Black First of the Day

1969

Gail Fisher (1935-2000)

The first black actress to receive an Emmy Award was Gail Fisher. She won the award in 1969 for her portrayal of secretary Peggy Fair on the CBS television show Mannix. In 1961 Fisher was also the first black to have a speaking part in a nationally televised commercial and is the only black woman to receive the Duse Award from the Lee Strasberg Actors Studio. She was one of America's most recognized television personalities in the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Orange, New Jersey, Fisher studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lincoln Arts Center (where she was the first black accepted to the repertory theater), and the Actors Studio. In the 1950s she was a successful model with the Grace Del Marco organization and became well known in the black press for her work.

Sources: Bogle, Primetime Blues, pp. 137, 139, 153; Ebony (November 1974): 77; (November 1975): 158; (October 1978): 40; Negro Almanac, pp. 1137-38; New York Times (18 February 2001); Smith, Notable Black American Women, Book II, pp. 223-24.

From Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Events by Jessie Carney Smith, © 2013 Visible Ink Press®. A celebration of achievement, accomplishments and pride.