Carol Ann Bennett Stewart professionally known as Carol Speed was born to Cora Valrie Stewart Taylor and Freddie Lee Stewart on March 14, 1945 in Bakersfield California. Carol Speed is an American actress, author, and singer. She holds the distinction of being the first black homecoming queen in Santa Clara County and was one of the first black people to receive a scholarship for the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.
Carol Speed is best known for her roles in films during the 1970s blaxploitation Era. Carol got her start in show business as a back-up singer for Bobbie Gentry at Harrah's club in Reno, Nevada. She made her film debut as a hooker in The New Centurions (1972). Speed's most memorable movie roles include sassy prison inmate Mickie in Jack Hill's hilarious babes-behind-bars parody 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 sweet gal pal Leslie in the fun Black Samson (1974) and deaf-mute Sarah in Al Adamson's Dynamite Brothers (1974).
Carol gave an especially inspired and impressive 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). She had a recurring part on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives (1965) in the summer of 1970. Moreover, she made a guest appearance on an episode of Sanford and Son (1972), has appeared in several TV commercials including one for Dolly Madison pies, Dodge Duster automobiles and Jeno's Pizza and pops up in the made-for-TV films The Girls of Huntington House (1973), Love Hate Love (1971), Tenafly (1973), Getting Away from It All (1972) and The Psychiatrist (1970). (Retrieved from IMDB)
Outside of acting, Carol is 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 own compositions "I Can Make It" in "The Girls of Huntington House" and "My Soul Is A Witness" in "Abby." (2004)
Contributed to the book "Gods in Polyester, or A Survivors' Account of 70s Cinema Obscura" (Succubus Press), which features her thoughts and memories on all her 1970s feature films. After taking a lengthy hiatus from acting following Disco Godfather (1979) (she was slated to do a small role in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997), but backed out at the last minute), Speed made a welcome comeback with a supporting part in the independent thriller Village Vengeance (2006).
Carol Speed lived for a short time in Atlanta, Georgia in her later years. She died on January14th, 2022 in Muskogee Oklahoma.
Carolyn is preceded in death by her mother, father, brother, and son. She leaves behind her grandson Marc “Nick” Speed, her sister Barbara Morrison, a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.