biographyGrier starred in a string of 'chicks in chains' films before moving on to the blaxploitation genre. Mostly shot in the Philippines, these titles include Black Mama, White Mama (1972; with Sid Haig and Lynn Borden) and The Arena (1973; with Daniele Vargas), among others. New World's 'chicks in chains' films were strictly low budget but generated a lot of revenue for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. The budget for The Big Doll House was a mere $120,000 but the film made more than $10 million at the box office. Grier also dabbled in singing at this time; she sang the theme song in The Big Doll House, titled Long-Time Woman, a song which was also used in Jackie Brown (1997; with Samuel L. Jackson). Grier can also be heard singing backup on several Bobby Womack albums from the early 1970s. Billed as 'The Baddest One-Chick Hit-Squad that ever hit town!', Pam Grier's 1973 vehicle Coffy was specifically written for her by veteran director Jack Hill. Grier stars as a nurse whose adolescent sister was hooked on drugs by a street pusher, and bent on revenge, Coffy murders them all. Incredibly violent with lots of nudity and highly entertaining, this one's not for the kiddies. Coffy started a short-lived trend in films, followed up by Grier's film Foxy Brown (1974; with Peter Brown) and Cleopatra Jones (1973; with Tamara Dobson). |
the films of pam grierThe Big Bird Cage (1972)Black Mama, White Mama (1972)Coffy (1973)From American International's Coffy. LEFT: With Booker Bradshaw. CENTER A: Grier and Robert DoQui as the pimp King George. CENTER B: Coffy strong-arms information out of a junkie. RIGHT: Coffy partakes in vigilante justice to defeat the drug dealers who hooked her kid sisterScream, Blacula, Scream (1973)LEFT: Grier as Voodoo priestess Lisa in Scream, Blacula, Scream. RIGHT: With William Marshall as BlaculaFoxy Brown (1974)LEFT: Grier as the title character in Foxy Brown. CENTER A and B: Foxy goes undercover as a high-rent callgirl. RIGHT: Promotional photo with Peter BrownFriday Foster (1975)Sheba, Baby (1975)Drum (1976)Fort Apache, the Bronx (1981)Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)Escape from L.A. (1996)Jawbreaker (1999)The L Word (2004-2009 Showtime Series)pam grier todayAlthough Pam Grier emerged as a talented performer, she became so identified with the blaxploitation genre that, when it died out in the mid 1970s, her career suffered. To rebuild her career, she took on supporting roles in a number of projects and by the early 1980s, she was regularly acting in big-budget films, such as Fort Apache, the Bronx (1981; with Paul Newman) and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983; with Jason Robards and Diane Ladd). Diagnosed with cancer in the late 1980s and given less than two years to live, Grier managed to beat the illness and continue with her acting career. In 1997, she starred in the biggest picture of her career, Quentin Tarantino's thriller Jackie Brown (1997; with Samuel L. Jackson and Bridget Fonda), which brought her many new fans. Now 74 years old, Pam Grier is still working in films and television and is more popular than ever. |
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