Editing Danitra Vance

{{short description|American comedian and actress (1954–1994)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Danitra Vance
| image              = Danitra Vance.jpg
| alt                = Black and white headshot of Danitra Vance mid-smile
| caption            = 
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1954|7|13|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1994|8|21|1954|7|13|mf=y}}
| death_place        = [[Markham, Illinois]], U.S.
| other_names        = Dan Vance
| education          = [[Roosevelt University]], [[Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art]] <small>([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]])</small>
| occupation         = Comedian, actress
| years_active       = 1972–1994
| partner            = Jones Miller
| notable_works      = [[Saturday Night Live (season 11)|''Saturday Night Live'' (season 11)]]
| awards             = [[Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress]]
}}

'''Danitra Vance''' (July 13, 1954&nbsp;– August 21, 1994) was an American comedian and actress who was a [[Saturday Night Live cast members|cast member]] on the [[NBC]] sketch comedy show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' (SNL) during its [[Saturday Night Live (season 11)|eleventh season]] in 1985.

Raised in [[South Side, Chicago|Chicago's South Side]], Vance performed for [[The Second City]], was an "[[Off-Broadway]] favorite,"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2013/01/saturday-nights-children-danitra-vance-1985-1986.html|title=Saturday Night's Children: Danitra Vance (1985-1986)|last=Wright|first=Megh|date=2013-01-15|website=[[New York (magazine)|Vulture]]|access-date=2019-08-11}}</ref> and was the first Black woman of the primary ''SNL'' cast and, following [[Denny Dillon]] and along with [[Terry Sweeney]], one of the first [[LGBT]] members, though she was not [[Coming out|out]] to the public during her lifetime.<ref name="advocate"/><ref name="denny"/> Her comedy and theater work featured themes of social issues, including that of being consistently stereotyped during casting. Throughout her career, she received an [[Obie Award]] and an [[NAACP Image Awards|NAACP Image Award]]. She also appeared in feature films like ''[[Sticky Fingers (1988 film)|Sticky Fingers]]'', ''[[Limit Up]]'', and ''[[Jumpin' at the Boneyard]]''.

In 1990, Vance was diagnosed with breast cancer, and performed several works through remission and recurrence until her death in 1994. In the final years of her life, she requested that her family host her services at an amusement park.

==Early life and early career==
Raised in the [[South Side, Chicago]], Danitra Vance grew up with her mother, younger sister, and maternal grandparents in a household where telling stories was the main form of entertainment, and graduated from nearby [[Thornton Township High School]] in 1972.<ref name="sfss">{{Cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-08-28-9408260421-story.html|title=The Short Struggle of Danitra Vance|last=Schmich|first=Mary|date=1994-08-24|work=[[Sun-Sentinel]]|publication-place=[[Fort Lauderdale]]|place=[[Chicago]]|agency=[[Chicago Tribune]]|language=en-US|access-date=2021-03-28}}</ref> In high school she was active in theater and was a member of the [[debate]] team. She later attended [[National College of Education]]<ref name="obit" /> before transferring to [[Roosevelt University]] in 1975, where she studied playwriting and acting,<ref name=":0" /> and graduated with honors.<ref name="obit">{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E1D81539F930A1575BC0A962958260|title=Danitra Vance, 35, an Actress; Worked at Shakespeare Festival|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |author=Brantley, Ben|authorlink=Ben Brantley|date=1994-08-23|access-date=2008-06-12}}</ref> She then moved to [[London]] to study at [[Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art]], where she was classically trained in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and earned a [[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]].<ref name=":0" />

Vance started her career performing with [[The Second City]] improv group before moving to [[New York City]] in 1981<ref name="sfss"/> with goals of performing only to face direct discrimination and return to the Midwest to teach high school in [[Gary, Indiana]], where her students helped inspire characters in her next show. She initially performed the characters in [[Old Town, Chicago]].<ref name="sfss" />

From November 30 – December 11, 1984, Vance mounted the show, "Danitra Vance and the Mell-o White Boys," at [[La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Occurrence/Show/occurrence_id/2858|title=Production Page: Danitra Vance And The Mell-O White Boys (1984)|last=|first=|date=1984|website=La MaMa's Digital Collections Website|access-date=}}</ref> In a review of the piece that ran in ''[[The Village Voice]]'', theater critic [[Alisa Solomon]] wrote that Vance's comedy "stabs while it entertains, actually causing a physical catch in your laughter, as she undercuts every pose she takes... Beginning with and then undermining stereotypes, Vance creates an unsettling tension among stereotypes, reality, and the conditions that create stereotypes."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/4834|title="Danitra Vance and the Mell-o White Boys"|last=Solomon|first=Alisa|date=December 18, 1984|work=[[The Village Voice]]}}</ref> Among the characters she performed in the show were several that she later developed on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' – including teenaged mother Cabrini Green Jackson and Flotilla Williams (who performs a version of [[Romeo and Juliet|''Romeo and Juliet'']]'s balcony scene from her fire escape), described as a "ghetto [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] actress."<ref name="sfss" /><ref name="obit" /><ref>{{Citation|title=Watch Shakespeare in the Slums from Saturday Night Live on NBC.com|url=http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/shakespeare-in-the-slums/n9399?snl=1|language=en-us|access-date=2018-03-03}}</ref>

