Sunday, April 18, 2010

Behind the Scenes of Ms Diahann Carroll!

Hear "Behind the Scenes of Ms Diahann Carroll on The Palm Springs Savant & Co Radio show #108 on Blog Talk Radio, or via podcast from iTunes.

This week the fabulous Ms Diahann Carroll will grace the stage of the Annenberg Theatre here in Palm Springs with her one woman show, "The Lady....The Legend...The Music". In fact, I wrote a brief post about this show a few weeks ago, the performance week is finally here- this Wednesday, April 21st. Ms Carroll is no stranger to Palm Springs, having made a number of appearances in recent years in support of The Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards, among other activities here in the desert. When she decided to bring her one woman show to Palm Springs it created a buzz among theatre-goers and fans alike. Ms Carroll has quite the resume, with an illustrious career from film, stage, Broadway, nightclubs and television. Diahann Carroll is a Tony Award winner, an Emmy and Grammy nominee, a Golden Globe winner and a Best Actress Oscar nominee. Just few highlights from her television career:
She was the first black actress to star in her own TV series called "Julia" in 1968 which aired on NBC. "Julia" was a top Nielsen-rated show for which sh
e received an Emmy nomination. In 1984 Diahann Carroll became the first black actress to star in the award-winning night time TV drama series "Dynasty", playing the memorable role as a jet-setting "Dominique Deveraux".
She has als
o had a number of recurring roles on programs like "A Different World", "Grey's Anatomy", "Soul Food" on Showtime, "Strong Medicine" on Lifetime and "Whoopi" on NBC. Her stage work is also quite impressive; her Broadway debut was a starring role in Harold Arlen and Truman Capote's "House of Flowers". Followed by the Broadway production "No Strings" for which she won a Tony Award. She also starred on Broadway in the award-winning plays "Agnes of God" and "Sunset Boulevard". If all that were not enough, her film credits are equally compelling:
In 1954 she was noticed fo
r a supporting role in "Carmen Jones" which put her on the map and led to Broadway roles. She continued to pursue film work with great success. She received a 1974 Best Actress Academy Award nomination for "Claudine", and went on to star in the acclaimed films "Carmen Jones", "Paris Blues", "Porgy & Bess", "Hurry Sundown", "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" and "Eve's Bayou". A few years ago she wrote her memoir, "The Legs Are The Last To Go" which was a New York Times best seller. Her show this week in Palm Springs will be filmed by PBS; Ms Carroll offered this performance to public television as part of their fundraising event in August 2010. Viewers will have the opportunity to buy a DVD of this week's special performance in Palm Springs to help support PBS programming. You can find Ms Carroll's contact information from her website. I do recommend reading her book, or check out some of her music on iTunes. Diahann Carroll is the subject of The Palm Springs Savant & Co Radio Show #108. Tune in from Blog Talk Radio, or on podcast from iTunes for free. I'll post photos from Wednesday's concert with a mini-review, so check back here again later this week!
-Rick Rockhill

1 comment:

OldLady Of The Hills said...

I've always loved her! Such an incredibly talented woman....We shared the same accompanist waaaay back in the early 1950's....I liked her book a lot and was stunned when she wrote about how truly rude Andrew Lloyd WEbber was to her....Though, I must say, it was in a way, not surprising. He is famous for treating people in a very off hand manner. What stunned me was that he would treat her in such an insulting manner...!
Can't wait to see this show of hers on PBS. And I wish I could have seen the concert at The Ahmanson.

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