Actress and stuntwoman Toni Vaz, 101, died on Oct. 4. She appeared as an extra, bit player or stuntwoman in such films and TV shows as Tarzan the Ape Man (the 1959 version), Mission: Impossible, The Singing Nun, Lady Sings the Blues, and Anna Lucasta. But she was most famous for creating the NAACP Image Awards, in 1967. Vaz told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019 that “In those days, the jobs black people got were playing maids, hookers, Aunt Jemimas. That upset me. We can play attorneys and doctors. So I thought, why don’t we change that image?” The NAACP Image Awards are given out annually to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theater, music, and literature. Vaz herself was given the award in 2000, after having been snubbed for decades. “Every time I used to see that show, for years, it used to bother me inside,” said Vaz. “But I feel good. I feel good now.”
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