Brenda Sykes (born June 25, 1949)[1] is a former American actress who made a number of films and appeared in television series in the 1970s.[2] She was discovered on The Dating Game.[3]
Life and career
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and raised in Los Angeles,[1] Sykes is the daughter of a postal worker.[citation needed] She attended Susan Miller Dorsey High School,[4] graduating in 1967, following which she spent two years at UCLA, with a major in political science and minor in French. On the recommendation of producer Aaron Spelling, she attended the Professional Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles for six months.
Aaron Spelling, the producer, told me to go to the workshop. I auditioned for a part and he said I wasn't ready for it. So I went and was taught how to kiss, take punches, and burst into tears at a moment's notice.[5]
Sykes later continued her studies with actor Jeff Corey.[1]
Sykes played Jim Brown's love interest in Black Gunn. According to Brown, he was responsible for her being cast in the role, an effort he made because he was attracted to her in real life.[6] From 1973 to 1974, she co-starred on Ozzie's Girls as a college student boarding with Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.
Sykes was married to musician Gil Scott-Heron[7] from 1978 to 1987 and is the mother of poet Gia Scott-Heron.[8] "She was exquisitely beautiful, soft and refined. He was so full of fire, and she was the opposite. She was the water in his life," said the filmmaker Esther Anderson.[9]
^ abcRobertson, Gene (October 16, 1971). "On the Beam". San Francisco Sun-Reporter. p. 33. ProQuest370764305. 'Skin Game' marks lovely BRENDA SYKES's fifth major . . . role in the scant two years since she decided to become an actress. Born in Shreveport, La., June 25, 1949, Miss Sykes has been a California resident since infancy. She's had major roles in 'THE LIBERATION OF LORD BYRON JONES,' 'GETTING STRAIGHT,' 'THE BABY MAKER,' 'SHEILA' and most recently, 'PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN AROW.' She is presently continuing her acting studies with famed Hollywood drama coach Jeff Corey and has been seen in numerous guest shot roles in TV shows.
^"Brenda Sykes Climbs New Rung of Film Ladder With Ossie Davis In 'The Sheriff'". Los Angeles Sentinel. March 11, 1971. p. B. ProQuest565018073. After graduation from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, Brenda attended UCLA as political science major.
^Brachman, James (May 5, 1974). "Television – "Brenda as Coed: Disney and Drama Together". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 23. "She was graduated from high school in 1967 [...] In between all this she managed to squeeze two years at U.C.L.A., where she majored in political science and minored in French, and six months at the Professional Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles." Retrieved January 28, 2024.
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