Background and career
Helen Dorothy Martin (July 23, 1909 – March 25, 2000) was an American actress of stage and television. Martin's career spanned over 60 years, appearing first on stage and later in film and television. Martin is best known for her roles as Wanda Williams on the CBS sitcom Good Times (1974–1979) and as Pearl Shay on the NBC sitcom 227 (1985–1990).
Martin was born in St. Louis and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She was an only child born to a family of musicians. Martin's parents wanted their daughter to become a concert pianist. At the urging of her parents, Martin attended Fisk University for a two-year span before dropping out to embark on an acting career. During the Great Depression, Martin supported herself as a domestic worker.
After leaving college, Martin moved to Chicago, and New York City thereafter to study acting with the WPA Theater and the Rose McClendon Players. She was a founding member of the American Negro Theater in Harlem. Martin became a Broadway character actress for many decades, debuting in 'Orchids Preferred' in 1937 and thereafter Orson Welles's production of Native Son in 1941. Martin appeared in a dozen Broadway shows, including Jean Genet's The Blacks, the musical Raisin from 1973 until 1975, Ossie Davis's Purlie Victorious (and later the musical version, which was called Purlie), The Amen Corner and Tennessee Williams's Period of Adjustment. Martin became widely known later in life due to her roles in popular television series, which brought her a large audience. She had a recurring role as Wanda "Weeping Wanda" Williams on the television series Good Times, and later as the neighbor Pearl Shay on the television sitcom 227, which lasted from 1985 until 1990. Martin also had a role on the short-lived sitcoms Baby, I'm Back (as mother in-law, Luzelle) and That's My Mama. Martin portrayed a variety of grandmothers in films: Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), I Got the Hook Up (1998), House Party 2 (1991), and Mama Doll in Bulworth (1998). While appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to promote Don't Be a Menace, Martin sent host Conan O'Brien and the audience into a frenzy with her remark, "I love reefer!" in response to a question about being cast as a pot-smoking grandmother in the film. She also said she would have been a stripper had she not gone into acting and followed her statement with a suggestive dance.
Martin died of a heart attack on March 25, 2000, in Monterey, California, at the age of 90.
1937: Orchids Preferred .... Evy 1941: Native Son .... Vera Thomas 1945: Deep Are the Roots .... Honey Turner 1953: Take a Giant Step .... Poppy 1960: The Long Dream .... Maude Carter 1960: Period of Adjustment .... Susie 1960: The Blacks .... 1961: Purlie Victorious .... Missy Judson 1963: My Mother, My Father and Me .... Hannah 1965: The Amen Corner .... Sister Douglas 1967: Something Different .... Sarah Goldfine 1970: Purlie .... Idelia 1973: Raisin .... Mrs. Johnson
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
