Actress Sheila Frazier

You may not know Sheila Frazier by name, but you've most likely seen her.

She has appeared in numerous TV series in one-episode and two-episode roles, including "Starsky and Hutch," "Lou Grant," "Dallas" and "The West Wing." Some of her roles, alas, were so minor that her characters didn't have a name.

Ms. Frazier is better known for her roles in so-called "blaxploitation" movies of the 1970s, such as Super Fly and The Super Cops, both directed by Gordon Parks.  Among her more well-known roles in "mainstream" Hollywood movies is as Bettina, the wife of Bill Cosby's character in the Neil Simon ensemble comedy California Suite.  Cosby and Richard Pryor play two doctors from Chicago on vacation with their wives in Beverly Hills, and everything goes horribly wrong.  Sheila Frazier thus got a front-row seat to watch two of the greatest black comedians of all time interact with hilarious consequences.