Maude Simmons

Maude Simmons (October 2, 1893 – September 30, 1951) was an American singer and actress on the stage and screen. She is best known for her roles in Portrait of Jennie (1948) and No Way Out (1950). Simmons also performed over nearly 20 years on Broadway, as part of the original cast of Show Boat and Finian's Rainbow, as well as many other musical theatre roles. In the 1947 original cast recording for Finian's Rainbow, she sang "Necessity" with Dolores Martin. Over the course of her career, she portrayed the mother of African American actors including Paul Robeson and Sidney Poitier.