Kiki Shepard, the co-host of the long-running variety show “Showtime at the Apollo,” died on Monday from a heart attack. She was 74.
From 1987 to 2002, Shepard co-hosted the programme alongside a revolving cast of emcees, including Steve Harvey, Sinbad, Mo’Nique, Rudy Rush, Mark Curry and Rick Aviles. Filmed at Harlem’s iconic Apollo Theater, the show featured live performances from both professional and up-and-coming musical acts, as well as complete unknowns taking the stage for their shot at a big break. During her tenure, Shepard was known as the “Apollo Queen of Fashion.”
Beyond “Showtime at the Apollo,” Shepard had recurring roles in series such as “A Different World” and “Baywatch.” Her other television credits include “Lady Boss,” “Thunder in Paradise,” “Baywatch Nights,” “NYPD Blue” and “Family Law.” More recent roles were on “Highly Favored,” “Mind Your Business” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Shepard also appeared in films including “A Rage in Harlem,” “Miss Evers’ Boys,” “Dolls of Voodoo” and “Blackjack Christmas.” In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she performed in several Broadway productions, such as “Bubbling Brown Sugar,” “Comin’ Uptown,” “Reggae,” “Your Arms Too Short to Box With God” and “Porgy and Bess.”
Born in Tyler, Texas, in July 1951, Shepard attended Emmett Scott High School and later Howard University, where she became a charter member of the D.C. Repertory Dance Company. In 1976, she performed at New York’s Delacourt Summer Shakespearean Festival.
