Lynn Hamilton, of Sanford and Son and The Waltons, Dead at 95

Lynn Hamilton Dead, Cause of Death of Sanford and Son, Waltons Star

Reg Grundy Productions/Everett Collection

Lynn Hamilton, best known to TV audiences for work on Sanford and Son and The Waltons, has passed away at the age of 95.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hamilton died June 19 of natural causes at her home in Chicago.

Hamilton recurred throughout Sanford and Son’s six-season run; she appeared in 22 episodes across six seasons, between 1972 and 1977. She initially played Lamont’s landlady in Season 1, Episode 7, but was reintroduced just three weeks later as Fred’s girlfriend-turned-fiancée, registered nurse Donna Harris (aka “The Barracuda”).

 

Hamilton & Red Foxx on Sanford and Son Everett Collection

Between 1973 and 1981, Hamilton also recurred on CBS’ The Waltons, on which she played Verdie Grant Foster — a role she would later reprise in two made-for-TV movies: A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (1993) and A Walton Easter (1997).

Hamilton also starred on a pair of short-lived soap operas — as matriarch Vivian Potter on NBC’s Generations (1989-91), and as Cissie Johnson on the syndicated drama Dangerous Woman (1991-92).

Additional small-screen roles included Cousin Georgia Anderson on Roots: The Next Generations (1979), Emma Johnson on 227 (1986-89) and Judge P. Fulton on The Practice (1997-2002). Film credits included Shadows (1959), Brother John (1971), Buck and the Preacher (1972), Lady Sings the Blues (1972), Leadbelly (1976) and Legal Eagles (1986)