On this day in comedy on November 19, 1969, Actress, Erika Rose Alexander was born in Winslow, Arizona
Alexander gained her initial popularity on the NBC sitcom, The Cosby Show playing Pam Tucker from 1990-1992. Her next sitcom stint was on the short-lived, Going to Extremes. Why a sitcom about students from America studying medicine in the Caribbean wasn’t a hit is beyond me. That’s sounds like it would’ve been loaded with laughs. Huh! Anyway, that was in 1992. In 1993 Alexander landed the FOX ensemble comedy Living Single where she played attorney, Maxine Shaw for five seasons opposite Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, John Henton, T C Carson and Kim Fields. Known to her friends as “Max”, the outgoing lawyer was the perfect showcase for Alexander’s comedic abilities both verbal and physical.
Not just a one-trick pony, Alexander displayed dramatic chops and creative ones. She did voice-overs (The Bible Experience), appeared in music videos, was featured in motion pictures (The Long Walk Home, La Mission), had recurring roles on television shows (Judging Amy, Heist, Last Man Standing, Low Winter Sun, Let’s Stay Together) and she co-created and co-wrote the graphic novel, Concrete Park
Erika Alexander has won two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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