Rosanne Katon
23 movies · 12 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Feb 5, 1954 (age 72)
- Place of birth
- New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Rosanne Katon is an American model, actress, comedian and activist. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its September 1978 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Mario Casilli.
Katon was born in New York City to a Jamaican-born father and an African-American mother. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Katon worked steadily in Hollywood, including a stint on Grady, the short-lived spin-off of the hit situation comedy Sanford and Son that starred Whitman Mayo in the title role, and guest appearances on Jason of Star Command, What's Happening!!, Good Times and That's My Mama, which starred Clifton Davis. She then had leading roles in two Cirio Santiago action films, both released in 1976, Ebony, Ivory & Jade, in which she received top billing, and The Muthers, in which she acted alongside former Playboy centerfold Jean Bell. However, the shapely actress was often typecast in sex kitten roles in R-Rated comedies such as The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974), Chesty Anderson, U.S. Navy (1976), American Raspberry (1976), Lunch Wagon (1981), Zapped! (1982) and Bachelor Party (1984). This was solidified by her appearance as the September 1978 Playboy centerfold. She had a recurring role opposite Denzel Washington on the medical drama St. Elsewhere and her appearance in two award-winning UCLA student films, Julie Dash's "Illusions," released in 1982, in which she portrayed a singer doubling for a white actress in 1940s Hollywood (whether she did her own singing in the role was not known as of mid December 2012), and S. Torriano Berry's "Rich," in which she portrays the title character's supportive girlfriend. Her other film credits included the TV movie The Night They Took Miss Beautiful (1977), the cult horror film Motel Hell (1980), Body and Soul (1981), City Girl (1984) and Harem (1985), opposite Nastassja Kinski and Ben Kingsley.
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Katon was selected as Miss Golden Globes for the 1981 awards show. The honor and the task of presenting the statuettes during the ceremony goes to an up-and-coming actress. Katon was the first African American to be selected, since the custom started in 1962.
Additionally, Katon has had several stage credits, including a Broadway lead role in Godspell and a featured role in the parody of women in prison movies, Women Behind Bars.
At one point, Katon segued into the world of stand-up comedy, and during that period in her career, she appeared in the June 1991 Playboy pictorial "Funny Girls," which covered female comedians.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Rosanne Katon: movies and TV shows
Acting (35)
- 1995
- 1992
- 1989 Peter Gunn
as Waitress
- 1988 Police Story: The Watch Commander
as Janice
- 1988
- 1987
- 1985 Harem
as Judy
- 1984 Bachelor Party
as Bridal Shower Hooker
- 1984 The City Girl
as Ira
- 1983 Rich
as Donna
- 1983 Casting
as Woman of the cast
- 1982
- 1982 Illusions
as Esther Jeter
- 1982 Zapped!
as Donna
- 1981 Body and Soul
as Melody
- 1981 Lunch Wagon
as Shannon
- 1980 Motel Hell
as Suzi
- 1980 The Comeback Kid
as Girl #3
- 1979
- 1978 Coach
as Sue
- 1977 The Night They Took Miss Beautiful
as April Garland
- 1977
- 1977
- 1977 American Raspberry
as Laura Franklin
- 1976 The Muthers
as Angie
- 1976 Chesty Anderson U.S. Navy
as Cocoa Daniels
- 1976 Ebony, Ivory & Jade
as Pam Rogers
- 1976
- 1975
- 1975 Let's Do It Again
as (uncredited)
- 1975
- 1974 The Swinging Cheerleaders
as Lisa
- 1974
- 1974
- 1972
Behind the camera (1)
- 1976 Ebony, Ivory & Jade
Stunts
Talk shows and appearances (3)
- 2019
- 2007
- 1979