MARSHA WARFIELD, born on this date, is an American actress and comedienne. She grew up on Chicago’s South Side, graduating from Calumet High School. She is best known for playing tough, no-nonsense bailiff Roz Russell on the NBC sitcom Night Court from 1986 to 1992, reprising the role on a guest basis for its 2023 revival. Warfield also starred in the sitcom Empty Nest as Dr. Maxine Douglas. Before Night Court, she was a writer and performer on the short-lived Richard Pryor Show.

In 2017, Warfield publicly came out stating: “When I told my mother I was gay, she said she knew and had known all my life. Then she asked me not to come out publicly while she was alive. I agreed even though the request and her admission were hurtful in ways I couldn’t put my finger on then, and probably haven’t completely worked through it now, but, everybody who knew me knw I was gay. The people I didn’t tell knew anyway, and tacitly agreed to pretend that the unacknowledged had been acknowledged and accepted. Like I am sure is true for millions of other glass door closted people. When I went to bars, which was frequently, I never tried to hide who I was, so it was an open secret. Had I never come out publicly, many, many, many people would have known. It would not then have ever been a betrayal of trust to “spill the beans” because it wasn’t a secret, it was an uncomfortably kep promise to my mother, but it was also not the only reason I didn’t come out swinging when she passed. The fear of the judgment of strangers and their holier-than-thou “shoulds” was at least as big of a burden to bear, but the “shoulds” that should matter, don’t.

Nobody should have to hide their sexuality. No parent should ask their child to. There should be no shame in being gay.

Warfield appeared in feature films such as D.C. Cab and Mask, hosted The Marsha Warfield Show for ten months (March 1990–January 1991) and has made guest appearances on many television shows, including Riptide, Family Ties, Clueless, Cheers, Living Single, In Living Color, Cybill, Moesha, Smart Guy, and Touched by an Angel. She has also done stand-up comedy including appearances on the Norm Crosby hosted The Comedy Shop television series. She won the San Francisco International Comedy Competition in 1979, over such competition as Dana Carvey and A. Whitney Brown.

She is currently featured in the Netflix documentary Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution.