Many of our fellow Old Schoolers probably remember when “J.J” brought his pregnant girlfriend, “Henrietta,” home to meet his parents and inform them of his marriage plans. “Florida” and “James” were already against the marriage, but when “Henrietta” showed up with a VERY pregnant belly, the look on their faces was priceless! The actress is now-69 year old Tina Andrews, whom you may also know from “Days of Our Lives,” “Roots,” and many other roles throughout the ’70s and early ’80s.
After Tina experienced many unfair treatments of minorities in the entertainment industry- such as the time she was kicked off of “Days of Our Lives” after two years (1975-1977), because her character and her Caucasian co-star, represented the first interracial TV couple ever- she then made it her mission to do something about it and what she became is impressive…
TINA ANDREWS ON LOSING EVERYTHING AFTER SUCCESS
After her acting career in the ’70s, Tina revealed that by the mid-’80s, her money was lookin’ funny, after becoming an out-of-work actress and aspiring screenwriter; working a job she hated – answering phones at a law firm:
“I watched my first Mercedes drive down the street. [she laughs]…Literally everything that I felt was important to me — materialistically — from my having been an actress ends up in a storage bin on Western Avenue in Hollywood. And the most important big ticket items were all foreclosed upon or repossessed. So all I ended up with was a legal pad and pen and my imagination. And that’s when I say: Thank God for Alex Haley because he became my second mentor,” says Tina Andrews. – January Magazine
ALEX HALEY TO THE RESCUE
During her lowest point, Tina never gave up on her dreams and continued writing her movie scripts and books. Then shockingly, Alex Haley (whom she’d worked with on his film, “Roots”) called her at her law firm job, out of the blue, with a writing opportunity for his then-upcoming biopic. Tina was ecstatic and quit her job that same day.
“I flew down to work with Mr. Haley [in Tennessee] where he had his 165-acre farm. He had eight houses [and I stayed in one of them] and we sat side by side hashing out what was going to be the first installment for this PBS project. Unfortunately the project didn’t happen because…he died in the middle of it, so it didn’t happen.” Source
After Haley’s death, Tina kept pushing, and today at age 71 she’s still going strong…
WHAT TINA ANDREWS DOES NOW
Tina Andrews is a very successful SCREENWRITER, AUTHOR, FILM PRODUCER and DIRECTOR. She was mentored by the one and only Alex Haley (creator of the miniseries, “Roots”) and below are some of her writing and/or producer credits:
- The film, “Why Do Fools Fall In Love” (starring Halle Berry, Vivica Foxx, Larenz Tate and Lela Rochon) about singer, Frankie Lymon’s life.
- TV miniseries, “Sally Hemings: An American Scandal,” which was the first time ever that the story of President Thomas Jefferson’s longtime love affair with his slave, Sally Hemings; and the children was explored in mainstream media.
- “Coretta,” a theatrical play documenting the life of Coretta Scott-King.
- The film version of “Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.”
- The stage play, “Buckingham.”
- Books: “The Hollywood Dolls,” “Charlotte Sophia: Myth, Madness and the Moor”
It’s always a beautiful thing to see an Old School celeb’ still doing great things today. Tina Andrews is a perfect example of that.
