Carol Speed

Cute, bubbly and adorable actress 'Carol Speed' (qv) 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' (qv) at Harrah's club in Reno, Nevada. She made her film debut as a hooker in _The New Centurions (1972)_ (qv). Speed's most memorable movie roles include sassy prison inmate Mickie in 'Jack Hill' (qv)'s hilarious babes-behind-bars parody _The Big Bird Cage (1972)_ (qv), pimp 'Max Julien' (qv)'s loyal prostitute girlfriend Lulu in the terrific _The Mack (1973)_ (qv), sarcastic rock groupie Janyce in _Bummer (1973)_ (qv), club owner 'Rockne Tarkington' (qv)'s sweet gal pal Leslie in the fun _Black Samson (1974)_ (qv) and deaf-mute Sarah in 'Al Adamson' (qv)'s _Dynamite Brothers (1974)_ (qv).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' (qv)'s immensely entertaining horror flick _Abby (1974)_ (qv). She had a recurring part on the daytime soap opera _Days of Our Lives (1965)_ (qv) in the summer of 1970. Moreover, she made a guest appearance on an episode of _Sanford and Son (1972)_ (qv), has appeared in several TV commercials and pops up in the made-for-TV films _The Girls of Huntington House (1973)_ (qv), _Love Hate Love (1971)_ (qv), _Tenafly (1973)_ (qv), _Getting Away from It All (1972)_ (qv) and _The Psychiatrist (1970)_ (qv).Outside of acting, Carol is also a successful writer (she's the author of the books "Inside Black Hollywood" and "The Georgette Harvey Story"), singer and songwriter (she sings 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)_ (qv) (she was slated to do a small role in 'Quentin Tarantino' (qv)'s _Jackie Brown (1997)_ (qv), but backed out at the last minute), Speed made a welcome comeback with a supporting part in the independent thriller _Village Vengeance (2006)_ (qv).'Carol Speed' (qv) now lives in Atlanta, Georgia.::woodyanders (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)