Odessa Cleveland | |
---|---|
Odessa Cleveland, who played Nurse Ginger Bayliss on the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H, in 2011. | |
Personal Information | |
Gender: | Female |
Born: | March 3, 1944 |
Birthplace | Louisiana, U.S. |
Occupation/ Career: |
Actress |
Years active: | 1971-1986 |
Character information | |
Appeared on/in: | M*A*S*H |
Episodes appeared in: | 24 from Seasons 1-5 |
Character(s) played: | Nurse Ginger Bayliss |
Odessa Cleveland (born March 3, 1944 in Louisiana) is an film and television actress.
Career[]
Odessa is best known for her role as Lieutenant Ginger Bayliss, a recurring character on the television series M*A*S*H, on which she appeared for 26 episodes from Seasons 1-4; and 1 more episode in Season 5. She appeared in guest roles on such 1970s and 1980s TV shows such as NBC-TV's Sanford and Son, The Greatest American Hero, and Simon and Simon. She also had a guest role in an episode of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H spin-off series Trapper John, M.D. in 1986. Beginning as a receptionist and writer at the Watts Writer's Workshop/Theater under the tutelage of Budd Shulberg, Odessa began appearing in such productions as Black Girl in Search of God at Jim Wood's Studio Watts Theater in Los Angeles. Odessa is also a lifetime member of The Actors' Studio in Los Angeles.[1]
In 1974, she portrayed "Jim's" slave wife in the 1974 musical release of Huckleberry Finn. She also made a cameo appearance as a nurse in the 1976 ABC-TV Rich Man, Poor Man miniseries.
Filmography[]
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Huckleberry Finn | Jim's Wife | lone film appearance, based on Tom Saywer 1973 film |
Television works[]
Year | Series | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1971 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | Barbara | 1 episode: "Glass Cage" |
1972 | M*A*S*H | Lt. Ginger Bayliss | Total of 22 episodes (5 uncredited) |
1975 | Sanford and Son [2] | Audrey | 1 episode: "The Over-the-Hill Gag" |
1977 | Something for Joey | Judy | TV Movie |
1982 | The Greatest American Hero | Nurse | 1 episode: " The Hand-Painted Thai" |
1983 | Simon & Simon | Nurse | 1 episode: "Room 3502" |
1986 | Trapper John, M.D. | Second Nurse | 1 episode: "The Curmudgeon" |
References[]
- ↑ A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio, by David Garfield, published by MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York City, ISBN 0-02-542650-8, page 278, Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980.
- ↑ Odessa Cleveland at the Sanford and Son wiki