The Cosby Show star Ethel Ayler dies aged 88
Ethel Ayler was aged 88 (Picture: Getty Images) Actress Ethel Ayler, best known for her role in The..
Actress Ethel Ayler, best known for her role in The Cosby Show, has died at the age of 88.
The TV stars family released a statement confirming she passed away on 18 November in Loma Linda, California but the news has only been shared now.
A statement from the family read: Born May 1, 1930 in Whistler, Alabama passed November 18, 2018, Loma Linda California a veteran African-American character actress with a career spanning over five decades.
Ayler had a recurring role as Carrie Hanks, Huxtables mother on The Cosby Show has come home to rest.
Viewers will best remember Ethel for her role as Bill Cosbys on-screen mother-in-law, Carrie Hanks, in the hit TV series appearing in six episodes between 1984 and 1992.
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However, Ethel was also a star in her own right with a career spanning five decades.
The actress had starred in the Broadway production of August Wilsons Fences in 1987 to 1988. Ethel made her off-Broadway debut in 1957 and last appeared on-stage in 1997 with a role in The Little Foxes.
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Aside from her stage career, Ethel landed roles in movies such as The Bodyguard and Eves Bayou, while also singing Stand By Me in 1990s To Sleep With Danger alongside Danny Glover, for which she earned a Spirit Award nomination.
From the big screen to the small screen, Ethel appeared in a string of TV shows like 7th Heaven, Six Feet Under, Martin, Friends and Family Ties.
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