biography
| sex:
| female
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| lived:
| (1918–88)
|
| biography:
| Vocalist and actress, born in Newport News, Virginia, USA. An irrepressible show-business personality, she began as a dancer and won an amateur contest in Philadelphia (1933), which led to work in touring shows. In 1938 she won a singing contest at Harlem's Apollo Theatre and was subsequently featured with big bands led by Noble Nissle, Edgar Hayes, Cab Calloway, and Cootie Williams, with whom she recorded in 1945. She starred in the Broadway musical St Louis Woman (1946), and in 1952 married the drummer-bandleader Louis Bellson, with whom she performed thereafter. She appeared in many films, television, and stage shows, including Carmen Jones (1954) and Hello, Dolly! (1967–9), and she hosted her own television variety show (1970–1). Her autobiography, The Raw Pearl, was published in 1968. |
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