The Box: Looking Back At Daytime's First Black Leading Actress Ellen Holly
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Note: This tribute was written before the passing of Ellen Holly. So in honor of her legacy as an actress in the soap world. We wish to share this tribute with everyone again. Rest In Peace, Ellen Holly. - 12/08/23
Ellen Holly comes from a long line of trailblazers- her family tree includes Susan Smith McKinney Steward, the first Black woman to graduate from medical school in the state of New York (the third in the United States overall) and Sylvanus Smith, the first Black person to address Congress at the Lincoln Memorial- so it’s no surprise that she is a trailblazer herself. Her portrayal of Carla Gray on the Agnes Nixon soap opera One Life to Live marked a major moment in entertainment history, as she became the first Black leading actress in daytime television. Her inclusion on the soap was monumental, giving the daytime television viewing populace a rare opportunity to watch a Black television character in a major, meaningful role.
Carla Gray is first introduced on One Life to Live in 1968 as Carla Benari, an Italian American woman who is on the brink of a complete nervous breakdown. The cause of her mental health issue is later revealed to be from the inner conflict she faces as a light-skinned Black woman who ran away when she was young and has been passing for white ever since. The irony of the role was not lost on Holly, who referenced the fact that Black actresses avoid trying to pass for white. At the same time, this was the only role on camera that was typically awarded to light-skinned Black actresses- and even then, these roles often went to white actresses. Irony aside, Carla Gray was huge. Upon the show’s revelation that the Italian Carla Benari was actually the Black Carla Gray, ratings spiked, and it was clear that Agnes Nixon had struck television gold with her character’s unique storyline.
One of the key points in the story of Ellen Holly and her acting career falls within the realm of stereotyping and race. According to Holly, every actor working with camera is stereotyped and placed into a box, wherein actors are not recognized so much for their talents, but more based on the kinds of roles that their appearance immediately grants them access to. It is for this reason, she states, that audiences may be shocked to find out that an actor is actually quite talented when they take on a role that divorces them from the stereotypes that they come to be known for.
The box is something that Holly says every actor on camera is subject to. However, she digs deeper into this analogy by pointing out that this box scrutinizes women of color even more than it does others, as she states that women of color have to pass through a specific filter within this box regarding their skin color: Are they Latina or white? Asian or white? Black or white? Through this filter, actresses can be easily stereotyped and tokenized for roles that call for that one character of color. Beyond this filter lies yet another filter that delves further into the subject of color and physical features, one that Holly says only affects Black actresses: Are they dark or light? And it is within this second distinction that Holly’s career was largely shaped out for her.
Agent Stark Hesseltine once told Holly that although he found her to be one of the most talented actresses in the industry, there was simply “no market” for her to showcase those talents. “It has nothing to do with you, it has to do with the business,” he told her. In other words, there were no roles on camera that were going to go to a light-skinned Black actress. Though on the surface those tough words cut sharp, Holly noted her appreciation for them, as it was a rare moment of honesty. As she has stated, the reality is that the actresses who were being cast at that time could only be as light as Lena Horne or as dark as Cicely Tyson- anyone whose appearance didn’t fit within this range was either “too light or too dark.” And because Holly’s complexion was so light, she clearly fell outside of this spectrum of “castable” Black actresses. For Ellen Holly, her skin color was seemingly the only barrier that kept her from securing roles following exceptional auditions. For example, she talks of how she was only able to land the role of Stephanie in Too Late the Phalarope on Broadway after painting her skin for an audition in order to appear darker.
