BERN NADETTE STANIS
STILL HAVING GOOD TIMES
By Lenell King
The year was 1974 when we were first introduced
to the young, sassy Thelma Evans from the Iconic TV show Good Times that
has stood the test of time. Today, BernNadette Stanis has created a legacy from
the Good Times brand as a successful author, painter, and a creator of a
foundation dedicated to her biggest fan, her mother Eula Stanislaus.
Lenell: First of
all I just want to thank you for being apart of such an iconic TV series. It is
very influential, and we still watch it today. Did you think it would
last throughout the generations?
BernNadette: Thank
you. We never anticipated that it would last so long.
Lenell: Do you still keep in contact with the cast
members?
Bernadette: Last weekend we were at Chiller Theater
in New York for the first time in 40 years.
Lenell: Wow, so is that an indication that a reunion
is in the works?
BernNadette: Yes we will be touring across the
country because people want to see us all together.
Lenell: before obtaining the role of Thelma, it
looks like you had some prior training in the arts, is that correct?
BernNadette: I was a dancer first; I had a lot of
classes at Juilliard School of Performing Arts. I did know my stuff. They
helped me with my speech and my diction and other attributes to help me land
the part.
Lenell: It’s amazing that you studied at
Juilliard. Was that something your parents wanted for you or did
you know you always wanted to be an actress?
BernNadette: My parents were very influential
in my career. They wanted the best for us, so they made sure that we had the
best education.
Lenell: How important would you say the arts are for
kids, especially in an urban environment?
BernNadette: It gives you a place to go
mentally. It gives you a place to dream. It gives you a place where you can be
all these wonderful things. You can develop all these ideas and find your inner
you. It gives you a place to escape to other than drugs.
Lenell: Since Good
Times, we have seen you make a few cameo appearances as well as witnessed
you become an avid writer. How did you make the transition into writing?
BernNadette: I feel that when a person has a talent
in one area and if they focus on other areas they will eventually develop a
talent there as well. I don’t feel that people should be limited to just one
thing. Although I was a dancer, I also had talent to act. When I
wasn’t acting, I started producing which landed me an opportunity on Broadway.
I always painted, so it all came in together in which next year (2015) I will
be presenting my paintings. These are some of the things that I do. I feel that
God always shows you artistically what's next to do. That's all about
growth.
Lenell: How important is it for a Black
entertainer to be multi talented in this industry?
BernNadette: Very important. We don't get many
opportunities as our white counterparts. We don't have as many scripts written
for us nor do we have quality work. So you have to learn to sustain the time
when there are no scripts. You have to be able to be diverse. Back then… during
the time of Sammy Davis Jr. and Pearl Bailey they had to sing, dance, act, and perform
acrobatics. They had to do it all. We've gotten away from that, but really we
need to do it all because you don't know where the next job is coming from and
you don't know what it requires you to do.
BernNadette: Throughout my life, I became a person that
everyone would come to for advice about relationships. I was pretty good,
because psychology was always one of my favorite things. I always said that if
I wasn't going to be Thelma, I could always be a psychologist. I studied a lot
of that. So when people would come to me with relationship situations, I would
tell them things that I thought they should do. Although, I 'm not a doctor, I
give good advice. Many did take my advice and I really did help them. There
were a 101 situations and I responded to each and every one of them.
Lenell: Wow. Fantastic.
BernNadette: Then I wrote the book Situations
101: Finances, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, because a lot of relationships have
a lot of problems with them in the money area.
Lenell: So true.
BernNadette: If you don't speak the right language
with that money, a lot of relationships can and will fall apart. That was the
meaning behind that book. My latest book is called, The Last Night A Caregivers Journey. The book talks about the
journey throughout my life with my parents and how my mother got Alzheimer’s
disease. There is a lot of information that I experienced as a caregiver that I
would like to share with other people who are going through a similar
situation.
Lenell: Tell us about the foundation that you
created in dedication to the memory of your mother.
BernNadette: It's called "Remembering The Good
Times" an Alzheimer’s Foundation. The reason why I named it that,coincidentally, everybody associates me with Thelma from Good Times.
However, this is the truth, this is how the name developed. Mother and I were
watching Good Times and Thelma and JJ were fighting, that was many years later,
but she remembers Thelma and JJ as teenagers. So, we're watching the show and
she looks up at me and says, "That's a cute little ole girl.”
Lenell: Oh, wow.
BernNadette: Yeah, so she no longer knew that was
me. She just remembered this is the way I look now. That's the sad part about
the disease. Good Times was one of
the best part of our lives, and my mother was the one to get me to that point.
For her not to remember that was a very hurtful thing. So that's why I pray
that one-day, we find the answer to this disease. I call it the monster
in the mind. To me that's what it is and it just eats away at the brain.
BernNadette: Thank you.
Lenell: What can
we expect from you in the immediate future?
BernNadette:
Of course, I will be releasing my new book, “The Last Night” A Caregivers
Journey. I will also be traveling the world promoting my paintings because I
want the world to recognize me as a painter as well.
Lenell: How do
stay looking so young?
BernNadette: It’s really
funny. The years keep rolling by, but I don't go with the years. I just go with
me, and how I feel. I don't feel old I feel young. I know I keep
getting older, because the years keep telling me that… (laughing) but if you
don't focus on it, just be yourself. You age slower if you do it that way, I
think.
Fans can keep in touch with BernNadette
Stanis through twitter https://twitter.com/TheRealThelma22 her website at http://www.thelmaofgoodtimes.com
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