Ethel Waters – Flashcards

1. Enclopedia.com http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Ethel_Waters.aspx Robin Armstrong /1994/ copyright 2005 Thomson Gale 2. allmusic.com http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ethel-waters-mn0000806327 Scott Yanow 3. Imdb.com http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041746/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt 4. a beautiful pageant David Krasner/ copyright 2002 5. pbs.org http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/vaudeville-about-vaudeville/721/

EW *Born October 31?, 1895, in Chester, PA *she was the child of a rape *her mother was only a teenager (Louise Anderson) *her father was John Waters *her mother married Norman Howard soon after *Ethel had very little schooling *Her mother could not accept her as a child, so Ethel was sent to live with her grandmother and her 2 aunts *her grandmother's name was Sally Anderson *Her aunts names were Vi and Ching *Her grandmother was barely home *ignored and physically abused by aunts *Enjoyed attending school when she could *started cleaning houses when she was eight *dropped out of school when she was a teenager (1)

Honors and awards EW *1921/down home blues/chart number:5 *1921/there'll be some changes made/ chart number:5 *1922/spread yo' stuff/ 7 *1922/tiger rag/14 *1923/Georgia blues/10 *1925/sweet Georgia brown/6 *1926/Dinah/2 *1926/I've found a new baby/11 *1926/sugar/9 *1927/I'm coming Virginia/10 *1929/Am I Blue?/1 *1929/Birmingham Bertha/20 *1929/true blue Lou/15 *1931/three little words/8 *1931/i got rhythm/17 *1931/you can't stop me from loving you/13 *1931/shine on, harvest moon/9 *1931/river stay 'way from my door/18 *1933/stormy weather/1 *1933/don't blame me/6 *1933/heat wave/7 *1933/a hundred years from today/7 *1934/come up and see me sometime/9 *1934/Miss Otis regrets(she's unable to lunch today)/19 *1938/you're sweetheart/16 (2)

honors and awards EW synopsis: A light skinned African American woman named Pinky, goes to nursing school by pretending to be white. While there she falls in love with a doctor who knows nothing of her heritage. When she returns home for a visit, her grandmother (Ethel Waters) convinces her to stay longer. In her stay, Pinky takes care of an elderly white woman named Mrs. Em. Pinky and Mrs. Em develop a friendship and she leaves Pinky her land. Tragically Mrs. Em dies. Her family brings the matter of Pinky getting the land to court, and she has to work extra to pay for the court fees. The court rules in Pinky's favor. The doctor she had fallen in love with returns and wants her to become his wife. She declines and decides to open the land she had inherited as "Miss Em's Clinic and Nursery School". *made in 1949 *Ethel Waters was nominated for best supporting actress (oscar) *USA *English *Main Cast:Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters, William Lundigan, Basil Ruysdael, Kenny Washington, Nina Mae McKinney, Griff Barnett, Frederick O'Neal, Evelyn Varden, Raymond Greenleaf *written by:Cid Ricketts Sumner

Other Talents EW *loved dancing from an early age *even though she lived in poverty her grandmother sent her to dancing school three times a week *Waters had to have a policeman escort her home so she'd be safe *dancing was her escape from reality

other Talents EW *preformed in tent shows singing ragtime. *preformed in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. *joined the hill sisters (vaudeville group) *she got paid very little for this job because of her race *

*type of performance *comedians, singers, ventriloquists, dancers, musicians, acrobats, animal trainers, and anything exiting or interesting. *over 25,000 performers *shows went on for hours * Eubie Blake, and Baby Rose Marie were in vaudeville *some shows included plays *vaudeville was centered around comedy *most actors of the time first preformed in vaudeville *vaudville was a mixture of all the cultures that had compiled in new york and were finally being embraced *vaudeville was originally targeted towards men, featuring burlesque dancing, but eventually became more family friendly

EW *while she was part of the hill sisters she did a lot of traveling *to name a few: chigago, florida, oklahoma, new orleans, menphis, toledo, chattanooga, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh

*Ethel was a bar entertainer *she would work from nine o'clock until she fell asleep *she was a young girl *she was forced to sing songs with double meanings *This meant her songs had sexual references, and innuendos *worked at bars that housed bootleggers, prostitutes, and drug dealers

influences *Ethel waters was influenced by other vaudeville singers *born October 8, 1880, *began her career when she was 19 *married 5 times *big stage presence *not an amazing singer *her biggest hit was "Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly," *died March 19, 1928 *she is in the gramy hall of fame

influences *born October 29, 1891 *died May 29, 1951 *started work as a burlesque performer *wasn't seen as beautiful, so was given lesser part *because of this she got an operation to alter her nose *she was a very successful comedian *she coined the character baby snokes *this character was a toddler who would cry and throw tantrums *she died of a stroke at 59

