Mae Mercer

Biography

Mae Mercer (June 12, 1932 – October 29, 2008) was an American blues singer and actress. She was born in the Temperance Hall community of Edgecombe County. Mercer lived in North Carolina through age 15. She spent eight years in the 1960s singing in a blues bar in Paris, the Blues Club, owned by publisher Maurice Girodias and touring Europe. She eventually came to own and operate a blues club in the city. Mercer returned to the United States in the early 1970s to begin a career as an actress in films and television. Films in which she appeared included Dirty Harry (1971), The Beguiled (1971), Frogs (1972), Cindy (1978), and Pretty Baby (1978). She was co-producer of the documentary film Angela Davis: Portrait of a Revolutionary (1972). In 1996, the Mayor of Rocky Mount, NC, Fred Turnage, declared June 12 Mae Mercer Day. During this time, Mercer sought to produce her own biographical picture through her production company Black Owl Productions and was backed by local pastor Reverend James Bullock. Filming was slated to take place in Edgecombe County and other parts of North Carolina, New York, Paris and Southern California.

Known For

Dirty Harry

The Beguiled

The Sword and the Balance

Acting

1971

Dirty Harry

as

Mrs. Russell

1968

The Hell with Heroes

as

Chanteuse

1971

The Beguiled

as

Hallie

1972

Frogs

as

Maybelle

1976

Widow

as

Social Security Woman

1963

The Sword and the Balance

as

1962

Mondo Sexuality

as

Singer

1974

The Swinging Cheerleaders

as

Jessica Thorpe

1978

Cindy

as

Sara Hayes

1978

Pretty Baby

as

Mama Mosebery

1989

Homer and Eddie

as

Ellen

The Shield

as

Selma

Kung Fu

as

Elizabeth Brown

Mannix

as

Medical Center

as

Ironside

as

ER

as

Margeret

L.A. Dragnet

as

Mother

A Woman Called Moses

as

Aunt Juba

Production

1972

Angela Davis: Portrait of a Revolutionary

as

Crew

Directing