Alzenia Lynn Hamilton (April 25, 1930 – June 19, 2025) was an American actress. She was best known for her recurring roles as Donna Harris, Fred Sanford's girlfriend and later fiancée on the sitcom Sanford and Son (1972–1977) and Verdie Grant Foster on The Waltons (1973–1981). She also portrayed cousin Georgia Anderson in Roots: The Next Generations.
Early life
Alzenia Lynn Hamilton was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi on April 25, 1930, to Nancy and Louis Hamilton and moved to Chicago Heights, Illinois, when she was twelve years old. She attended Bloom High School. She studied acting at Goodman Theatre.
Career
Hamilton began her career in community theatre in Chicago and debuted on Broadway in Only in America in 1959. She appeared in three other Broadway plays, many Off-Broadway plays and spent three years with the New York Shakespeare Festival. When the show returned in 1980 under a reworked title Sanford, Hamilton was not asked to return, and her character was written out of the series. There are many internet claims that she was the younger sister of actress LaWanda Page, who portrayed Esther Anderson on Sanford and Son, confirmed only via LaWanda Page's obituary in the Los Angeles Times. However, they are neither related nor sisters, though they became good friends.
In addition to Hamilton's role on Sanford and Son, she also had a recurring role as Verdie Grant Foster on The Waltons, First appearing on The Waltons in 1973, Hamilton would afterwards make multiple additional appearances as Verdie Foster through 1981. LaWanda Page, who costarred with Hamilton on Sanford and Son, had a younger sister coincidentally also named "Lynn Hamilton". This caused a rumor that the two actresses were sisters. Series lead Demond Wilson confirmed the rumor to be false in 2016.
Hamilton died at her home in Chicago, on June 19, 2025, at the age of 95.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1958|| Shadows || Girl at Party ||
|-
|1960 || The New Girl || Miss Thompson (Secretary) || Short film
|-
|1971|| Brother John || Sarah ||
|-
|1971|| The Seven Minutes || Avis ||
|-
|1971|| Hawaii Five O || Mae (bar owner)||
|-
|1972|| Buck and the Preacher || Sarah ||
|-
|1972|| Lady Sings the Blues || Aunt Ida ||
|-
|1972–1977|| Sanford and Son || Donna Harris || Recurring role
|-
|1973–1981||The Waltons || Verdie Foster || Recurring role
|-
|1974|| Hangup || Mrs. Ramsey ||
|-
|1975|| Starsky & Hutch || Edith Dobey||
|-
|1976|| Leadbelly || Sally Ledbetter ||
|-
|1984|| The Jesse Owens Story || Mamma Solomon || TV movie
|-
|1986–1989|| 227 || Emma Johnson || Recurring role
|-
|1986|| Legal Eagles || Doreen ||
|-
|1991–1992|| Dangerous Women || Cissie Johnson || Main role
|-
|1989–1991|| Generations || Vivian Potter || Main role
|-
|1993|| The Vanishing || Miss Carmichael ||
|-
|1997–2002|| The Practice || Judge P. Fulton || Recurring role
|-
|1998|| Moesha || Ruth Mitchell || 1 episode
|-
|2003|| Beah: A Black Woman Speaks || Dr. Oberholser ||
|}