From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
DeBerry, Frances Carter
(born: October 10, 1883 - died: August 12, 1966)Frances Carter DeBerry was a poet from Tennessee. She wrote under the name Frankie C. DeBerry and her poems were published in newspapers in Nashville, TN, and Omaha, NE. Her work was also published in The Half Century Magazine, an African American publication in Chicago that was named for the 50th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. DeBerry lived the second half of her life in Louisville, KY. She was an unrecognized authority on Shakespeare.
In 1956, DeBerry was 74 years old when she appeared on the television quiz show "The $64,000 Question." She chose “Shakespeare” as the category for her questions. The quiz show officials had now idea of DeBerry's knowledge of Shakespeare, and they were quite surprised she won $16,000. After which, she was strongly encouraged to quit as a contestant. She was given three books to prepare herself, in case she decided not to quit the show. The show, "$64,000 Question", would fold after it was revealed in the spring of 1958 to be one of the rigged television gameshows.
There was a federal investigation. None of the African American contestants from "The $64,000 Question" were asked to testify before the House subcommittee. The two contestants from Louisville, KY, Frances DeBerry and William “Wee Willie” Davis, said that they were not given answers by the gameshow officials.
After her appearance on the game show, Frances C. DeBerry wrote her book titled All the World’s a Stage for Shakespeare’s Comedies: a modern interpretation of the bard’s humor. She was listed in The Crisis among the African American authors of 1958. The following year, DeBerry was interviewed by Jet magazine, and she revealed that the producers of "The $64,000 Question" had encouraged her to stop as a contestant after she won the $16,000 that was used to author her book. The book is thought to be the first about Shakespeare written by an African American, and definitely by an African American woman from Kentucky.
Frances Carter DeBerry was born and lived the first half of her life in Nashville, TN, before moving to Kentucky. She was the daughter of Charles Carter and Betsy Green Carter. Her birthdate is given as October 10, 1883 on her Kentucky Death Certificate, File no. 116 66 18854, Registrar's no. 5923 (Ancestry). Frances Carter DeBerry died in Louisville, KY, in 1966. She had been a patient at the Fair Lodge Nursing Home. She is buried at the Louisville Cemetery.
Sources:
Jones, Reinette F. "Three lesser-known African American poets, authors, and a publisher in Kentucky." Kentucky Libraries, (2025), v.89, no.1, pp.31-34. (Online at UKnowledge); Tran, Jeanette Nguyen. “The $64,000 question. What can Frances DeBerry tell us about Shakespeare Scholarship in Civil Rights Era America?” in Shakespeare and Civil Unrest in Britain and the United States, edited by Mark Bayer and Joseph Navitsky; “Seeks $64,000.” The Afro-American (Baltimore, MA), 27 October 1956, p.10.
“Shakespearean author dies – a Negress.” The Cincinnati Enquirer, Kentucky Edition, 16 August 1966, p.2; “The Quiz show scandal: The $64,000 Question.” PBS webpage (online); “Negro woman writer of verses in native dialect.” The Courier-Journal, 22 July 1922, p.8; DeBerry, Frances C. All the World’s a Stage for Shakespeare’s Comedies: a modern interpretation of the bard’s humor; “Did Negro quiz winners cheat on television? : most say no, but ex-postman.” Jet, 19 November 1959, pp.56-60.