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Marsha Warfield | |
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| Born | Marsha Francine Warfield March 5, 1954 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, comedian |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Website | marshawarfield |
Marsha Francine Warfield (born March 5, 1954) is an American actress and comedian. She grew up on Chicago's South Side, [1] graduating from Calumet High School. She is best known for playing tough, no-nonsense bailiff Roz Russell on the NBC sitcom Night Court from 1986 to 1992, reprising the role on a guest basis for its 2023 revival. [2] [3] [4] [5] Warfield also starred in the sitcom Empty Nest as Dr. Maxine Douglas (1993–95). Before Night Court, she was a writer and performer on the short-lived Richard Pryor Show . [3]
Warfield appeared in feature films such as D.C. Cab (1983) and Mask (1985), hosted The Marsha Warfield Show for ten months (March 1990–January 1991) and has made guest appearances on many television shows, including Riptide , Family Ties , Clueless , Cheers , Living Single , In Living Color , Cybill , Moesha, Smart Guy, and Touched by an Angel . As of 2024 she has a recurring role on 9-1-1 as the mother of main character paramedic and firefighter Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, played by Aisha Hinds.
She has also done stand-up comedy including appearances on the Norm Crosby hosted The Comedy Shop television series. [6] She won the San Francisco International Comedy Competition in 1979, over such competition as Dana Carvey and A. Whitney Brown.
In 2017, Warfield publicly came out stating:
When I told my mother I was gay, she said she knew, and had known all my life.
Then, she asked me not to come out publicly while she was alive. I agreed, even though the request and her admission were hurtful in ways I couldn't put my finger on then, and probably haven't completely worked through it now, but, everybody who knew me, knew I was gay. The people I didn't tell knew anyway, and tacitly agreed to pretend that the unacknowledged had been acknowledged and accepted. Like I'm sure is true for millions of other glass door closeted people. When I went to bars, which was frequently, I never tried to hide who I was, so, it was an open secret. Had I never come out publicly, many, many people would have known. It would not then have ever really been a betrayal of trust to "spill the beans" because it wasn't a secret, it was an uncomfortably kept promise to my mother, but, it was also not the only reason I didn't come out swinging when she passed. The fear of the judgment of strangers and their holier-than-thou "shoulds" was at least as big of a burden to bear, but the "shoulds" that "should" matter, don't. Nobody should have to hide their sexuality. No parent should ask their child to.
Warfield's Night Court character, Roz, was portrayed as gay and marrying another woman in the 2023 revival, something Warfield says could not have happened at the time of the original show. [9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | That Thing on ABC | Performer | Television film |
| 1981 | The Marva Collins Story | Lela Boland | Television film |
| 1982 | They Call Me Bruce? | Inmate # 2 | |
| 1983 | D.C. Cab | Ophelia | |
| 1985 | Mask | Homeroom Teacher | |
| 1985 | Anything for Love | Cleo | Television film |
| 1986 | The Whoopee Boys | Officer White | |
| 1988 | Caddyshack II | Royette Tyler | |
| 1989 | Who Shrunk Saturday Morning | Ms. Bagwind | Television film |
| 1997 | Doomsday Rock | Television film | |
| 2023 | A Holiday I Do | Andrea |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | The Richard Pryor Show | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1979 | Legends of the Superheroes | Woman in Phone Booth | Episode: "The Challenge" |
| 1984 | Riptide | Max | 4 episodes |
| 1984 | Family Ties | Doris Bradshaw | Episode: "Keaton and Son" |
| 1985 | Cheers | Roxanne Brewster | Episode: "The Belles of St. Clete's" |
| 1986–1992 | Night Court | Rosalind "Roz" Russell | 135 episodes |
| 1990-1991 | The Marsha Warfield Show | Herself | 225 episodes |
| 1993 | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | Beverly, Mark's Sister | Episode: "Boys Don't Leave" |
| 1993–1995 | Empty Nest | Dr. Maxine Douglas | 50 episodes |
| 1993 | The Addams Family | Mail Carrier | Episode: "Jack and Jill and the Beanstalk/Festerman Returns/Hand Delivered" |
| 1993 | In Living Color | Herself | Sketch: "Ace and the Main Man" |
| 1993 | Saved by the Bell: The College Years | Herself | Episode: "A Thanksgiving Story" |
| 1994 | The John Larroquette Show | Dexter's Sister | Episode: "Date Night" |
| 1996 | Touched by an Angel | Bebe Manero | Episode: "The Quality of Mercy" |
| 1996 | Cybill | Herself | Episode: "An Officer and a Thespian" |
| 1996 | ABC Afterschool Special | Nurse | Episode: "Me and My Hormones" |
| 1997 | Dave's World | Mrs. Alexander | Episode: "Does the Whale Have to Be White?" |
| 1997 | Smart Guy | Mrs. Dowling | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Mad About You | Birth Instructor | Episode: "Dry Run" |
| 1997 | Goode Behavior | Episode: "Goode Cop, Bad Cop" | |
| 1997 | Living Single | Agnes Finch | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Moesha | Tracy Jackson | Episode: "My Mom's Not an Ottoman |
| 1998 | Clueless | Sgt. Meany | Episode: "The Joint" |
| 1999 | Love Boat: The Next Wave | Judge Nancy Watson | Episode: "Divorce, Downbeat and Distemper" |
| 1999 | Veronica's Closet | Shirley | Episode: "Veronica's Sliding Doors" |
| 2021–2023 | 9-1-1 | Antonia 'Toni' Wilson | 8 episodes |
| 2023–2025 | Night Court | Rosalind "Roz" Russell | 3 episodes |
| 2023–2024 | The Upshaws | Glodine Upshaw | 2 episodes |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Marsha Warfield, whose Night Court character, Roz, has been revealed as gay in the reboot of the series, says that portrayal wouldn't have been possible during the show's original run.
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