Lynne Thigpen

Lynne Thigpen (born Cherlynne Theresa Thigpen on December 22, 1948 in Joliet, Illinois) was an American actress and singer whose career spanned over three decades across stage, film, television, audio, and interactive media. After earning a teaching degree at the University of Illinois and briefly teaching high‑school English, she moved to New York City in 1971, launching a prolific Broadway and off‑Broadway presence that included the original 1971 off‑Broadway musical Godspell, where she performed the song ‘O Bless the Lord, My Soul,’ a role she later reprised in the 1973 film version. Her theatrical résumé grew to feature productions such as The Night That Made America Famous, The Magic Show, Working, Tintypes, and the Tony‑winning An American Daughter (1997), for which she received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play as Dr. Judith Kaufman. Thigpen’s screen work began with the film adaptation of Godspell and extended to memorable supporting roles in The Warriors (1979), Lean on Me (1989) as Leonna Barrett, the mother of an expelled student, and later appearances in Shaft (2000) and Bicentennial Man (1999). She is perhaps most widely recognized by television audiences as “The Chief” of ACME Crimenet on the PBS children’s game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and its spinoffs, a role she also voiced in multiple Carmen Sandiego video games, earning several Daytime Emmy nominations. Additional TV highlights include Luna the Moon on Bear in the Big Blue House, recurring parts on All My Children and The District, and guest spots on series such as Law & Order, Roseanne, and Sesame Street. Beyond performance, Thigpen contributed to audiobooks, radio skits, and served as associate artistic director of Circle Repertory Company in the mid‑1990s. Her untimely death from a cerebral hemorrhage on March 12, 2003, at age 54, prompted tributes including the dedication of Anger Management and the naming of Lynne Thigpen Elementary School in her hometown. Her legacy lives on through the Lynne Thigpen–Bobo Lewis Foundation, which mentors emerging theatre talent.