The question then remains: How was Ellen Holly able to be cast on One Life to Live when she struggled to land work on camera? The answer begins with a newspaper article. She had first caught the eye of writer Agnes Nixon based on her New York Times article titled “How Black Do You Have to Be?”, in which Holly had discussed the difficulties that light-skinned Black actors faced in casting, particularly of not being considered “Black enough” to be able to play Black characters. Nixon looked further into Holly and decided that this was the right actress for the role, both in appearance and in philosophy. And so, the irony of a Black actress playing a white character who is actually a Black character who is passing for white comes full circle. Holly’s biggest role happened because she managed to pass through the narrowest filter that she could have possibly passed through. And although she was already a decorated thespian before One Life to Live, it was through her writing that she was even discovered for the part. And somehow, despite all of the difficulties that it took for her to get to that point, it worked, and Carla’s storyline was a brilliant, and highly-publicized, success. But despite her role being so important for the show, and so monumental for what it had meant in the world of television, it would not last forever.
Everyone had figured that Carla Gray was meant to be a tentpole character- characters who are intended to be on the show practically forever- but Ellen Holly’s tenure on One Life to Live eventually came to an end…twice. Difficult contract negotiations, constant pay disparity and frequent dismissive treatment- such as when she had returned from her nephew’s funeral only to discover that while she was away, her dressing room had been given to a white actress- made Holly’s run on the soap tenuous from the start, but none of these issues had ever led her to leave the series altogether. Her first exit came following the casting of an actor who very clearly hated her to play opposite her. This casting decision- which was made against Holly’s protestations- went beyond a lack of chemistry on set and had actually put her through severe emotional distress, leaving her with little choice but to walk away. However, she was eventually asked back by then-executive producer Jean Arley, marking the beginning of Holly’s short second stint on the show. According to Holly, the trouble with her return started when Arley had set up a 15-year anniversary event honoring the show’s original stars. At that point, the only two original stars left were Holly and Lillian Hayman, both Black actresses. With press coverage obviously focusing more on the show’s original stars, this meant that less attention was paid to the white stars of the show who had come much later than Holly and Hayman. This had struck a nerve with many- including Agnes Nixon herself- and Arley was out. Her replacement was Paul Rauch, who came to the show in 1984 ready to deal the final blow to Holly’s involvement with the soap. He immediately took offense to her hair, then to her voice- insisting repeatedly that she see a voice teacher- until Holly’s contract had ended, when he abruptly informed her that she would not be brought back. With that, the first leading Black actress of daytime had left the series on which she had made television history.
Ellen Holly’s role in expanding Black representation marks a groundbreaking moment in television history, and it is, without question, the most defining aspect of her legacy. However, discussion of Ellen Holly is often limited to the fact that she was the first Black leading actress of daytime television, and tends to completely overlook her actual work. This is not to say that her landmark role gets too much attention, but that her acting itself does not receive enough. It is important to recognize that she had brought with her a true acting prowess that is deserving of recognition in its own right. Prior to One Life to Live, she played the lead in eight theatrical productions of Shakespeare and starred on Broadway alongside such well-known and highly-respected actors like Jack Lemmon, earning her the praises of the prestigious director Elia Kazan and the famed acting teacher Lee Strasberg, among others. She was a well-known star in the theatres of New York City, and was able to showcase that same level of talent on One Life to Live.
The above 1984 clip of Holly and Hayman shows what made Ellen Holly so special as an actress. With the breaks in her voice, mid-sentence pauses and slow building of emotional expression in her face throughout the scene, Holly delivers a performance that is highly authentic in its portrayal of a woman torn. She makes it clear here that her role was not just historic, but that it was brilliantly executed as well. Her theatrical credits can only speak for themselves and have long since passed, but her 17 years of work on One Life to Live will always give people insight into the talent that had won her so many roles in spite of the stereotyping and filtering that was constantly holding her back.
Ellen Holly was the first leading Black actress in the history of daytime. She was a great talent who graced both national television and the Broadway stage for years. And although she may no longer be the household name that she was during her run on One Life to Live, her story should continue to be told, her historic accomplishment should always be recognized and her work should continue to be celebrated. With only one life to live, one full of wonderful highs and devastating lows, Ellen Holly has certainly lived an impressive life.
