Her deathwas announcedby family.
James also starred opposite Sammy Davis Jr. in Broadways 1956 musicalMr.
Wonderful.On TV, she played Verna Kincaid in Bill Cosbys 1969-71 sitcomThe Bill Cosby Show.
Olga James in the film ‘Carmen Jones’ (1954)John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Her character was the sister-in-law of star Cosbys main character.
She made her professional debut in 1952 in Paris, performing in the operaFour Saints in Three Acts.
After returning to America, she was hired to perform in the all-Black revueat Atlantic Citys Club Harlem.
Two years afterCarmen Jones, James gave her first and only Broadway performance in 1956sMr.
Wonderful, playing the character Ethel Pearson who sings the title song.
Through her high-profile performances in film and on Broadway, James became a prolific and popular nightclub performer.
In 1990, James married singer and civil rights activist Len Chandler, who died in 2023.
At the time of her death, she went by her full name Olga James Adderley-Chandler.
