Watching “Funny Girl” on TCM the other night, starring Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice, a question arose: Who was the Black actress playing Brice’s confidant and personal assistant, Emma?
That woman is Mittie Lawrence, and we were stunned to learn that she was still alive, unlike the subjects of most of our profiles. We decided she warranted an opportunity to smell the roses we can provide for her often-overlooked but astonishing career.
Lawrence was born on August 31 or September 1, 1941, and beyond this, very little was found about her early years. Her beauty is undeniable. After she won Miss Bronze California in 1959, “Jet” magazine featured a photo of her in a swimsuit. At that time, she was 19 and a student at Los Angeles City College.
The story also noted that while pursuing an acting career, she was a singer and dancer. As a beauty queen, she made her television debut on the “Steve Allen Show.”
We gathered some insights about her from Facebook, where a post by her niece, Indigo, described a conversation between them. She thanked her niece for posting it and was “literally stunned into silence.” Moreover, she was shocked that it was on the Internet.
Lawrence may also be surprised to learn that many of her film projects are listed on several sites, including IMDB.com. Only her most devoted fans or avid television viewers caught her on “The Farmer’s Daughter” in the early 1960s. A few more may have seen her one-time appearance on the popular “Profiles in Courage.” Her cameo-like moments as a shopper on “I Dream of Jeannie,” starring Barbara Eden, and as Lita in the “Tarzan” TV series, were runups to her role as Emma with Streisand in “Funny Girl.” She had speaking parts in several scenes but was, nonetheless, only part of the scenery.
If you remember shows such as “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” “The Name of the Game,” “Mod Squad,” or “Room 222,” then you might have caught one of her fleeting scenes. There were more opportunities when she appeared in two episodes of “Adam-12” in 1968. Her role as Nurse Conway on “Marcus Welby, M.D.” in 1971 might have prepared her for her role as Sandra on “Night Call Nurses” in 1972.
Online, you can find two clips from “Night Call Nurses,” where Lawrence has an uplifting conversation with a wounded patient, and in another snippet of film, a shadowy interlude where her dancing skills are briefly showcased in the fading, silhouetted camera work. At least in these scenes, you realize her potential for something of more substance.
Having her name listed in the credits of “The New Centurions” was promising, but the one scene in which she appears is in the back of a police van with several other streetwalkers. Lawrence’s speaking part is lost amid a bunch of other characters, who, quite improbably, have been liquored up by two friendly cops—Stacy Keach and George C. Scott. Rosalind Cash is the only Black woman with a decent part, near the end of the film, but her romance with Keach is sadly over when he is shot and killed.
Several websites confuse Lawrence with Dorothy Dandridge, and they certainly have a lovely resemblance.
Her partner or husband, a fact we can’t substantiate, was Robert DoQui, and they might have met when both were part of the cast of “Adam-12.” They also had roles in “Tarzan” and “I Dream of Jeannie.” DoQui died on February 9, 2008, at 73, reportedly of natural causes.
Just an FYI : I grew up in South Central Los Angeles in the 1960’s on 5th Avenue. Mittie Lawrence was my Neighbor. I played with her two Daughters Terri and Sherri DeCoy. If memory serves me correctly, she lived in a Duplex with her mother (who was elderly then) living next door to her. I ran a few grocery errands for her mother. Mittie was always kind to me.I don’t think most people knew this, but she had an amazing singing voice! She was married to author Robert H. Decoy at that time. Enjoyed your article. Brought back memories.
Mitty and I are cousins on my father’s side and my brother was Paul Winfield, 1939 to 2004 I was the baby born in 1947 I grew up with Mitty and her sister. I last saw Mitty at Paul’s funeral in 2004.
I am watching Mittie Lawrence now on Amazon prime, where Funny Girl is available February 2026. I noticed that Miss Lawrence indeed appears in many scenes with the wonderful Barbra Streisand and more than holds her own with her quiet and beautiful screen presence. Yes, she plays a assistant and dresser to the star character Fanny Brice, as both the era of the 60s when the film was made and the ‘20s and ‘30s which the film depicts would have it; what is clear is that she is also portrayed as a confidante and treated very respectfully in her scenes with Fanny/Barbra… not surprising, inasmuch as Barbra Streisand was active in the civil rights arena, and an admirer of Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier. I hope she is proud of her role in one of the biggest blockbuster films of all time! In a different era, maybe even now, she would’ve had an acting career equal to her talents.
I hope she has had a wonderful, fulfilling life and knows that she is very much appreciated as an artist and a role model!