Singer and Tony-winning, Oscar-nominated actress Diahann Carroll, the first African American woman to star in her own TV series, has died at at her home in Los Angeles after a long bout with cancer…
Singer and Tony-winning, Oscar-nominated actress Diahann Carroll, the first African American woman to star in her own TV series, has died at at her home in Los Angeles after a long bout with cancer. She was 84.Carroll is perhaps best remembered by younger audiences for her role as the conniving Dominique Deveraux on the nighttime soap “” in the mid-’80s.
Carroll made her Broadway debut at age 19 in the Harold Arlen musical “House of Flowers,” and though it was short-lived, Carroll’s notices brought her substantial attention and led to her first movie role in “Carmen Jones.” It would be followed by a role in the 1959 film version of “Porgy and Bess.” Carroll made her TV debut on “The Red Skelton Show” and appeared on other variety programs fronted by Steve Allen, Garry Moore, Jack Paar and Danny Kaye, as well as on “The Ed Sulivan Show.
After having seen her in “House of Flowers,” songwriter Richard Rodgers promised he would one day write a vehicle for Carroll. That turned out to be “No Strings,” the 1962 musical about an interracial romance between a writer and a fashion model. The 1974 feature “Claudine,” which co-starred James Earl Jones, was another rarity, a role for a strong, independent African American woman with deep roots in family. Her work brought Carroll an Oscar nomination as best actress.
Carroll also occupied herself with theater projects including “Agnes of God” on Broadway in 1982 and “Same Time, Next Year” in Los Angeles; she starred as Norma Desmond in the Toronto production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard” in 1995. Carroll made her first New York nightclub appearance in 40 years with the 2006 offering “The Life and Times of Diahann Carroll,” drawing an ecstatic review from the New York Times: “An astonishingly youthful and glamorous 70-year-old grandmother, she presents herself as a down-to-earth realist about the joys and rigors of show business. … Her air of casually worn grandeur only enhances the unpretentious honesty of her recollections.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Diahann Carroll Dies: Groundbreaking African-American Actress, Star Of TV’s ‘Julia’ Was 84Diahann Carroll, TV’s history-making star of NBC’s 1960s sitcom Julia and Broadway’s Tony Award-winning star of the 1962 musical No Strings, died today of cancer, the Associated P…
Read more »
Cynthia Erivo to Play Aretha Franklin in Nat Geo's 'Genius'The Tony Award winner will headline the third season of the Disney-owned cable network's anthology.
Read more »
Breast Cancer Death Rate Continues To Drop, But Black Women Have Far Worse Chance Of SurvivalBreast cancer survival continues to rise, but huge disparities exist between white women and black women.
Read more »
Cynthia Erivo Will Play Aretha Franklin in GeniusCynthia Erivo Is Aretha Franklin in National Geographic Channel's Genius Series
Read more »
Breast Cancer Death Rate Continues To Drop, But Black Women Have Far Worse Chance Of SurvivalBreast cancer survival continues to rise, but huge disparities exist between white women and black women.
Read more »