Kiki Shepard — the longtime co-host of the legendary music showcase “Showtime on the Apollo” — has died … TMZ has realized.
LaShirl SmithKiki’s rep, tells TMZ … she suffered an enormous coronary heart assault in Los Angeles on Monday, including her passing was fully surprising.
Shepard turned a well-recognized face to tens of millions of viewers throughout her future on “Showtime on the Apollo” from 1987 to 2002, the place she shared the stage with Steve Harvey and helped introduce aspiring performers on the iconic Harlem theater.
Over time she continued working in tv with appearances on reveals together with “A Completely different World,” “Baywatch,” “Baywatch Nights,” “NYPD Blue,” “All people Hates Chris,” “Gray’s Anatomy,” and “Thoughts Your Enterprise.” She additionally appeared within the movie “Blackjack Christmas.”
She later made her mark on Broadway, showing in productions like “Effervescent Brown Sugar,” “Reggae,” “Your Arms Too Brief to Field With God,” and “Porgy and Bess.”
Her profession in leisure started lengthy earlier than Apollo. She began out as an expert dancer within the early Nineteen Seventies, performing around the globe together with with the D.C. Repertory Dance Firm.
Kiki was 74.
RIP.