Coronavirus: Carol Sutton, ‘Steel Magnolias’ and ‘Queen Sugar’ actress, dies of COVID-19

NEW ORLEANS — Actress Carol Sutton, a New Orleans resident who starred on stage, television and film during a career that spanned more than a half-century, died Thursday from complications caused by the coronavirus. She was 76.

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Sutton died at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, NOLA.com reported. Tommye Myrick, a friend of the actress, confirmed Sutton’s cause of death, the website reported Friday.

“Carol Sutton was practically the Queen of New Orleans theater, having graced the stages across the city for decades,” New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell said in a statement. “The world may recognize her from her performances in movies and on TV -- whether it’s ‘Treme’ or ‘Claws,’ or ‘Runaway Jury’ or ‘Queen Sugar’ -- but we will always remember her commanding stage presence, her richly portrayed characters, and the warm heart she shared with her fellow cast and crew in productions such as ’4000 Miles’ and ‘A Raisin in the Sun.’ May she rest in God’s perfect peace.”

Sutton appeared in an episode of “Queen Sugar,” set in Louisiana, and played Nurse Pam in the 1989 comedy film “Steel Magnolias,” a movie that starred Sally Field and Dolly Parton, Variety reported. She also appeared in episodes of “True Detective” and “Lovecraft Country,” the website reported.

Sutton made her debut during the late 1960s in Dashiki Project Theatre productions, according to Variety. She made her on-screen debut in 1974 in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” and appeared in films such as “Monster’s Ball,” “Ray” and “The Help.”

Sutton also had roles in “In the Heat of the Night” and the TV movie, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

“Carol was just a pro,” Meagan Lewis, a New Orleans-based casting director, told NOLA.com. “There was no doubt in my mind that anytime she walked into my room, she was going to walk out with a job.”

Born Carol Dickerson, she graduated from Xavier Prep School in New Orleans, the website reported. She enrolled at Xavier University, but she dropped out to marry Archie Sutton.

In 1968, Sutton began working with Total Community Action, an anti-poverty agency, until she retired in 2011, NOLA.com reported.

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