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IMDbPro

Carol Speed(1945-2022)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Carol Speed
Official Trailer
Play trailer3:35
Disco Godfather (1979)
5 Videos
9 Photos
Cute, bubbly, and adorable actress Carol Speed achieved a considerable amount of cult cinema popularity with her often lively and delightful contributions to a handful of enjoyably down'n'dirty 1970s blaxploitation features.

She was born Carolyn Stewart on March 14, 1945, in Bakersfield, California. She holds the distinction of being the first black homecoming queen in Santa Clara County and was one of the first black people to receive a scholarship for the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Carol got her start in show business as a back-up singer for Bobbie Gentry at Harrah's club in Reno, Nevada. She made her film debut as a hooker in The New Centurions (1972). Speed's most memorable movie roles include sassy prison inmate Mickie in Jack Hill's hilarious babes-behind-bars parody The Big Bird Cage (1972), pimp Max Julien's loyal prostitute girlfriend Lulu in the terrific The Mack (1973), sarcastic rock groupie Janyce in Bummer (1973), club owner Rockne Tarkington's sweet gal pal Leslie in the fun Black Samson (1974) and deaf-mute Sarah in Al Adamson's Dynamite Brothers (1974).

Carol gave an especially inspired and impressive performance as a minister's innocent wife who becomes possessed by the malevolent spirit of an evil demon in William Girdler's immensely entertaining horror flick Abby (1974). She had a recurring part on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives (1965) in the summer of 1970. Moreover, she made a guest appearance on an episode of Sanford and Son (1972), appeared in several TV commercials, and pops up in the made-for-TV films The Girls of Huntington House (1973), Love Hate Love (1971), Tenafly (1973), Getting Away from It All (1972), and The Psychiatrist (1970).

Outside of acting, Carol was also a successful writer (she's the author of the books "Inside Black Hollywood" and "The Georgette Harvey Story"), singer and songwriter (she sang her own compositions "I Can Make It" in "The Girls of Huntington House" and "My Soul Is A Witness" in "Abby"). After taking a regrettably lengthy hiatus from acting following Disco Godfather (1979) (she was slated to do a small role in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997), but backed out at the last minute), Speed made a welcome comeback with a supporting part in the independent thriller Village Vengeance (2006).

Carol Speed died at age 76 on January 14, 2022 in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
BornMarch 14, 1945
DiedJanuary 14, 2022(76)
BornMarch 14, 1945
DiedJanuary 14, 2022(76)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos9

Carol Speed in TCM Remembers 2022 (2022)
Carol Speed
Carol Speed
Carol Speed
Carol Speed
Carol Speed
Carol Speed
Carol Speed

Known for

Disco Godfather (1979)
Disco Godfather
5.2
  • Noel
  • 1979
Teda Bracci, Andres Centenera, Marissa Delgado, Vic Diaz, Anitra Ford, Subas Herrero, Karen McKevic, and Carol Speed in The Big Bird Cage (1972)
The Big Bird Cage
5.9
  • Mickie
  • 1972
Black Samson (1974)
Black Samson
6.0
  • Leslie
  • 1974
Abby (1974)
Abby
5.5
  • Abby Williams
  • 1974

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Village Vengeance
    • Cookie
    • Video
    • 2006
  • Disco Godfather (1979)
    Disco Godfather
    • Noel
    • 1979
  • Abby (1974)
    Abby
    • Abby Williams
    • 1974
  • Black Samson (1974)
    Black Samson
    • Leslie
    • 1974
  • Dynamite Brothers (1974)
    Dynamite Brothers
    • Sarah
    • 1974
  • Bummer (1973)
    Bummer
    • Janyce
    • 1973
  • The Mack (1973)
    The Mack
    • Lulu
    • 1973
  • Savage! (1973)
    Savage!
    • Amanda
    • 1973
  • Sissy Spacek in The Girls of Huntington House (1973)
    The Girls of Huntington House
    • Marlene
    • TV Movie
    • 1973
  • Tenafly (1973)
    Tenafly
    • (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 1973
  • Paul Lynde and Elizabeth Allen in The Paul Lynde Show (1972)
    The Paul Lynde Show
    • Laverne
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • The New Centurions (1972)
    The New Centurions
    • Martha
    • 1972
  • Teda Bracci, Andres Centenera, Marissa Delgado, Vic Diaz, Anitra Ford, Subas Herrero, Karen McKevic, and Carol Speed in The Big Bird Cage (1972)
    The Big Bird Cage
    • Mickie
    • 1972
  • Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson in Sanford and Son (1972)
    Sanford and Son
    • Crystal Simpson
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • Getting Away from It All (1972)
    Getting Away from It All
    • Town Clerk
    • TV Movie
    • 1972

Soundtrack

  • Abby (1974)
    Abby
    • performer: "My Soul Is A Witness"
    • writer: "My Soul Is A Witness"
    • 1974
  • Sissy Spacek in The Girls of Huntington House (1973)
    The Girls of Huntington House
    • performer: "I Can Make It"
    • writer: "I Can Make It"
    • TV Movie
    • 1973

Videos5

The Big Bird Cage
Clip 1:58
The Big Bird Cage
Trailer
Trailer 1:02
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:49
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 0:57
Trailer
Disco Godfather
Trailer 3:35
Disco Godfather

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Official Web Den
  • Born
    • March 14, 1945
    • Bakersfield, California, USA
  • Died
    • January 14, 2022
    • Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA
  • Children
      Child
  • Parents
      Cora Valrie Stewart
  • Relatives
    • Barbara Morrison(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Novel: "Inside Black Hollywood".
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Interviews
    • 17 Articles
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 4 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Wrote and performed "My Soul Is A Witness" for the soundtrack of Abby (1974).

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