Episode 158 – Actress & Author Denise Nicholas: Breaking Barriers and Finding Home – Part 2
In Part Two of this wildly entertaining and revealing conversation, host Tony Miros continues his deep dive with actress, screenwriter, and author Denise Nicholas, whose career places her at the center of some of Hollywood’s most unforgettable moments.
Denise walks us through her film journey—from the Aaron Spelling TV thriller “Five Desperate Women” to the cult classic “Blacula,” the first film to feature a Black vampire. She shares unforgettable stories about working with Sidney Poitier, including their first meeting at Carnegie Hall, and reflects on witnessing Hollywood “firsts,” including being among the earliest Black leading ladies on primetime television.
She also opens up about collaborating with legends such as Bill Cosby, James Earl Jones, Ossie Davis, and Brenda Vaccaro, winning an NAACP Image Award for “Let’s Do It Again,” and navigating the pressures of sitcom life on “Baby… I’m Back!”—an experience so stressful it sent her straight to Spain once the show ended.
The conversation turns especially powerful as Denise recounts joining “In the Heat of the Night,” forming a deep bond with Carroll O’Connor, and making television history once again as part of one of the era’s first interracial couples. Mentored by O’Connor, she went on to write six episodes of the series, launching a second career as a writer that led to her acclaimed novel “Freshwater Road” and her deeply personal memoir “Finding Home.” Honest, funny, and inspiring, this episode offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood—told by someone who truly lived it.
DENISE NICHOLAS
Denise Nicholas is best known for her groundbreaking role as high school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on ABC’s “Room 222” and for co-starring as Councilwoman Harriet DeLong opposite Carroll O’Connor on “In the Heat of the Night.” Between those landmark series, she appeared on numerous television shows including A Different World, Amen, 227, Magnum P.I., The Cosby Show, and My Wife and Kids. Her film work includes Let’s Do It Again and A Piece of the Action with Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby, as well as Ghost Dad. Over the course of her career, she earned three Golden Globe nominations, three NAACP Image Awards, and two Los Angeles Emmy Awards for the PBS special Voices of My People: In Celebration of Black Poetry.
Denise began her professional journey as a founding member of the Free Southern Theater,during the most dangerous years of the Civil Rights Movement. She later became a founding member of New York’s Negro Ensemble Company, the first professional company of its kind. From the stage of St. Mark’s Playhouse, she was invited to screen test for Room 222, launching a television career that would make history. During her time on In the Heat of the Night, she also wrote six episodes of the series under the mentorship of Carroll O’Connor.
After the series ended, Denise devoted her creative life to writing. She trained in Janet Fitch’s Journeyman’s Workshop, where she developed her acclaimed debut novel “Freshwater Road,” named one of the Best Books of 2005by The Washington Post and other major publications and later adapted for the stage at Brown University. Her writing has appeared in Essence, The Washington Post, and Hands on the Freedom Plow. Her memoir, “Finding Home,” was published by Agate Publishing in November 2025 and is available now in bookstores and online.
Denise Nicholas Website - https://denisenicholas.net/about/
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Actress / Screenwriter / Author / Activist
As an actress, Ms. Nicholas has been applauded for her portrayals of complex, resilient women on film, television and the stage, most memorably for her ground-breaking, starring role as high school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama, “Room 222” and for her co-starring role as Councilwoman Harriet DeLong on the drama series, “In the Heat of the Night” opposite the late Carroll O’ Connor.
Between those two long running series, Nicholas guest starred on shows as varied as “A Different World,” “Flip,” “Amen,” “227”, “Magnum P.I.,“ “The Cosby Show,” “The Sophisticated Gents” and “My Wife and Kids,” to name a few. She co-starred opposite Bill Cosby in the film “Ghost Dad” and opposite Sidney Poitier and Mr. Cosby in the films, “Let’s Do It Again” and “A Piece of the Action. Along the way, she has garnered three Golden Globe nominations and won three NAACP Image Awards. Nicholas is the recipient of two Los Angeles Emmy Awards for co-producing and performing in the PBS Special, “Voices of My People: in Celebration of Black Poetry.”
Denise began her career as a founding member of the Free Southern Theater, touring Mississippi and Louisiana during the most violent days of the civil rights movement. From there, she went on to New York, auditioning for and being accepted into the Negro Ensemble Company, as a founding member of the first professional company. From the stage of the St. Marks Playhouse in New York, she was invited to screen test for the Liz McIntyre role on “Room 222.” Her career in television had begun!
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