Tony-winning gospel singer Linda Hopkins dies at 92

Actress and gospel singer Linda Hopkins, who won a Tony Award in 1972 for the musical Inner City, died Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to her great-niece Hazel Lindsey. She was 92.

Inspired by blues singer Bessie Smith, Hopkins wrote and starred in 1974’s one-woman musical Me and Bessie, and was later nominated for a Tony for musical Black and Blue.

The New Orleans-born singer toured with Sammy Davis Jr and jazz musician Branford Marsalis. Her film and television appearances include Clint Eastwood’s Honkytonk Man, the miniseries King and 1979’s Roots: The Next Generations.