Judy Lenteen Pace[1] (born June 15, 1942[2]) is an American actress known for her roles in films and television shows, particularly blaxploitation films. Pace portrayed Vickie Fletcher on the TV series Peyton Place (1968–1969) and Pat Walters on the ABC drama series The Young Lawyers (1969–1971), for which she won an Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 1970.
Early life and career
Pace was born the second of two daughters in Los Angeles, California, to an airplane mechanic and a dressmaker.[3] Pace's older sister Jean Pace Brown was an activist who was married to musician and actor Oscar Brown, Jr. After graduation from Dorsey High School,[4][5] Pace attended Los Angeles City College, majoring in sociology.[6] Pace made her film debut as one of the title characters in William Castle's 13 Frightened Girls (1963).[7] She got her first major break in Hollywood in 1968 as the first black villainess on TV with her role as Vickie Fletcher in the hit ABC-TV soap-opera/drama series Peyton Place.[8] Also in 1968, Pace was singled out for praise by noted film critic Roger Ebert, for her performance in the popular youth-oriented film, Three in the Attic:
The find in this movie, for my money, is the young black actress Judy Pace, who is terrific. Variety calls her "the most beautiful black actress in Hollywood," which is debatable since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, etc., but she's a quick, funny actress who can put an edge on a line and keep a scene sparkling.[9]
For one season, she starred in the drama The Young Lawyers broadcast on ABC. Pace also had a key supporting role as Gale Sayers's wife, Linda, in the critically acclaimed 1971 ABC-TV movie Brian's Song.[7][10]
Personal life
In 1972, Pace married actor Don Mitchell.[6] They had two daughters together before their divorce in 1984.[6][11] Their daughters are actress Julia Pace Mitchell and Shawn Meshelle Mitchell.[citation needed] Pace had been courted by late baseball great Curt Flood in 1966 when he saw her as a bachelorette contestant on the game show The Dating Game.[7] They dated until 1970. After divorcing Mitchell in 1984, Pace and Flood met again, leading to their 1986 marriage.[7] They remained together until Flood's death in 1997.[6][12]
^"8 Black Women You Should Definitely Know". Call & Post, All-Ohio edition; Cleveland, Ohio. February 10, 2021. p. 3C. ProQuest2495533894. JUDY PACE: Judy Lenteen Pace was a woman of many firsts. In addition to being the first Black woman to ever receive a contract from a major motion picture studio, she is also the first Black television vilíainess, starring in the hit show "Peyton Place" in 1964. The dramatic series was the first to feature a Black family on prime time television.
^"Young Negro actress joins Peyton cast". Longview (WA) Daily News. Dec 28, 1968. Judy attended Louis Pasteur Junior High and Dorsey High School before enrolling at Los Angeles City College.
^"Judy Pace is Bright Star in Young Lawyers". The Louisiana Weekly. Feb 13, 1971. She attended Louis Pasteur Junior High and Dorsey High School before enrolling at Los Angeles City College.
