Carla Gray
Fictional character in the American soap opera One Life to Live / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Carla Gray is a fictional character from the American soap opera One Life to Live, played by actress Ellen Holly. Carla appeared from October 1968[1] through December 1980, and from May 1983 through December 1985.[1][2] The role is recognized as the first Black lead character on a U.S. daytime soap opera.[3]
Carla Gray | |||||||||||||||||
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One Life to Live character | |||||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Ellen Holly | ||||||||||||||||
Duration |
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First appearance | Episode 61[1] October 7, 1968 (Episode 61[1] October 7, 1968) | ||||||||||||||||
Last appearance | December 16, 1985 (December 16, 1985) | ||||||||||||||||
Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||||||||
Created by | Agnes Nixon | ||||||||||||||||
Introduced by |
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Carla was one of the original characters created for the show[4] and was featured in a groundbreaking and very controversial storyline about race relations. Carla was a lighter-skinned Black American passing as a white woman (specifically an Italian American).[5] The fact that the character of Carla was actually Black was not revealed to the show's audience until about five months after Ellen Holly debuted in the role.[5] The revelation was a major shock to viewers, and the series was boycotted by one Southern affiliate.[6][7] Nevertheless, the controversy attracted much attention and ratings shot up for the then-fledgling soap.