In honor of TCM and their “Summer Under the Stars” series, we launch our companion series, Summer Madness. The series will spotlight the achievements and films of one Black actor, daily throughout the month of August.
Day 6
Vonetta McGee (January 14, 1945 – July 9, 2010) was an actress who was best known for her roles during the 1970s, which included blaxploitation films such as Hammer, Melinda, Blacula, Shaft in Africa and 1974’s Thomasine & Bushrod alongside her then-boyfriend Max Julien. She was a regular on the 1987 Universal Television comedy Bustin’ Loose, starring as Mimi Shaw for its first and only season (1987–88).
In the action thriller Shaft in Africa (1973), McGee took the role of Aleme, the daughter of an emir, who teaches John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) Ethiopian geography. In 1974, McGee appeared as Thomasine, alongside Max Julien as Bushrod, in the western action film Thomasine & Bushrod, which was intended as a counterpart to the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. The next year, she starred alongside Clint Eastwood in the action thriller The Eiger Sanction (1975). #SummerMadness #McGee
Recommended films:
Melinda (’72)
Hammer (’72)
Blacula (’72)
Shaft in Africa (’73)
Thomasine and Bushrod (’74)
