nonsense girlfriend to Redd Foxx’s Fred Sanford. Her debut came in the show’s seventh episode back in 1972, when she portrayed a tough landlady. That one scene made such an impression, producers brought her back.

“The producers were so impressed with that one scene that a month or two later they decided to give Fred Sanford a girlfriend,” Hamilton said in a 2009 interview. As for Redd Foxx? “He was aware of his earthliness, shall we say,” she recalled, “and he told me his show needed somebody dignified opposite him.”

Though Donna and Fred got engaged, they never walked down the aisle — much to the delight of Fred’s son Lamont (Demond Wilson), who famously called her “The Barracuda.” Hamilton remained on the hit NBC sitcom through 1977.

While working on Sanford and Son, Hamilton also made a lasting impact as Miss Verdie on The Waltons. She first appeared in 1973’s “The Scholar” episode — which won a screenwriting Emmy — playing a woman determined to learn to read and write. Hamilton reprised the role 16 more times through 1981 and returned for two Waltons holiday movies in the ’90s. In later seasons, Verdie married Harley Foster, played by Hal Williams, another Sanford and Son alum.

Her TV résumé didn’t stop there. Hamilton appeared on shows like 227 (as the sharply opinionated Emma Johnson), The Practice, Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Cold Case, NYPD Blue, and The Golden Girls. Soap fans might remember her from NBC’s short-lived Generations or the syndicated nighttime drama Dangerous Women.

Born Alzenia Lynn Hamilton on April 25, 1930, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, she moved with her family to Chicago at age 4. Despite graduating from the Goodman School of Drama Theater, Hamilton once said, “I was the only Black [actor] in my class, and so there weren’t any roles for me.” She gained experience on the South Side’s theater circuit before moving to New York in 1956 and landing roles in John Cassavetes’ Shadows (1959) and on Broadway in several short-lived plays.

Hamilton’s film credits include Brother John (1971), Buck and the Preacher (1972), Lady Sings the Blues (1972), Leadbelly (1976), and Legal Eagles (1986).

A veteran of Joseph Papp’s Shakespeare productions and a touring member of the U.S. cultural exchange program under President Kennedy, Hamilton later settled in Los Angeles, where she built her prolific TV career.

She was married to poet and playwright Frank Jenkins from 1964 until his death in 2014. The couple collaborated on multiple stage projects before she returned to Chicago, where she lived out her final years.