Pearl Bailey

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Pearl Bailey 1946 photographed by Carl Van Vechten

Pearl Mae Bailey (born March 29, 1918 in Newport News , Virginia , † August 17, 1990 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) was an American actress and singer .

Life

Pearl Bailey sang in her father's Pentecostal choir as a child. The decision to pursue a career as a singer was made when she won an amateur competition at the Perl Theater in Philadelphia in 1933 . In the 1940s she was a singer in various big bands; In 1944 she recorded "Now I Know" with the Cootie Williams Orchestra. Her acting career began in 1946 when she won an award for Best Broadway Newcomer for her role in the comedy St. Louis Woman .

She achieved a hit in 1952 when her single Takes Two To Tango reached number 7 on the US charts and was listed on the charts for 17 weeks. It should be her only hit.

This was followed in 1954 by the role of Frankie in the film Carmen Jones with Harry Belafonte and in 1959 the role of Maria in Porgy and Bess with Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge . From 1967 to 1969 she appeared in her most famous stage role in Hello, Dolly! for which she received the Tony Award . From 1971 to 1972 she had her own television show on ABC , The Pearl Bailey Show . She later began studying theology at Georgetown University , graduating in 1978 with a bachelor's degree. She also authored several books, including an autobiography.

Bailey received numerous awards. In 1970 she named President Richard Nixon America's Ambassador of Love , in 1975 she became the United Nations Special Envoy, and in 1988 she awarded Ronald Reagan the Presidential Medal of Freedom . She was American Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations under Presidents Gerald Ford , Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush . In 1976 she received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild for her "commitment to nurturing the ideals of acting" and in 1989 from the Women's International Center for her worldwide commitment to human rights.

Bailey was married to John Randolph Pinkett Jr. from 1948 to 1952 and to jazz musician Louis Bellson Jr. from 1952 to 1990, with whom she had two children.

Filmography

  • 1947: Girls for Hollywood (Variety Girl)
  • 1948: Isn't It Romantic?
  • 1954: Carmen Jones
  • 1956: I'm Marrying My Wife (That Certain Feeling)
  • 1958: St. Louis Blues
  • 1959: Porgy and Bess (Porgy and Bess)
  • 1960: Fruits of a Passion (All the Fine Young Cannibals)
  • 1966: ABC Stage 67 (TV series, one episode)
  • 1970: The homeowner (The Landlord)
  • 1973: Love, American Style (TV series, episode)
  • 1975: Tubby the Tuba (voice)
  • 1976: Norman ... Is That You?
  • 1978: Love Boat ( The Love Boat , TV series, an episode)
  • 1979: Muppet Show (Season 3, Episode 5)
  • 1981: Cap and Capper ( The Fox and the Hound , voice)
  • 1982: Young and Passionate - As Life Plays (TV series)
  • 1982: The Member of the Wedding (TV movie)
  • 1984–1985: Silver Spoons (TV series, two episodes)
  • 1985: Young Fates ( ABC Afterschool Specials , TV series, an episode)
  • 1989: Peter Gunn, private detective ( Peter Gunn , TV film)

theatre

Web links

Commons : Pearl Bailey  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ US catalog number: 60817
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940–1955 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 10
  3. ↑ Entry at filmreference.com
  4. ^ Film Actress, Singer, Theater Actress, Television Actress, Journalist (1918–1990). Retrieved January 8, 2015 (eng).
personal data
SURNAME Bailey, Pearl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bailey, Pearl Mae (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH March 29, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Newport News , Virginia , United States
DATE OF DEATH 17th August 1990
Place of death Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States