The actress Sheryl Lee Ralph is not often on the same coast as her husband, Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes, as she is busy in California taping her new series, “Abbott Elementary.” She had promised me a telephone interview at 1 pm last Tuesday, but my phone rang at 10 am – and it was the actress!
She explained that she found herself in West Philadelphia for a few days in between taping her successful new ABC series, and her husband had invited her to go out to lunch (with masks, of course) at 1 p.m. So she called me early and we talked for over an hour.
The creator and star of the show is Quinta Brunson. She and Sheryl Lee had met working together on “Black Ladies Sketch Show.” As Sheryl Lee commented, “It is always flattering when a younger performer is looking at you and your work.”
A few months later Brunson called and said – “I have a brand new project. I need the elegance of my mother, a smart actor – and that’s you.” So they started in March-April, shooting in Los Angeles. They were given a COVID protocol – to keep their circle close and not to go into certain situations. The cast was tested for COVID every other day.
“Obviously, it worked for us – we have not been shut down. The A group – our circle – we followed the science. It has worked so well for us that we got through 13 episodes without a shutdown,” Sheryl Lee observed.
Sheryl Lee was born in Connecticut, raised by her Jamaican mother, a noted fashion designer, and her college professor father, Dr. Stanley Ralph. She told me, “I graduated from Rutgers but never once came to Philadelphia. I always went to New York for acting class, auditions, to see shows, visit museums. Vince came to New York after 9/11 for a session about new protocols. A friend said I had to meet the senator – she made it happen. It was love at first sight.”
She calls her husband, Senator Vincent Hughes, “the original Fresh Prince who represents West Philadelphia. He genuinely cares. He is an unusual politician. He doesn’t lie – he tells you the truth, even if it’s difficult for you to hear.
” In the middle of a huge snowstorm in 2005 we were in New York on a date. I was doing “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” He got down on one knee and proposed – and the marquis lit up and said, “The Senator Loves Sheryl Lee
For years they have been raising awareness about HIV and Aids, especially in the Black community. But you probably remember her as Deena in “Dream Girls,” for which she received a Tony nomination. In 1991 she received the Independent Spirit Award. And she has been nominated for an Emmy and a Tony in the past.
I was so impressed with her original HIV AIDS show “Sometimes I Cry” which she created and starred in for Vince’s 50th birthday, instead of a good old dance party. She played a number of roles, and her performance was memorable. In fact, people across the country called her to request a performance in their city.
Her son Etienne is a filmmaker and wellness creator, inspired by the death of Ahmed Auberry .He, his sister and a cousin created Walk Good LA, a nonprofit, to bring together hundreds of young people in LA through yoga and meditation.
The actress-singer-activist was a substitute teacher after graduation in the Rutgers Jersey school system. She was 19 years old then. So Mrs. Barbara Howard, her role in “ABBOTT ELEMENTARY,” fits her well!
“I don’t like to read reviews, but people have said some amazing things about the show. This show pays homage to teachers, people who bring their best to the job of molding the minds of future Americans. They answer a calling to teach.”
Bonnie Squires is a communications consultant who writes weekly for Main Line Media News and can be reached at www.bonniesquires.com. She hosts the “Bonnie’s Beat” TV show at MLTV- MAIN LINE NETWORK
