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Authority record

Astaire, Adele

  • n85030144
  • Person
  • 1897-09-10-1981-01-25

Adele Astaire Douglass (born Adele Marie Austerlitz, later known as Lady Charles Cavendish; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress, and singer. After beginning work as a dancer and vaudeville performer at the age of nine, Astaire built a successful performance career with her younger brother, Fred Astaire.

Carroll, Diahann

  • n86102661
  • Person
  • 1935-07-17-2019-10-04

Diahann Carroll (1935-2019) was an American singer and actress. She was born in the Bronx and grew up in Harlem. She began singing at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem at age six and soon started taking piano and voice lessons. In high school she began modeling for Ebony magazine and entering television contests. In 1954 she won “Chance of a Lifetime” three weeks in a row, winning $1000 each week and an engagement at a Manhattan nightclub called the Latin Quarter.

At age 19 she debuted on Broadway as Ottilie in House of Flowers, drawing the attention of Richard Rodgers. Later in 1962 she starred in Richard Rodgers’s No Strings, winning a Tony award. On Television she played the title role in Julia, which was the first show to depict a person of color not in a domestic role. She continued to perform widely in film and television until in the 1980s she starred in Dynasty, an ABC prime-time soap opera. In the 1990s she was the first African-American to play Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard.

In addition to her acting career she was a talented and active singer, recording numerous albums.

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