Diahann Carroll

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Diahann Carroll, 1976
Diahann Carroll, 1955

Diahann Carroll , actually Carol Diahann Johnson (born July 17, 1935 in the Bronx , New York City , New York - † October 4, 2019 in Los Angeles , California ), was an American actress and singer .

life and career

Diahann Carroll grew up in Harlem and was already working as a model in adolescence. She first became known to a wide audience in 1954 through her participation in the television show Chance of a Lifetime . She was able to establish herself as an actress with the films Carmen Jones (1954) and Porgy and Bess (1959), which were among the first major Hollywood films with predominantly African American cast. In both films she starred under the direction of Otto Preminger . In 1962 - on the 45th birthday of John F. Kennedy  - she sang to illustrious guests in the President's seat of government, the White House . In attendance were: Marilyn Monroe (after singing the famous Happy Birthday ), Maria Callas , Jack Benny , Isadore Miller and many others.

Also in 1962 she was the first African-American woman to receive the Tony Award : She had played the lead role in the musical No Strings by Richard Rodgers and Samuel A. Taylor . In 1968 Carroll broke the sound barrier again with the lead role of a nurse in the American television series Julia . Julia is considered to be perhaps the first American television series that portrayed an African American main character without prejudice. The role of Julia earned her a Golden Globe Award in 1968 . A dark-skinned Barbie doll was made based on Carroll's model . In 1975 she was nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Actress for the lead role in Claudine , a mixture of social drama and comedy .

Diahann Carroll was also the first Afro-American actress to take on a leading role in a prime-time soap: from 1984 to 1987, she played one of the leading roles in the hit series The Denver Clan as the nightclub owner "Dominique Deveraux" . She played the role of Dominique again for several episodes in the spin-off Die Colbys . In the new millennium, Diahann Carroll was seen more often in various television series , such as the mother of Dr. Preston Burke ( Isaiah Washington ) in Grey's Anatomy and as June in 27 episodes of the White Collar series . Her last film role was in the boxer drama The Masked Saint in 2016 .

Carroll released a number of albums under his own name, such as Diahann Carroll Sings Harold Arlen Songs (with Ralph Burns ), Porgy and Bess Highlights (with André Previn, among others ) and A Tribute to Ethel Waters (with the Duke Ellington Orchestra ).

Carroll was married four times, most recently from 1987 to the divorce in 1996 with the singer Vic Damone . In the early 1970s, she also had a long-term relationship with the journalist David Frost . She had a daughter from her first marriage. Diahann Carroll died in October 2019 at the age of 84 from complications from breast cancer.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1954: Carmen Jones
  • 1959: Porgy and Bess (Porgy and Bess)
  • 1961: Do you love Brahms? (Goodbye Again)
  • 1961: Paris Blues
  • 1966: Tomorrow is a New Day (Hurry Sundown)
  • 1968: cops - how long do you want to live? (The Split)
  • 1974: Claudine
  • 1975: death cries ( Death scream , TV film)
  • 1978: The Star Wars Holiday Special (TV movie)
  • 1979: Roots - The Next Generations ( Roots: The Next Generations , Miniseries, a series)
  • 1979: I am black, I am proud (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
  • 1982: Sister, Sister (TV movie)
  • 1984: That's Singing: The Best of Broadway
  • 1984–1987: The Denver Clan ( Dynasty , TV series, 73 episodes)
  • 1985–1986: Das Imperium - Die Colbys ( The Colbys , television series, seven episodes)
  • 1989: Shadow Realm of Death ( From the Dead of Night , TV movie)
  • 1990: Murder in Black and White (TV movie)
  • 1991: The Five Heartbeats
  • 1992: Color Adjustment
  • 1997: Eve's Bayou
  • 1998: The Sweetest Gift (TV movie)
  • 1998: Intimate Portrait: Diahann Carroll Actor
  • 1999: Vinegar and Molasses - Black America Awakens ( Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years , Movie made for TV)
  • 1999: Jackie's Back! (TV movie)
  • 2000: Livin 'For Love: The Natalie Cole Story (TV movie)
  • 2000: The Courage to Love (TV movie)
  • 2006–2007: Grey's Anatomy (TV series, five episodes)
  • 2009–2014: White Collar (TV series, 27 episodes)
  • 2010: Patricia Cornwell : Danger ( At Risk , TV movie)
  • 2010: Patricia Cornwell : Undercover ( The Front , TV movie)
  • 2016: The Masked Saint

Discographic notes

  • Diahann Carroll Sings Harold Arlen Songs (RCA, 1957)
  • Best Beat Forward (Vik, 1957)
  • Porgy and Bess-Highlights (United Artists, 1959), with André Previn, Joe Mondragon , Larry Bunker , Red Mitchell , Frank Capp
  • The Persian Room Presents (United Artists, 1960)
  • Fun Life (Atlantic, 1969)
  • Diahann Carroll with the Duke Ellington Orchestra: A Tribute to Ethel Waters (Orinda, 1978)
  • The Time of My Life (Sterling, 1997), with Glenn Drewes , Harry Allen , Mike Renzi , Jay Berliner , Paul West , Ben Brown, Allan Swchwarztberg

Web links

Commons : Diahann Carroll  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed October 4, 2019)
  2. ↑ Condé Nast: Diahann Carroll, Groundbreaking Dynasty Star, Dies at 84. Retrieved October 6, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Carroll, Diahann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnson, Carol Diahann (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH July 17, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Bronx , New York City , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH 4th October 2019
Place of death Los Angeles , California , United States