2022 added another name to its obituary list as Carol Speed, the actress and singer who became best known for her performances in The Mack, Abby, and Black Samson, died.
While sharing the news of her death, her family members said that she passed away in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She was 76 years old, but there is very little information about the cause of her death.
After the news of her unfortunate death surfaced on the internet, several people started paying tributes to her and remembering her filmography.
Carol Speed, the amazing, groundbreaking star of ABBY, THE BIG BIRD CAGE, DISCO GODFATHER, and THE MACK died Friday at age 76 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Celebrate Carol by watching one of her iconic performances tonight. ABBY is an honest-to-god all-timer. https://t.co/I3FozNli6g pic.twitter.com/jMmYpqjMN0
— Ted Geoghegan (@tedgeoghegan) January 18, 2022
RIP ? to actress Carol Speed
Some of her movies I dig:
Abby
The Mack
Black Samson
Disco Godfather
The Big Bird Cage pic.twitter.com/UtCJpmgtbd— Brett Eclectic (@BrettEclectic) January 19, 2022
Rest in peace to actress Carol Speed. ??? I’ll be watching the blaxploitation horror Abby (1974) in her honor tonight. pic.twitter.com/ndB7NWVfGW
— Real Queen of Horror (@LovelyZena) January 18, 2022
Speed is best known for her roles in films during the 1970s blaxploitation Era. Speed’s most memorable movie roles include sassy prison inmate Mickie in The Big Bird Cage (1972), pimp Max Julien’s loyal prostitute girlfriend Lulu in the terrific movie The Mack (1973), sarcastic rock groupie Janyce in Bummer (1973), club owner Rockne Tarkington’s gal pal Leslie in Black Samson (1974) and deaf-mute Sarah in Dynamite Brothers (1974).
Carol gave an awe-inspiring performance as a minister’s innocent wife who becomes possessed by the malevolent spirit of an evil demon in William Girdler’s immensely entertaining horror flick Abby (1974).
Outside of acting, Speed was also a successful writer (she’s the author of the books Inside Black Hollywood and The Georgette Harvey Story), singer and songwriter (she sings her compositions “I Can Make It” in The Girls of Huntington House and “My Soul Is A Witness” in Abby.
According to her obituary, she was the first Black homecoming queen in Santa Clara County in California. She was one of the first Black people to receive a scholarship for the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, California.
She is survived by her grandson, Marc, and sister, Barbara.
“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.
Her Mack co-star Max Julien passed away earlier this month. He was 88.
We are sending our condolences and prayers to her family.
