Obituary of Eugene Bolus

Eugene Bolus was the second of five children born to Roy and Henrietta Bolus in New York City. In the years following high school graduation, he worked in administrative positions with various publishing companies in New York while exploring an acting career. His perseverance paid off as he was cast in three Broadway plays, The Cool World, The Great Indoors, and The Long Dream, opposite such theater greats as Geraldine Page, Cicely Tyson, and James Earl Jones. With that experience under his belt, Eugene moved to California to pursue an acting career.

During a three-decade career in Hollywood, Eugene achieved a stellar career as an actor, as a television and motion picture writer, and as a playwright, under the stage name, Eugene Bolande. He appeared in various television shows in the 1960s, including Dragnet, CHIPS, and The Young and The Restless. He was cast in various movies- The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, Hotel, and My Fellow Americans, among others. He was a Series Writer for the television shows, Julia, starring Diahann Carroll, and That Girl, starring Marlo Thomas, and was hired as the first black writer for the drama series, Peyton Place, and a Casting Director for Sanford and Son.

Eugene was also a gifted playwright; one of his plays, The Unforgiving Minute, a three-act play, was presented in London, Amsterdam, Holland, Charleston, and Los Angeles. Over the years, he wrote many other works- teleplays, short stories, screenplays, and poetry. Eugene was the Director of New Playwrights at the Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center for 22 years; during his tenure, he produced and directed 186 plays with over 2000 actors. He was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, the Actors Equity Association, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Writers Guild of America, West.

After a successful career in Hollywood, Eugene returned home to New York for a time, until his travels led him to various cities around the United States. In 2005, he wrote, produced and performed his one man show in Boston, “Scenes from A Life Unexamined: A Black Writer Looks at Hollywood.” From Massachusetts, Eugene’s travels led him to Sacramento, California, to be closer to remaining family, and finally to Georgia with family. His passion for the arts never left him, as he regaled family, friends and neighbors with touching poetry readings and monologues, wherever he lived.

Eugene transitioned to his final resting place, Heaven, on December 19, 2022. He was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Henrietta, his brothers, Roy and Robert, his sister, Elsie, and his sisters-in-law, Charlotte and Josephine. He leaves behind his brother Henry Bolus, his first cousin, Irene Heckstall, sister-in-law Betty Fredericks, and a host of nieces, nephews and friends who loved him immensely and will miss him dearly.

A memorial service for Mr. Eugene Bolus will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 1:00 P.M. at the Sherrell Memorial Chapel with his niece, Kim Crews officiating.  

Those who wish may sign the online guest registry at www.sherrell-westburyfuneralhome.com.

Sherrell-Westbury Funeral Home, 212 E. College Street, Jackson, GA, is serving the Bolus family.