Television and film actress Judy Pace has died.
The influential actress known for her roles in ’70s blaxploitation films died Wednesday, her daughters Sean Pace Mitchell and Julia Pace Mitchell announced, Deadline reported.
Pace “passed away peacefully in his sleep” while visiting family in Marina del Rey, California, his family said.
She was 83 years old.
Pace’s best-known roles include Vicki Fletcher on the soap opera Peyton Place and Linda Sayers (wife of real-life NFL player Gale Sayers) in the 1971 TV movie Brian’s Song.
The film told the story of the friendship between Chicago Bears football player Brian Piccolo, who has terminal cancer, and his teammate Sayers.
“Brian’s Song” was a huge success, winning multiple Emmys and Grammys.
Her wide-ranging credits include “13 Frightened Girls” (1963), “Batman” (1966), “Enchanted” (1966), “Days of Our Lives” (1967), “The Genie” (1967), “Mod Squad” (1968), and “The Young Lawyer” (1970-1971). ), “Shaft”, etc. (1973) etc.
She played a law student working in Boston on ABC’s The Young Lawyers, for which she won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 1970.
She also made history in 1965 as the first black “Bachelorette” contestant to appear on “The Dating Game.”
Before becoming a successful actress, Pace was a model.
She was previously married to actor Don Mitchell, with whom she had two daughters, but they divorced in 1984 after 12 years of marriage.
She later married baseball great Curt Flood and they remained together until his death in 1997.
