Sandra Patricia Colbert (b. - January 16, 1947 - d. June 23, 2024) was an African-American actress and model. She was best known for her role as the beautiful, stylish Oil Baron Club Hostess and manager Dora Mae on the CBS primetime soap Dallas from 1983-1991. She briefly appeared as a substitute Barker's Beauty on the television game show The Price is Right during its 1983-1984 season on CBS and was the very first African-American model to appear on the daytime series with host Bob Barker.
Early Life, Modeling & Acting Career[]
Pat was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father, LeRoy, worked in construction and even built the home that the family would live in. Pat's mother, Eula, was a homemaker and worked in foster care. She attended Centennial High School in Compton before moving on to junior college. To support herself, Pat worked as a glamour model for department-store print campaigns and as a fashion consultant before becoming an actress.
One of Pat's first television credits came in 1979 when she landed a guest starring role as a model on the television series Eischied. From there, she landed a more steadily acting gig come the following year when she landed a role as a working girl on the NBC primetime soap Flamingo Road, first appearing in the two-hour pilot and recurring throughout its first season. But shortly after it the second season, Pat's character would be eliminated when the network - pressured by Rev. Donald Wildmon, who as head of Coalition for Better Television called Flamingo Road "the rottenest show on TV" - turned the brothel into a respectable supper club.
Dallas, her most notable TV role[]
Luckily for Pat, she would be able to find even better work as a working actress. Lorimar productions, which produced Flamingo Road, would put her back to work as she would landed her best-known role to television audiences: Dora Mae, the glamourous hostess of the Oil Baron's Club on the CBS primetime series Dallas, a role that she go on to play for the next eight years, from 1983 until its end in 1991.
Dora Mae's Oil Baron's Club is an upscale restaurant located in a high-rise that was a favorite hangout of the Ewing family and their associates (the restaurant was inspired by the real-life, members-only Dallas Petroleum Club).
Pat's character of Dora Mae was the only recurring African-American character on the series but never had a storyline because Dallas never tried to pretend to be anything more than the saga of the Ewing family but she was praised by audiences for her portrayal of the role with elegance and intelligence. The leading characters and the show itself treated Pat with respect and without any sense of condescension. Dallas has had many recurring supporting characters who helped create a sense of community for a show set in a major city and Dora Mae was part of the fabric of the series.
The Price is Right[]
While working on the CBS series Dallas, Pat's gorgeous looks would soon land her another gig in front of the cameras; she was asked to appear as a substitute Barker's Beauty on the television game show The Price is Right during its 1983-1984 season on CBS. The stunning beauty appeared as part of a rotation of models to fill the vacant spot that was left by Holly Hallstrom, who originally parted ways with the series to pursue an acting career but would later return by the spring of 1984.
The distinction of the first-ever African-American to appear on The Price is Right, that honor goes to a woman named Harriet as she occasionally appeared one some of the earliest episodes of the syndicated, nighttime series fronted by Dennis James from its 1972 premiere until his dismissal in 1977 (with Bob Barker taking over until its cancellation in 1980, in addition to his hosting duties on the daytime series). Pat, however, holds the honor of becoming the very first African-American model to appear on the daytime series as she made her televised Barker's Beauty debut on (airdate) January 18, 1984 and continued on until the 19th as this would be a brief appearance. Pat's appearances were taped on November 30, 1983, which was the then-39th birthday of Barker's Beauty Dian Parkinson (which would be acknowledged by host Bob Barker on the January 19th episode).
Other TV roles & Later in Life[]
In 1987, Pat co-starred alongside Bill Cosby in the spy comedy Leonard Part 6, which unfortunately bombed at the box-office with film critics panning it as one of the worst films ever made and only earned $4.6 million on a $24 million budget.
Some of Pat's other television roles include guest starring roles on Sisters, Capitol, Knots Landing, True Colors, Benson & The Fall Guy.
From the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s, Pat kept a low profile before resurfacing in the 2014 family movie Thom & Dusty Go to Mexico: The Lost Treasure and appearing in the 2015 TV movie If Not for His Grace, where she was credited as "Patricia Colbert" and this would be her final acting credit.
Personal Life, Health issues & Death[]
On June 23, 2024, Pat passed away at her home in Compton, California as her death was confirmed by her sister, Tami Colbert.
Pat's passing comes after it's been revealed that she's previously been dealing with a series of health complications and suffered three strokes over the past decade. A memorial to celebrate Pat's life is set to take place on July 20, 2024.
Pat Colbert is survived by her siblings; sisters Tami and Johnetta, brother Aaron, and her son, Michael.
Gallery[]
(Pat as a substitute Barker's Beauty on The Price is Right)
(Pat as Dora Mae on the long-running CBS primetime series Dallas)
