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Half & Half
Background:
"I've found that acting suits me better the older I get. The
lifestyle is more normal than being on the road (a common situation
for musicians). I like going home every day. I need that stability."
Telma Hopkins
Starting out as a member of the popular 1970s singing trio Tony
Orlando and Dawn, whose signature hits were "Candida,"
"Knock Three Times," "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the
Ole Oak Tree," and "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You),"
Telma Hopkins later ventured into acting and co-starred with Janet
Jackson and Rob Lowe in the ABC short-lived Emmy nominated sitcom "A
New Kind of Family" (1979-1980), and Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari
in the ABC sitcom "Bosom Buddies" (1980-1982).
However, it was her role of Rachel Crawford (1989-1997) on the
family sitcom "Family Matters" and her portrayal of Phyllis
Thorne in the UPN sitcom "Half & Half" (2002-2006) that
boosted her acting career. The actress also appeared in a number of
television movies and guest starred in such shows as "Fantasy
Island," "The Love Boat," "Gimme a Break,"
"Women of the House," "The Nanny," "ER,"
"Suddenly Susan," and "Any Day Now."
On the big screen, Hopkins could be seen in "Trancers"
(1985), “Trancers II” (1991) and “Trancers III”
(1992), "The Wood" (1999) and "The Love Guru"
(2008), alongside Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, and Justin Timberlake.
Family Matters
Childhood and Family:
In Louisville, Kentucky, Telma Hopkins was born on October 28,
1948. She is divorced from Donald B. Allen, with whom she has one
son. She currently lives in Los Angeles and is engaged to actor Rif
Hutton.
Bosom Buddies
Career:
"I want to do everything under the rainbow, from singing and
acting, to comedy and drama." Telma Hopkins
Telma Hopkins began her career as a backup singer for such
superstars as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, Issac
Hayes, Dionne Warwick, and the Four Tops. She achieved more success
as a singer in the 1970s when she became a member of the singing trio
Tony Orlando and Dawn, who enjoyed such hits as "Knock Three
Times," "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree,"
"Say Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" and "He
Don't Love You (Like I Love You).” She also sang background
vocals on Johnnie Taylor's 1976 chart-topping single "Disco
Lady" and was one of the backup singers in the soul and funk
styled theme song for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film "Shaft,"
in which she famously interrupted the implied profanity with the line
"Shut your mouth!"
Hopkins later recalled, "It was one of the coolest singing
jobs ever. I sang it with two other girls but somehow or another I
get all the credit."
Hopkins subsequently ventured to acting and made her debut in the
Golden Globe nominated miniseries "Roots: The Next Generations"
(1979) and followed it up with a co-starring role in the ABC
short-lived Emmy nominated sitcom "A New Kind of Family"
(1979-1980), alongside Janet Jackson and Rob Lowe. She then appeared
in multiple episodes of ABC sitcom "The Love Boat" during
1979-1985 and co-starred in the sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter
Scolari, "Bosom Buddies," which ran from 1980 to 1982 on
ABC and in reruns in the summer of 1984 on NBC.
Hopkins co-starred with Gary Coleman in the made-for-television
movie "The Kid with the Broken Halo" (1982), appeared in
two episodes of "The New Odd Couple," ABC's short-lived
version of the 1970-1975 television series "The Odd Couple,"
and NBC’s sitcom starring stage actress Nell Carter, "Gimme
a Break!" She was also spotted as a guest in a May 1984 episode
of the ABC long-running fantasy series starring Ricardo Montalban,
"Fantasy Island," and appeared in the CBS annual television
special "Circus of the Stars" and the ABC, CBS, and NBC
special "Battle of the Network Stars." During the rest of
the 1980s, Hopkins co-starred with Dyan Cannon and Michael Brandon in
the musical TV movie "Rock 'n' Roll Mom" (1988) and guest
starred in an episode of the NBC sitcom starring Sherman Hemsley,
"Amen." She also made her feature film debut in "Trancers"
(1988), a futuristic action movie directed by Charles Band starring
Tim Thomerson and Helen Hunt. She would later returned in its
sequels, "Trancers II" (1991) and "Trancers III"
(1992; V).
"All of us in 'Family Matters' really work hard to make it a
family show that really is about a family. There's something for
everyone because we have three generations under one roof and we
stick together." Telma Hopkins
1989 was a breakout year for Hopkins' acting career when she
landed the role of Rachel Crawford in the ABC/CBS family sitcom
"Family Matters." She stayed on the show from its first
season in 1989 to the end of its fourth season in 1993 and made
sporadic appearances in seasons 8 and 9 (1996 and 1997). On her
"Family Matters" character Rachel, Hopkins said, "She's
a single parent like me. She's very earthy; very worldly. I love kids
and Rachel has a lot of kid in her, and more than a little bit of
comedienne."
During her "Family Matters" tenure, Hopkins also played
Rachel in the sitcom "ABC TGIF" (1990) and co-starred with
Cindy Williams in the ABC short-lived sitcom "Getting By"
(1993-1994). She also guest-starred in an episode of CBS/Lifetime’s
spin-off of "Designing Women" starring Delta Burke, "Women
of the House," Fox Kids' animated series featuring the Marvel
Comics superhero, "Spider-Man," CBS’ sitcom starring
Fran Drescher, "The Nanny," NBC’s hit medical drama
"ER," and Kids' WB animated series "Batman Beyond."
She then co-starred in the made-for-television movies "How to
Murder a Millionaire" (1990; with David Eigenberg and Morgan
Fairchild) and "Count on Me" (1994; with Wren T. Brown,
Michael DeLorenzo, and Jane Seymour). On the big screen, she could be
seen alongside Adrian Pasdar and Diane Lane in Marisa Silver's
dramatic thriller "Vital Signs" (1990) and with Taye Diggs,
Omar Epps, and Richard T. Jones in Rick Famuyiwa's feature "The
Wood" (1999).
Hopkins played recurring guest roles of Paulette Williams
(1999-2001) in the ABC/UPN sitcom starring D.L. Hughley and Elise
Neal, "The Hughleys," and Judge Wilma Evers (2000-2001) in
the hit Lifetime TV series starring Annie Potts and Lorraine
Toussaint, "Any Day Now." From 2002 to 2006, she co-starred
with Rachel True and Essence Atkins in the UPN sitcom about the lives
of fictional half-sisters in San Francisco, "Half & Half."
Portraying Phyllis Thorne, the mother to Rachel True's Mona, Hopkins
won a BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Series in 2005. She was also nominated for the Image Award for
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series four times, in
2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, and appeared as a guest in an episode of
USA Network's fantasy-based television action series "Good vs
Evil,” the Kids' WB animated series "Static Shock,"
the NBC sitcom starring Brooke Shields, "Suddenly Susan,"
NBC/The WB’s sitcom "For Your Love," and USA
Network's comedy starring James Roday, Dulé Hill, and Corbin
Bernsen, "Psych." She also co-starred with Gilbert Glenn
Brown and Shonnese C.L. Coleman in Monice Mitchell's short romantic
movie "Rain" (2001).
Recently, Hopkins was seen alongside Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, and
Justin Timberlake in the Marco Schnabel directed romantic comedy
film, "The Love Guru" (2008).
As a humanitarian, Hopkins has supported many charity
organizations. She was the spokesperson for both the National P.T.A.
and Act On Arthritis, and has worked on behalf of McClaren Hall,
Rainbow Camp, Hollygrove Group Home and Caring for Babies with AIDS.
Awards:
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