Theresa Irene Merritt Way (Queens)
Present name:None
Location:At the intersection of 192nd Street and 110th Road
Honoree: Theresa Merritt Hines (1922-1998) was an American stage, film, and television actress and singer with a half-century long career. “On Broadway in 1984 she originated the title role in August Wilson's ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,'' earning a Tony nomination. As a teen-ager, she sang in church and community choirs and appeared on a radio show aimed at black audiences, ''Parisian Tailor's Colored Kiddie Hour.'' At 21, Ms. Merritt was chosen by Billy Rose, the Broadway producer, to join the cast of his 1943 musical, ''Carmen Jones.'' She played Frascetta. Later, she toured as a backup singer for Harry Belafonte and Jackie Wilson and sang at Carnegie Hall in 1985 as part of the Kool Jazz Festival and Salute to Cole Porter. Her other New York stage roles included a gospel singer in ''Trumpets of the Lord'' in 1969; the understanding Southern maid in ''F. Jasmine Addams,'' a 1971 musical based on Carson McCullers's ''Member of the Wedding''; the wicked witch in ''The Wiz,'' and John Lithgow's black Polish landlady in ''Division Street,'' a 1980 farce by Steve Tesich. Ms. Merritt acted in several films, including ''They Might Be Giants'' (1972), ''The Goodbye Girl'' (1977), ''All That Jazz'' (1979), ''The Great Santini'' (1979), ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1982) and ''The Serpent and the Rainbow'' (1988).” (Miller)
LL:2022/54