The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Lynn Hamilton (Cold Case, Judging Amy) died Thursday of natural causes. Her former publicist, Rev. Calvin Carlson, said she passed away from natural causes at her home in Chicago. Hamilton was most well-known for playing the friendly neighbor on ‘The Waltons’ and opposite Redd Foxx (Harlem Nights, Dolemite Is My Name) in ‘Sanford and Sons’.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Hamilton was also known for her role as the head of the family, Vivian Potter, on the short-lived NBC daytime drama Generations. She was also featured on another short-lived soap opera, Dangerous Women, which aired at night in the role of Cissie Johnson.
The Hollywood Reporter further details other roles she landed, like Cousin Georgia Anderson on the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generation. She also made appearances on NBC shows like 227 and The Practice.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, she also made herself known on the big screen, landing roles in movies such as John Cassavetes’ (Rosemary’s Baby, Opening Night) Shadows, Brother John, Buck and the Preacher, Lady Sings the Blues, Leadbelly, and Legal Eagles. She also made appearances in a handful of plays like Only in America, The Cool World, Face of a Hero, and Tambourines to Glory.
The Hollywood Reporter continues to report that Hamilton was originally cast for an appearance on Sanford and Sons as a landlady. The producers were apparently so pleased with her performance, they decided to give her the recurring role of Fred Sanford’s girlfriend.
The Hollywood Reporter also confirmed that Hamilton’s debut episode on The Waltons, titled “The Scholar,” won a screenwriting Emmy. Hamilton starred in 16 episodes of the long-running family favorites and also in a pair of The Waltons holiday telefilms.
The Hollywood Reporter details that Hamilton was married to her husband Frank Jenkins (Driving While Black in Beverly Hills), who was a poet and playwright from 1964 until 2014. She moved to Chicago shortly after he passed.