When I first told my dad about Vintage Black Glamour, he had one question: “Is Freda Payne in the book?” Why yes, Dad. Yes she is. This photo by Terry O’Neill (via Getty) is from the early 1970s.
Somehow, I managed to wish Maya Angelou at Happy 85th birthday on Facebook, but not here. Gotta fix that so… Happy Birthday Dr. Angelou! This famous photo of Dr. Angelou on stage was taken in 1954 by G. Paul Bishop.
Georgia Carr was a singer, actress and eventual entrepreneur. Born Mary Louise Thomas in Los Angeles on June 20, 1925, she held multiple jobs (most famously as a secretary) and attended the University of California in Los Angeles as she tried to build her singing career. She was singing at the Club Royale in San Diego when Stan Kenton saw her and, according to the August 20, 1953 cover story on her in JET, “started her on a career that was destined to hit the big time.” According to JET, it was Mr. Kenton who suggested that she change her name to Georgia Carr. In short order, she was booked in popular clubs like Birdland and La Vie En Rose in New York and recorded a few modest hits, including “Softly” and I’m Not Gonna Let You In.” She also had a radio show at one time on New Yorks WOV called “Carr-fare.” The most interesting piece of information I came across regarding Ms. Carr was from a Chicago Defender newspaper article from January 29, 1963. The article said Ms. Carr “possess beauty, personality, “class,” and a warm, husky voice of intimate styling” and noted that she was being “sought for a tour of the Orient, which would take her to Manila, Tokyo and Hong Kong.” Ms. Carr told the paper that she would probably turn down the tour in favor of a new business where she was vice president in charge of sales. It was called American Negro Commercials, Inc. and they wanted to make “television and theatrical commercials utilizing Negro actors and models.” Ms. Carr is quoted as saying, “There is no reason why our actors and actresses can’t do commercials for major companies which sell their products on the general market. I am more excited by this project than anything I have ever done.” I have no idea what became of American Negro Commercials - but I will find out! In later years, Ms. Carr apparently owned a catering company with her sister. A 1971 article in the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper described a reception in honor of the pianist Bobby Short where a “black-owned catering firm owned by singer Georgia Carr and her sister served memorable cuisine.” Ms. Carr died in Los Angeles at the age of 46 of a stroke on July 4, 1971.
Thelma Carpenter, the singer and actress best known as “Miss One” from 1978’s “The Wiz” in the 1950s. We have solved the riddle of the mystery lady in the photo with Sarah Vaughan, Nat “King” Cole, Stan Kenton and Monica Lewis (who provided the photo to VBG). Thelma Carpenter (1922-1997). Best known to my generation as “Miss One” from “The Wiz” (!!!) like so many of our great performers, she was SO much more. Born in Brooklyn, Ms. Carpenter was already on the road to stardom at the age of 5, when she started singing on the “Kiddies Hour” radio show and by age 11, she had her own show on WNYC radio. After winning the venerable “Amateur Night” competition at the Apollo Theater, she would go on to sing with jazz greats like Teddy Wilson, Coleman Hawkins and Count Basie. In 1945, she replaced Dinah Shore on the very popular Eddie Cantor radio program, one of the first Blacks to replace a star on White radio show. She made her Broadway debut in 1944 in ”Memphis Bound” with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and was Pearl Bailey’s understudy in “Dolly” in 1968, performing the role over 100 times. In later years, along with ”The Wiz” in 1978, she had roles in the ABC version of “Barefoot in the Park,”in the early 1970s, ”The Cotton Club,” in 1984 along with “The Love Boat” and “The Cosby Show.” Ms. Carpenter died in New York City at the age of 77 in 1997. Photos: JET, October 2, 1952 (bottom right) and Amazon.com. ***Thanks to Derrick Lucas, who kindly contacted Mr. Cole’s manager, Dick LaPalm, who identified Ms. Carpenter for us. ***The lady in question was actually the singer Georgia Carr. Thanks to Toni Callendar for catching this and commenting on the VBG Facebook page.
British contralto Evelyn Dove (1902-1987) wearing a mantilla and holding a fan in a photography by Carl Van Vechten taken on December 27, 1935. Born in London to a barrister from Sierra Leone and his British wife, Ms. Dove’s career took her all over the world, from American jazz clubs to cabarets from Paris to India. She was best known to most for her work in BBC radio broadcasts in the 1940s. In 1956, she portrayed Eartha Kitt’s mother in a BBC television drama called “Mrs. Patterson,” that starred the American-born British-based singer, Elisabeth Welch. She also appeared on stage in London’s West End in a production of Langston Hughes’s “Simply Heavenly.” Photo: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Beyonce’s fabulous Super Bowl outfit (designed by Rubin Singer) is serving Tina Turner in Amsterdam 1979 realness. Gotta love it…
And more sad news: Opera legend Gloria Davy passed away on November 28 in Geneva, Switzerland at the age of 81. Born in Brooklyn in 1931, Ms. Davy graduated from the Juilliard School in 1953 and made history as the first African American to sing the role of Aida at The Metropolitan Opera. In this photo, Ms. Davy is in character as Nedda from Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” in 1959. Photo: Louis Mélançon/Metropolitan Opera Archives.
Singer and actress Ketty Lester in a 1962 studio portrait. Ms. Lester, born Revoyda Frierson in Hope, Arkansas, became better known in later years as an actress, especially for her role as Hester Sue on “Little House on the Prarie.” In 1962, her hit song, ‘Love Letters” was a Top 5 single. She also appeared on “Julia,” “The Bill Cosby Show,” and yes, “House Party 3” and that cult cinematic classic, “Blacula.” Photo: Gilles Petard/Redferns.
The Marvelettes - Gladys Horton, Wanda Young (Rogers), Georgeanna Tillman (Gordon) and Katherine Anderson (Schaffner) in New York City, circa 1964. I just watched their story on Unsung - did you see it? My favorite song by The Marvelettes is “Don’t Mess With Bill” - primarily because there is a murder scene in one of my scripts that fits it to a tee. Long story… Photo by James Kriegsmann. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.
Haitian-American singer and actress Josephine Premice tying the ribbon on her high-heeled shoes just before a performance, May 1951. Photo: Kurt Hutton/Stringer/Getty Images.
Joyce Bryant by Carl Vechten. By all accounts, she had real talent, but the focus was on her sexy image despite her undeniable soprano (with 4 octave range). Once dubbed the “black Marilyn Monroe,” constant mentions in Walter Winchell’s gossip column made her a star and she was widely considered the first dark-skinned Black woman to be considered a sex symbol inside and outside of the black community.
Joyce earned nearly $1 million at her peak, but her upbringing in a very strict Seventh Day Adventist home left her feeling guilty about sex and her sexy image. According to Dorothy Dandridge’s biographer Donald Bogle, Dorothy pulled Joyce aside after a date in still-segregated Miami Beach and asked for advice on negotiating her nightclub fees (“What do you do? How do you get ask?) She was also very impressed with her stage presence (“How do you walk up on that stage and stay as calm as you are? It seems so easy for you.”)
After a series of trying events, Joyce Bryant left show business at the top of her career and returned home and to the church. She worked with the church for 20 years, singing, ministering to the poor, enduring sexism and lies from people who were less than forgiving about her past. Finally, disappointed with the people in her church, she left and eventually made her way back to the stage. After doing opera in Europe, South America and the New York Opera Company, she had a successful cabaret run in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Della Reese in the 1950s.
