biography
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 14, 1947, gorgeous Tamara Dobson did not set out to be an actor. In the 1960s, she started a career as a licensed beautician and later earned a degree in fashion
illustration at the Maryland Institute of Art. Between 1970 and 1971, Dobson went to New York, after the statuesque (reportedly 6'2") art student was selected for a fashion show. She embarked
on a career as a Vogue model and appeared in a number of commercials before entering films. In the early 1970s she had small roles in several films, including the comedies Come Back,
Charleston Blue (1972; with Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques) and Fuzz (1972; with Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, and Tom Skerritt).Her first starring role came in the action film Cleopatra Jones (1973; with Bernie Casey, Brenda Sykes, and Shelley Winters), in which Dobson portrays the title character. Dobson's next film was a sequel, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975; with Stella Stevens and Norman Fell); the two Cleopatra Jones films proved to be the apex of her acting career. The blaxploitation genre perished in the mid 1970s, and the careers of many actors suffered because of it. 
Dobson had a memorable supporting
role in the comedy Norman... Is That You? (1976; with Redd Foxx, Pearl Bailey, and Dennis Dugan), but afterward she worked in films and television only
sporadically from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Her last film roles came in the crime drama Chained Heat (1983; with Linda Blair, Sybil Danning, and
Stella Stevens) and the thriller Amazons (1984; with Jack Scalia and Stella Stevens), an
ABC made-for-TV film directed by Paul Michael Glaser. Dobson ended her acting career with these last two performances. |
|
the films of tamara dobsonFuzz (1972)
From the action comedy FuzzCleopatra Jones (1973)     
Stills from the Warner Bros. film Cleopatra Jones. LEFT, CENTER A, and CENTER B: Beautiful promotional photos. CENTER C: With Albert Popwell and Caro Kenyatta. CENTER D: Cleopatra exacts revenge on Officer Purdy (Bill McKinney). RIGHT: Shelley Winters as the drug lord "Mommy"Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975) 
From the exciting sequel Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold. LEFT: With Ni Tien. RIGHT: Original release posterNorman... Is that You? (1976)  
Stills from the MGM comedy Norman... Is That You?. LEFT: With Dennis Dugan. CENTER: With Redd Foxx. RIGHT: Beautiful shot of Dobsonlater yearsThe late 1990s saw a renewed interest in blaxploitation films and their stars; the ones who are still living, such as Pam Grier, enjoyed a resurgence in their careers. For several years, Warner Bros. planned a remake of Cleopatra Jones with Whitney Houston in the title role, but the remake never came to pass.Dobson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000, and as her illness progressed, she left New York and returned to Baltimore to be closer to family. Sadly, Tamara Dobson passed away from complications of pneumonia and multiple sclerosis on October 2, 2006, at the age of 59. Never married and having no children, she was survived by a brother and sister. |
filmography
FILM
|
tamara dobson trailers now showing |
Click on the logo to go back to Brian's Drive-In Theater
This page premiered July 25, 2002.
Copyright and Disclaimer Information