The actress was known for her roles in films during the blaxploitation era in the '70s.
Actress Carol Speed, known for her roles in films during the blaxploitation era in the '70s, has died. According to her obituary, she died on Jan. 14 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She was 76 years old.
Speed was best known for her starring role as the title character in the 1974 horror film Abby, which was about a woman who is possessed by an African sex spirit. Other memorable movies she starred in include 1973's The Mack and 1974's Black Samson.
According to her obituary, she held the distinction of being the first Black homecoming queen in Santa Clara County in California and was one of the first Black people to receive a scholarship for the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, California. Aside from her memorable acting roles, she also wrote Inside Black Hollywood in 1980 and and The Georgette Harvey Story in 2002. She was also a singer and songwriter, writing and singing "My Soul Is a Witness" for Abby and "I Can Make It" for The Girls of Huntington House, the 1973 film about an unmarried teacher in a school for unwed mothers who becomes emotionally attached to her students.
Speed is survived by her grandson, Marc Speed, and her sister, Barbara Morrison.
"She will be remembered for her style, personality, quick wit and 'I am going to do it my way no nonsense attitude,'" her obituary reads.
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