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in: Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls, Actors, Main cast, Cast

Ja'Net DuBois

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Ja'Net DuBois
Ja'net Dubois
Ja'Net DuBois played the role of Willona Woods on the series.
Personal Information
Gender: Female
Birth name: Jeannette Theresa Dubois
Also known as: Jeanette Theresa Calloway-DuBois
Born: (1932-08-05)August 5, 1932
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or New York City, NY, U.S.[1]
Died February 17, 2020(2020-02-17) (aged 87)
Deathplace: Glendale, California, U.S.
Career/Family Information
Occupation/
Career: 		Actress/singer
Years active: 1962-2016
Spouse(s): Sajit Gupta (m. 1950–?; divorced)[1]
Children: 4
Character information
Appeared on: Good Times
Character played: Willona Woods
Episode
appearances: 		all 133 in series, Seasons 1-6
Good-Times-1


Jeannette Theresa "Ja'Net" DuBois (pronounced jâ·nā dü·bô; born August 5, 1932 – February 17, 2020) was an American actress and singer. She played Willona Woods, the wise cracking, gossip, maven next-door neighbor.

Biography[]

Early life and career[]

DuBois was born Jeannette Theresa Dubois in either Brooklyn, New York City,[2] or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [1] She was the daughter of Lillian Gouedy (1910–1984)[3] and Gordon Adelbert Dubois (1915–1960)[4] [2][5] and was raised in Amityville, New York, on Long Island.[6]

DuBois began her acting career onstage during the early 1960s, making her Broadway debut with a small role in the short-lived play The Long Dream, which ran for four days in February 1960.[7] She appeared in the drama A Raisin in the Sun with Louis Gossett Jr., though not the original Broadway production.[7][8][9] After appearing in the play The Blacks in October 1963, she became an understudy for the housekeeper role, portrayed by Gertrude Jeannette, in the comedy Nobody Loves an Albatross, which ran through June 1964.[10][11][12][13] DuBois next appeared in the Broadway musical Golden Boy with Sammy Davis Jr., Billy Daniels, Lola Falana and Johnny Brown. DuBois portrayed Anna, the sister of Davis's character, through the entire original run from October 1964 to March 1966.[7][14][15]

Career[]

Ja'Net has appeared in a number of other television programs (usually as a guest star), most notably in 1972 during the second season of Sanford and Son as Fred's old flame Juanita in an episode entitled "Sanford and Son and Sister Makes Three" (this appearance got her noticed by Norman Lear, and led to her being cast in Good Times and in films). In 1970, DuBois played the part of a quarrelsome laundress alongside Carrie Snodgrass in the cult classic Diary of a Mad Housewife.

She co-starred in the movie I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and the sitcoms Moesha and The Steve Harvey Show. She played the grandmother on the hit show The Wayans Bros., and appeared in the 2003 movie Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Among her other credits, she appeared in the 1969 made-for-TV holiday film J.T.. She also appeared in former Good Times co-star Janet Jackson's "Control" music video as her mother. She also appeared in Love of Life between 1970-1972 as Loretta Allen, years prior to starring in Good Times. Dubois won an CableACE Award for her work on the TV movie Other Women's Children based on the novel by Perri Klass, and she also won two Emmy Awards for her voiceover work on the animated program The PJs. 

Death[]

Dubois died on February 17, 2020, of cardiac arrest at her residence in Glendale, California.

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900–1965, Jeannette Du Bois Gupta". Familysearch.org (July 3, 1959 – via Imgur.com).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Brazilian consular document. FamilySearch.org, via Imgur.com (April 24, 1959).
  3. ↑ Lillian Gouedy (1910–1984). Retrieved on March 11, 2020.
  4. ↑ U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947 for Gordon Adelbert Dubois. FamilySearch (1940–1947).
  5. ↑ "TV Actress Ja'Net DuBois To Appear On 'Arsenio'". Jet Magazinem Vol. 82, no. 6. Johnson Publishing Company (June 1, 1992). Retrieved on April 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ Van Gelder, Lawrence. "People: Rookie Who Looks Good", September 19, 1976. Retrieved on January 28, 2020.  (abstract of page on subscription site)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Jeannette DuBois. Internet Broadway Database.
  8. ↑ A Raisin in the Sun. Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved on March 1, 2020.
  9. ↑ "'Good Times' actress Ja'Net Dubois Dies", February 20, 2020. 
  10. ↑ "New York Beat", Johnson Publishing Company, February 13, 1964, p. 63. “Jeanette DuBois, who joined the cast of The Blacks last October and soon thereafter won the understudy slot to the housekeeper in the comedy hit Nobody Loves an Albatross...” 
  11. ↑ Nobody Loves an Albatross Opening-Night Cast. Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved on March 1, 2020.
  12. ↑ Golden Boy Opening Night Cast. Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved on January 28, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Negros on Broadway", Johnson Publishing Company, April 1, 1964, p. 63. 
  14. ↑ Golden Boy. Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved on March 1, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Why Can't Negro Male Star Win White Girl In End?", Johnson Publishing Company, November 27, 1964, p. 64. Retrieved on February 24, 2020. 

External links[]

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