University of Wyoming
Lynn Hamilton was an African American actress. She was born on April 25, 1930 in Yazoo City, Mississippi. She pursued dramatic training at the Goodman Theatre, a division of Chicago's Art Institute. She acted on the stage in New York and performed with Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park. In the early 60s she was selected to participate in President Kennedy's first cultural exchange program in drama. She went on a world tour with the American Repertory Theatre doing plays in Europe, the Near East, and Central and South America. In 1966, she married writer/poet/model Frank S. Jenkins. Hamilton relocated to Los Angeles where she pursued a screen acting career. Hamilton played a recurring role as Virdie Grant, a neighbor of "The Waltons," and starred in a widely praised motion picture for television titled "A Dream for Christmas." She guest starred in many television series including "Sanford and Son," "The Rockford Files," "Starsky and Hutch," "Ironside," "The Practice," "Highway to Heaven," and "Gunsmoke." She also appeared in feature films, most notably "Lady Sings the Blues," "Roots II," "Elvis and Me" and "Leadbelly."
The Lynn Hamilton papers include scripts, video tapes, newspaper clippings, photographs, periodicals containing articles about Ms. Hamilton, professional correspondence and letters from school children, and memorabilia.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
There are no known other archival collections created by Lynn Hamilton at the date of accessioning.
The Lynn Hamilton Papers were donated to the American Heritage Center by Lynn Hamilton between 1981 and 2006.
The material was accessioned by Mary Ann Meyer. More detailed processing is not anticipated at this time.
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the repository's online public access catalog.
This material was received after the original donation. It has been archivally housed but has not been organized.
This material was received after the original donation. It has been archivally housed but has not been organized.
The American Heritage Center is in the process of converting its older container lists to a more accessible format. This link is to an older version of a container list.