Actress Micki Grant, best known for her run on Another World, where she played Peggy Harris Nolan for over seven years, has died at the age of 80.
Another World Star Micki Grant Dies At 80
Broadway World first reported the news of Grant’s death. She passed away on Sunday, August 22. No cause of death has been reported. While she spent most of her professional life in the theater, Grant also made her mark in daytime. According to actress Ellen Holly’s (ex-Carla Hall, One Life to Live) memoir, One Life: The Autobiography of an African American Actress, the character of Peggy Harris was originally written for a white actress but that changed when Grant became daytime drama’s first Black contract player.
According to a website devoted to Another World, Grant made her debut as Peggy on July 12, 1965. This was when socially-conscious scribe Agnes Nixon (All My Children) was crafting stories for the NBC serial. Peggy was a friend of Lee Randolph (Barbara Rodell), John Randolph’s (Michael M. Ryan) daughter, and worked in John’s law office, starting out as a secretary before becoming an attorney herself. Peggy wed Lt. Dick Nolan (Lon Sutton); alas, their happiness was short-lived as the lawman was killed in the line of duty.
Micki Grant remained on the show until November 1972. She left Bay City to take a job with a law firm in Detroit to help people who couldn’t afford legal help. The actress also appeared on The Edge of Night, Somerset, and Guiding Light. Her last daytime role was as Mrs. Remington on All My Children in 2008.
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Donald Peebles, Jr., an adult services librarian for the Brooklyn Public Library, is working on a book about African-American soap opera history. He came upon Grant when he was reading the tome Soap World by Robert LaGuardia. “I researched more about [Micki] for my Master’s thesis on Black Soap Opera History at City College of CUNY during the early-to-mid-2000s,” Peebles tells Soap Hub. “I reached out to Micki and spoke to her for a little bit. I remember her telling me how her time on Another World was all smiles.”
Peebles says that while he and Grant not able to complete a full interview, she did answer a question for him about working with other African-American actors on AW, EDGE, GL, and AMC during a Zoom presentation in her honor put on by the League of Professional Theatre Women last November.
Grant appeared in and wrote the music, lyrics, and book for the 1971 musical revue Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope. The musical shined a light on Black power, feminism, slumlords, and student protests. It debuted at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. on April 19, 1972. The show went on to earn four Tony Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score, and Best Direction. The show received an Obie Award, a Grammy Award, and the NAACP Image Award. Soap Hub sends deep condolences to Micki Grant’s family and loved ones at this difficult time.
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