Before she became the lovable Nell Harper, Nell Carter had already made a name for herself in the world of entertainment. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1948, Carter began her career in theater, ...

Gimme a Break! was set in the fictional California suburb of Glenlawn. The series follows Carter’s character, Nell Harper, as she agrees to care for the family of her dying friend, Margaret Kanisky.

The lives of two iconic Black Americans from the worlds of entertainment and sports – Nell Carter and Muhammed Ali – are featured in Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s New Playwrights Series in May.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Nell Carter, who played the stout, sassy housekeeper on the 1980s sitcom "Gimme a Break!" and won a Tony Award in 1978 for her sultry turn in the Broadway musical "Ain't ...