It’s rare that an actress gets to be a surrogate mother twice in her career, or even once with any lasting impact, but television history will remember Moesha’s Dee Mitchell and Abbott Elementary’s Barbara Howard
Oera Hoop Earrings Paved With Diamonds,In Black circles, Ralph’s name alone is almost holy. Still, she nearly quit the business. “About 15 years ago, I was feeling like I ought to just pack this in,” she says. Vincent Hughes, her husband, has been a state senator representing parts of the Philadelphia area since 1994. “I was thinking I’ll move to Philadelphia, I’ll get a little local talk show, and that’ll be that.
In 1982, when she was nominated for a Tony Award at the age of 23 after originating the role of Deena inmust have been, it was an explosion around the world. People were coming from Paris, from London, from Germany, everywhere to see this show,” she says. “But I knew I wasn’t going to win the Tony because I was nominated for lead actress with Jennifer Holliday.
Ralph came to Broadway again; a friend was trying to set her up with her now-husband. “I went to Broadway to doHe had come to New York for some gathering and told my friend he wanted to have dinner with me. I was like, ‘Oh,damn.’ ” The story gave me the kind of warmth you’d feel watching a sitcom mother tell her child about the moment she fell for the love of her life. Then Hughes pops his head into the living room to correct her.