Did you know Actress Marla Gibbs lived and worked in Detroit?
"When she was 16, her father died and Gibbs was sent to live with her mother and stepfather in Detroit where she attended Northern High School for a semester during her junior year..."
Best known as Florence, the maid in the television series, the Jeffersons she also starred in 227.
After moving back to Detroit, Ms. Gibbs worked as a switch board operator at the Gotham Hotel at John R and Orchestra Place and at Detroit Street Railways (DSR).
Her first acting job came on the LOCAL PEOPLES COURT TV SHOW.
She lived at 4003 Clements.
"The Marla Gibbs Shindana doll was made in 1978. The doll was made by Shindana Toys, a cooperative toy company in South Central Los Angeles, California that was in business from 1968 to 1983.
Shindana Toys created a wide range of Black dolls, action figures, plushies, and board and card games. The company's name comes from the Swahili word shindana, which means "compete". Shindana Toys was a community rejuvenation and Black empowerment effort that began after the Watts riots. The company's proceeds supported businesses in the Watts area."
