I see I’m not the only one whose first thought on reading this thread was of Carmen Sandiego. I’m a little embarrassed that I’m not familiar with any of Ms. Thigpen’s other work; I had no idea she was so accomplished.
[Rockapella]Where. in the world. is. Carmen Sandiego?[/Rockapella]
I remembered her as Luna, myself. And from Carmen Sandiego, once I started seeing it.
'Bye Luna.
This is ridiculous. I can’t type that without crying.
Oh!
Thank you, whichever Mod corrected the name and birth year in my thread title! Or did Lynne herself do it, from beyond the grave?
Thigpen did a number of guest appearances on other programs, including a guest voice as a judge on King of the Hill in a humorous episode in which Hank tries to prove he does not owe money to a video store because the pornographic film he supposedly never paid for did not even exist on the day he supposedly rented it.
Thigpen appears to have been a versitile actress with a very nice voice. I will miss her.
Oh man! Reading this thread, I finally remembered her! The DJ role in The Warriorrs! I always wondered who she was. And I have to tell you, it’s also solved the mystery of “who the hell is that doing Luna’s voice?”
What an amazing vocal talent. Now I will go watch a couple of her movies…
My group of friends always had a little in-joke regarding Lynne Thigpen and WITWICS. Right after the winner got the phone call telling what continent Carmen was in, The Chief would say “HERE’S the list of countries where Carmen might have visited!”
On the word HERE’S, all of us would jump up out of our seats, or drop things, and pretend to be totally surprised by the way she attacked that word.
I am just a punk kid who remembers her from “Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego?” but i will miss her very much nonetheless.
She was also the angry mother in “Lean On Me”. The one who wanted Joe Clarke fired.
I will miss this lady. When they made the announcement on the news, I had my back turned to the television and I figured she was some old actress who had her hey-day before my time. But then when I turned around and saw who they were talking about, a giant sadness came over me. There’s a lot of actors/actresses like Lynne Thigpen. Folks who’s names we don’t know, but who’s presence on screen is nonetheless felt.
I sorta felt like this when Rosalind Cash died. Like Lynne Thigpen, Rosalind (can’t find her picture, dammit!) was also black and had starred in a number of films and television shows, her name often overshadowed by bigger stars. Her most memorable flick was Charlton Heston’s side-kick in Omega Man. She died several years ago.
Someone should start a thread where lesser-known-but-ubiqutous actors/actresses are acknowledged so that names can be placed with faces.
Just a minor nitpick on the biographical info: Ella Farmer was not Chief Mannion’s secretary. She started the show as a statistics clerk who Mannion met in the pilot and was put in charge of developing and operating the high-tech statistics and briefing section. One of my favorite scenes in the pilot was when the Chief first meets her and she complains about the outmoded system she has to work with, expecting the usual “well, do the best you can” and instead he tells her to make a list of what she needs, and then puts her in charge.
I Loved “Carmen Sandiego”.
Thigpen was in both “Tootsie” and “Shaft”
Jeez. I, too, was a kid when she was on “Carmen Sandiego” - she cracked my mom up in the role. 
She was, what, 54 or 55? What a shame.
Another part of my childhood dies.
I used to rush home after school, grab my globe, and turn on PBS. Occasionally, my parents would catch her in a movie, or something, and call me into the room.
Man, I feel old.
I had to think for a minute and check her credits on the IMdb, but then I knew exactly who this talented lady is. Too bad we didn’t hear more of her singing voice after Godspell.
Lynne Thigpen is the type of actor who seems to have the best possible career: popular movies, successful TV series, but with a name and a face most people can’t immediately connect, therefore no fanatics or tabloid ink to put up with. She enhanced every production she appeared in; I’m sure she deserved her Tony. She’ll be missed by all of us who love character actors who sink so easily into their roles we forget they’re acting.
RIP, Ms. Thigpen.
And I just watched The District tonight!
I LOVED the Carmen Sandiego show.
Damn. She was cool.
I had to pop in here… Lynne was not only a great actress, she was a wonderful person and someone I was proud and honored to know.
My husband was much more eloquent on the topic (its a few items down now). We’re very sad over here and Larry is very much in our thoughts.