== ''Saturday Night Live'' ==
Vance was the first Black woman to become an ''SNL'' repertory player in 1985 (after [[Yvonne Hudson]]'s tenure as a featured player previously);<ref name="obit" /> and the second [[lesbian]] cast member hired after [[Denny Dillon]],<ref name="denny">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/denny-dillon-snl-interview.html|title=Denny Dillon Reflects on Saturday Night Live's Infamous 6th Season|last=Hoglund|first=Andy|date=2020-08-12|website=Vulture|language=en|access-date=2021-03-28}}</ref> though Vance's sexual orientation was not public knowledge until her death. Her casting alongside [[Terry Sweeney]] (the show's first openly gay male cast member) was also the first time that ''Saturday Night Live'' had two gay cast members.<ref name="advocate">{{Cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/comedy/2016/8/22/brief-lgbt-history-saturday-night-live?pg=2#article-content|title=A Brief LGBT History of Saturday Night Live|last=Pierce|first=Robbie X|date=2016-08-22|website=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|language=en|access-date=2021-03-28}}</ref>

Vance joined the ''SNL'' cast during a time of great transition and turbulence for the show, and she became frustrated over repeatedly having characters stereotypical of young Black women written for her.<ref name=":0" /> She was ultimately let go by ''SNL'' at the end of the 1986 season, along with many other cast members, including Sweeney, [[Joan Cusack]], [[Robert Downey Jr.]], [[Randy Quaid]], and [[Anthony Michael Hall]].

===Recurring characters on ''SNL''===
*''That Black Girl'', a Black actress looking to hit the big time, despite being passed up because of her race (a parody of [[Marlo Thomas]]'s ''[[That Girl]]'')
*Cabrini Green Jackson, a professional [[teenage mother]] and [[motivational speaker]] who gives advice on teen pregnancy

====Celebrity impersonations====
*[[Diahann Carroll]] (as [[Dominique Deveraux]] on ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'')
*[[Lola Falana]]
*[[Cicely Tyson]]
*[[Leslie Uggams]]

==Late career==
She was awarded an [[NAACP Image Awards|NAACP Image Award]] in 1986 and later won an [[Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress]] for her performance in the theatrical adaptation of ''Spunk'', a collection of short stories written by [[Zora Neale Hurston]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.obieawards.com/events/1990s/year-90/|title=1990|website=[[Obie Awards]]|language=en-US|access-date=2021-03-28}}</ref> That same year, Vance was also in the original cast of [[George C. Wolfe|George C. Wolfe's]] ''[[The Colored Museum]]''; she would go on to reprise some of her performances therein for a 1991 [[Great Performances|''Great Performances'']] restaging of the play.

Vance was the second female lead, opposite [[Nancy Allen (actress)|Nancy Allen]], in ''[[Limit Up]]'', in which she played Nike, a [[guardian angel]] on assignment for God (played by [[Ray Charles]]). She had small roles in ''[[The War of the Roses (film)|The War of the Roses]]'' and ''[[Little Man Tate]]'' and a more significant role in ''[[Jumpin' at the Boneyard]]'', for which she was nominated for an [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female]] at the [[8th Independent Spirit Awards]].

==Death==
Diagnosed with [[breast cancer]] in 1990, Vance underwent a single [[mastectomy]] and incorporated the experience into a solo skit, "The Radical Girl's Guide to Radical Mastectomy". She expanded on her experiences in a second autobiographical show, titled ''Pre-Shrunk'', which was to be performed at [[The Public Theater]]. However, she was unable to perform as her cancer recurred in 1993. She died of the disease the following year in [[Markham, Illinois]], with her age incorrectly cited as 35. She had shaved five years off.<ref name="obit" /> She requested her funeral be held at an amusement park, and her family threw her a "going-away party" with [[apple bobbing]] and [[Cornhole|bean bag tossing]] to respect her wishes. She was survived by her partner, Jones Miller.<ref name=":0" />

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable" style="font size:90%"
!  Year
!  Film
!  Role
!  Notes
|-
| 1988
| ''[[Sticky Fingers (1988 film)|Sticky Fingers]]''
| Evanston 
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1989
| ''[[Limit Up]]''
| Nike
|
|-
| ''[[The War of the Roses (film)|The War of the Roses]]''
| Manicurist Trainee 
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1991
| ''[[Hangin' with the Homeboys]]''
| Pool Hall Woman 
|
|-
| ''[[Little Man Tate]]''
| Clinic Doctor
|
|-
| 1992
| ''[[Jumpin' at the Boneyard]]''
| Jeanette |Jeanette
|
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable" style="font size:90%"
!  Year
!  Film
!  Role
!  Notes
|-
| 1985–1986
| ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''
| Various
| Main cast (18 episodes)
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Miami Vice]]''
| Annette McAllister
| Episode: "Child's Play"
|-
| rowspan=2|1989
| ''The Cover Girl and the Cop''
|Jan
| Television movie
|-
| ''[[Trying Times]]''
| Emma St. John
| Episode: "Hunger Chic"
|-
| 1990
| ''Sisters''
| Brenda 
| Television movie
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Great Performances]]''
| Miss Pat/The Woman/Normal Jean Reynolds
| Episode: "[[The Colored Museum|''The Colored Museum'']]"
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{iobdb name|7884}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0888503}}
* [http://www.lawtf.com/artists/vance.htm Biography] from the website of the Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival
* [http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Entity/Show/entity_id/13226 Danitra Vance's artist page on La MaMa's Digital Collections website].

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, Dinitra}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Deaths from breast cancer in Illinois]]
[[Category:American lesbian actresses]]
[[Category:African-American LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Lesbian comedians]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from Illinois]]
[[Category:Actresses from Chicago]]
[[Category:Roosevelt University alumni]]
[[Category:American women comedians]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:American sketch comedians]]
[[Category:Comedians from Chicago]]
[[Category:20th-century American comedians]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ comedians]]