Tony Winner Linda Hopkins Passes Away at 92

BroadwayWord is saddened to report that Linda Hopkins, who won a Tony Award for her performance in Inner City, passed away on April 10, according to the New York Times. She was 92 years old.

During the 1970s, Hopkins performed in the Broadway musical, Purlie, and with Sammy Davis, Jr. for nine months. In addition, she performed at President Jimmy Carter's 1977 inaugural ball. In 1972 she was awarded a Tony and Drama Desk Award for her performance in Inner City.

Hopkins starred in Me and Bessie, a one-woman show paying homage to blues singer Bessie Smith, conceived and written by Hopkins and Will Holt. The world premiere was in Washington, D.C. in 1974. After a run in Los Angeles it transferred to the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway. The critically acclaimed show ran for thirteen months and 453 performances, and Hopkins was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.

In 1985, Black and Blue, written by Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Musical Paris. The musical revue opened on Broadway in 1989 and ran for 829 performances. Hopkins received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical. Wild Women Blues, conceived by Hopkins and produced by Mel Howard and created by Hopkins and William Lipscomb, premiered in Berlin in 1997.

In October 2005, Hopkins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.