Pearl Bailey

Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey in “St. Louis Woman”, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1946
Born	Pearl Mae Bailey
Spouse	Louie Bellson (1952-1990)

Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American singer and actress. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968. Her rendition of "Takes Two to Tango" hit the top ten in 1952.

Biography

She was born in Southampton County, Virginia, to Rev. Joseph and Ella Mae Bailey. In 1954, she took the role of Frankie in the film version of Carmen Jones, and her rendition of "Beat Out That Rhythm on the Drum" is one of the highlights of the film. She also starred in the Broadway musical House of Flowers. In 1959, she played the role of Maria in the film version of Porgy and Bess, starring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge. Also that year she played the role of "Aunt Hagar" in the movie St. Louis Blues alongside Mahalia Jackson, Eartha Kitt, and Nat King Cole. During the 1970s she had her own television show, and she also provided voices for animations such as Tubby the Tuba (1976) and Disney's The Fox and the Hound (1981). She returned to Broadway in 1975, playing the lead in an all-black production of "Hello Dolly". Later in life, she earned a B.A. in Theology from Georgetown University in Washington, DC in 1985.

In 1987, Bailey won a Daytime Emmy award for her performance as a fairy godmother in the ABC Afterschool Special, Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale.

Later in her career, Bailey was a fixture as a spokesperson in a series of Duncan Hines commercials.

Bailey, a Republican, was appointed by President Richard Nixon as America's "Ambassador of Love" in 1970. She attended several meetings of the United Nations, occasionally seeming disoriented. She later took part in a campaign ad for President Gerald Ford in the 1976 election.

She was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom on October 17, 1988.

She was married to jazz drummer Louie Bellson.

Pearl Bailey died from heart failure in 1990.

Pearl Bailey: With a Song in Her Heart, a children's biography by Keith Brandt, illustrated by Gershom Griffith, was published in 1992.

Filmography

• Variety Girl (1947)
• Isn't It Romantic? (1948)
• Carmen Jones (1954)
• That Certain Feeling (1956)
• St. Louis Blues (1958)
• Porgy and Bess (1959)
• All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960)
• The Landlord (1970)
• The Last Generation (1971)
• Tubby the Tuba (1975) (voice)
• Norman... Is That You? (1976)
• The Fox and the Hound (1981) (voice)

Discography

• Ain't She Sweet! (audio CD 2000)

• Cocktail Hour: Pearl Bailey (audio CD 2001)

• Hello, Dolly! (1975 New York Revival) (audio CD 1991)

• It's a Great Feeling (audio CD 1995)

• Pearl Bailey: 1947-1950 (audio CD 2003)

• Pearl Bailey Sings for Adults Only (LP, ca. 1960, Roulette Records # R-25016). LP jacket notes are revealing of her career as a nightclub singer and of the censorship of recorded song lyrics, including those containing what would be seen as mild sexual innuendo today, that was prevalent at the time of the LP's release. Disk is clearly marked "Not for airplay." Notes also say she was known to friends as "Pearly Mae." See image of notes at: [1] (Use magnifier icon in upper-right corner to make it easier to read.)

• Pearl Bailey Sings Songs for Adults//More Songs for Adults (audio CD 2004)

• 16 Most Requested Songs (audio CD, audiocassette 1991)

• Some of the Best (audio CD 1996)

• Takes Two to Tango (audio CD 2004)

• Very Best of Pearl Bailey (audio CD 2007)

• Won't You Come Home, Pearl Bailey? (audio CD 1995)

• More Songs for Adults Only (LP, Roulette SR 25101, 1958) Side A: Westport / There's a Little Bit of Bad in Every Good Little Girl / Confession / The Great Indoors / Singin' The Blues (Till My Daddy Comes Home) / Love for Sale. Side B: One Man is Good Enough for Me / Aggravatin' Papa / Nobody's Chasing Me / The Duchess Threw Her Crutches Away / The Begat / Show Me Love.

• Pearl Bailey Sings For Adults Only (LP, Roulette SR 25016, 1958) Side A: She Had To Go and Lose It at The Astor / Josephine / To Keep My Love Alive / I Want a Man / Zip / Let's Do It. Side B: The Physician / Legalize My Name / You Brought Me More Sunshine (Than I Can Use) / Flings / You Can Be Replaced / I Wanna Get Married.

Bibliography

• The Raw Pearl (autobiography, 1968)
• Talking to myself (autobiography, 1971)
• Pearl's kitchen: an extraordinary cookbook (1973)
• Mothers are wonderful: Warm words of praise by Pat Boone, Pearl Bailey, Margaret Mead, Billy Graham and many more (1974)
• Hurry Up, America, and Spit (1976)
• Between you & me (autobiography, 1989)

External links

• Template:Voice actor
• Template:Find A Grave