# Chip Fields
**Chip Fields** (born 1951 in New York) is an American singer, actress, and television director, sometimes credited as Chip Hurd or Chip Fields-Hurd, whose screen career runs from 1970s sitcom guest roles and the 1978 film *Blue Collar* to a long second career directing episodes of sitcoms such as *The Parkers*, *Girlfriends*, *House of Payne*, and *Tyler Perry's Young Dylan*[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/chip-fields/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/101655/chip-fields). She is also the mother of actresses [Kim Fields](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-fields) and Alexis Fields[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/bio/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1951, New York, New York; birth name Laverne Fields[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/chip-fields/) • [4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/chip-fields/credits/3030249463/) |
| Signature acting role | Linella Gordon, the abusive birth mother of Penny (Janet Jackson), on *Good Times*, across the four-part "The Evans Get Involved" (Season 5) and "A Matter of Mothers" (Season 6)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/chip-fields/) • [5](https://goodtimesblog.com/2025/08/05/happy-birthday-chip-fields/) |
| Series regular | Rita Conway, J. Jonah Jameson's secretary, on *The Amazing Spider-Man* (1978–1979), 13 episodes[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/) |
| Film work | Caroline Brown in *Blue Collar* (1978); dialogue coach on *Menace II Society* (1993)[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/) • [5](https://goodtimesblog.com/2025/08/05/happy-birthday-chip-fields/) |
| Directing record | 54 episodes of Tyler Perry's *House of Payne* (2009–2012) and 44 episodes of *Young Dylan* (2020–2025), plus episodes of *The Parkers*, *Girlfriends*, *Sister, Sister*, *One on One*, *All of Us*, and *Hannah Montana*[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/) • [4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/chip-fields/credits/3030249463/) |
| Broadway | *Tough to Get Help* (1972); *Hello, Dolly!* revival (1975, as Minnie Fay); *Don't Get God Started* (1987–1988)[7](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/chip-fields-80599) |
| Family | Married technical director Erv Hurd since August 20, 1994; previously married to John Randolph; daughters Kim and Alexis Fields[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/bio/) |
## Acting career
Fields entered entertainment as a singer. When [Ronnie Spector](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronnie-spector) reformed [The Ronettes](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-ronettes) in 1973, Fields was one of two singers selected to replace original members who did not return; she recorded two songs with the group before it disbanded in 1975[5](https://goodtimesblog.com/2025/08/05/happy-birthday-chip-fields/). Her screen debut came in the 1974 film *Claudine*, where she appears as an extra, followed by a role as an unwed mother on the NBC soap opera *Days of Our Lives*[5](https://goodtimesblog.com/2025/08/05/happy-birthday-chip-fields/).
**1970s television and film.** She played Rita Conway, J. Jonah Jameson's secretary, throughout the short-lived live-action *[The Amazing Spider-Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-amazing-spider-man-tv-series)* series from 1978 to 1979, appearing in 13 episodes[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/101655/chip-fields). In the 1978 film *Blue Collar* she played Caroline Brown[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/). On the sitcom *Good Times* she first appeared as Rochelle in the two-part "J.J.'s New Career" (Season 4), then played Linella Gordon, Penny Gordon Woods's abusive birth mother, in the four-part "The Evans Get Involved" in Season 5 and returned in "A Matter of Mothers" in Season 6[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/101655/chip-fields). Guest appearances through the late 1970s and 1980s included *What's Happening!!*, *Rhoda*, *Barnaby Jones*, *Hill Street Blues*, and *T.J. Hooker*[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/101655/chip-fields) • [4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/chip-fields/credits/3030249463/).
On Broadway, she appeared in the original 1972 play *Tough to Get Help* (as Carlotta and Young Beulah), the 1975 revival of *Hello, Dolly!* as Minnie Fay, and the 1987 musical *Don't Get God Started* in the original roles of Sylvia and Barbara Ann[7](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/chip-fields-80599).
## Directing and behind-the-camera work
Fields moved into television directing in the 1990s and 2000s, building a credit list across UPN and children's programming: episodes of *Sister, Sister* (1999), *The Parkers* (2000–2003), *Hangin' with Mr. Cooper*, *Girlfriends* (2001), *One on One*, *All of Us*, *Romeo!*, *Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide*, *Hannah Montana* (2006), *Tyler Perry's House of Payne* (2009–2012), and *Tyler Perry's [Meet the Browns](https://www.edgepedia.org/meet-the-browns-tv-series)* (2009)[4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/chip-fields/credits/3030249463/) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/chip-fields/). Her largest single-show credits are 54 episodes of *House of Payne* between 2009 and 2012 and 44 episodes of *Tyler Perry's Young Dylan* between 2020 and 2025[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/).
She also worked as a consultant on *The Parkers*, *Living Single*, and the Disney television film *[Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century](https://www.edgepedia.org/zenon-girl-of-the-21st-century-film)*, and as a dialogue coach on the 1993 film *Menace II Society*[4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/chip-fields/credits/3030249463/). On *Young Dylan* she served on the show's crew as producer as well as director[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/101655/chip-fields).
## Playing her daughters' fictional mother
A recurring pattern in her acting work pairs her with her daughters. On *Good Times*, she played the biological mother of Penny, played by [Janet Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/janet-jackson), while her real-life daughter Kim Fields guest-starred on the show as one of Penny's schoolmates, though the two never appeared in the same episode[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/bio/). She later played the mother of Kim's characters twice: as Diane Ramsey, Tootie's mother, on *The Facts of Life*, including the February 29, 1984 episode "Mother and Daughter" in which Kim Fields' real-life mother played her TV mother, and as the mother of Regine Hunter on *Living Single*[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/bio/) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004917/trivia/).
## Personal life
Fields has been married to technical director Erv Hurd, whom she met while working on the ABC series *Me and the Boys*, since August 20, 1994[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/bio/). She was previously married to John Randolph[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/bio/). Her daughters Kim Fields, known for *The Facts of Life* and *Living Single*, and Alexis Fields, known for *Sister, Sister* and *Kenan & Kel*, both became actresses[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004917/trivia/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276185/bio/).
## References
1. [Chip Fields – Singer, Actress, Director, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/chip-fields/)
2. [Chip Fields, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/101655/chip-fields)
3. [Chip Fields – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/bio/)
4. [Chip Fields List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/chip-fields/credits/3030249463/)
5. [Happy Birthday, Chip Fields! – Ain't We Lucky We Got 'Em?](https://goodtimesblog.com/2025/08/05/happy-birthday-chip-fields/)
6. [Chip Fields, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276209/)
7. [Chip Fields – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/chip-fields-80599)
8. [Kim Fields – Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004917/trivia/)
9. [Alexis Fields – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276185/bio/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Ev to F*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license