*accompanied waters when she was 25 *had a degree in chemistry and mathematics at Atlanta University *was turned away from potential chemistry jobs because of his race. *after some time was offered a job at roseland ballroom, and stayed there for over 10 years *played dance songs *in 1924 brought Louis Armstrong into his band *during this time his band started to shift from dance into a swing style, like Armstrong's *Armstong left the band in 1925 *his band was known for having the best solo artists *he had a stroke in 1950 and was completely paralyzed until he died

*at 12 was married for the first time *married to Merritt Purnsley *left soon after because of the abuse he was inflicting upon her *she married Clyde Edward Matthews in 1929 *they divorced in 1934 *in 1938 she married Ed Mallory

*started working on broadway in the late 20's *she was in many plays such as "Africana," "Blackbirds of 1930," "Rhapsody in Black," "As Thousands Cheer," "At Home Abroad," and "Cabin in the Sky" *preformed in 13 shows *Ethel waters stared in "at home with Ethel Waters" *it was 2 acts and consisted of short scenes,songs and dances *Waters wrote Go Back Where You Stayed Last Night with help from Sidney Easton *there were 25 songs that were all written by different people *there are 3 spirituals in the performance *it came out in Sep 22, 1953 *the performance ended in Oct 10, 1953 *this was at the 48th st theatre *and was performed 23 times

*recorded with Ethel *he was born in in Washington, DC, on April 29, 1899 *studied piano since he was 7 *he moved to new york and formed the washingtonians *in 1930 he started the duke elington orchastra *he toured Europe extensively *he wrote nearly 2000 compositions in his life time *he died in 1974 *he was a musician for over 50 years *he wrote his first composition at 15 *started to play professionally when he was 17

*recorded with Ethel *known as the king of swing *he was 10 when he started playing clairinet *he was in various bands *when he was 20 he became a freelance musician *when he was 28 he was at his highest success point *people all over the nation knew about him *he died in 1986 at the age of 77 *in 1938 he played in Carnegie Hall *his career was over 60 years *he was given the name the king of swing by Gene Krupa

*1950 *Frankie Adams is a tomboy in a town in Georgia. She is an outcast and is closed off from her peers, which she blames on them instead of her. Her only real friend is her next door neighbor John Henry who is younger than her. Because of his age she does not consider him a peer. Her father is always at work, so she spends most of her time with her house keeper, Berenice (Ethel Waters.) Berenice gives Frankie advise on her problems, even though she is dealing with her own. In Addition, Because of Berenice's race, Frankie does not listen to her. *Ethel won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award

*she was in 28 movies *and was nominated for one oscar *and an emmy *she is best known for Beulah (1950) Cabin in the Sky (1943) The Member of the Wedding (1952)(see other card) ,Pinky (1949)(see other card)

*as a child she worked as a house maid *After separating from her first husband she was forced to scratch for money *she took a job as a chamber maid * she joined the hill sisters even though the pay was low and the group was very sexist and racist, but she made more money than as a maid

*was established in 1973 *was awarded to ethel waters in 1998 for her song Dinah *the grammy hall of fame is still continued today. *established by The Recording Academy's National Trustees *all recipients must be at least 25 years old *There is a special committee that selects recipients

*when Ethel was just starting show buisness in new york she worked at a lot of bar clubs *Edmond's nightclub and the Bank's club *Waters said that after you worked in these bars "there was no place to go but domestic service." *In more "respectable" clubs people of color were only allowed to be waiters or performers

*very good friend of Waters * she said that waters was like an "open Flame" because "the color and shape of her personality[was] never the same twice" *she was born on Jan. 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama *had a mostly happy childhood *fought with father *her mother died when she was 13 *her father remarried quickly to a young woman *Zora almost killed her in a fistfight *zora never finished high school, so when she was 26 she had to pretend to be 16 so she could go to school *https://www.floridamemory.com/fpc/reference/rc10403.jpg * died on Jan. 28, 1960--at age 69

*staring Ethel Waters *filmed Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA *first sitcom to star an african american actress *The actress playing Beulah rotated, but ethel waters was the first, and played the role for the longest. *the show is about an african american woman who is a housekeeper for a family called the hendersons * Released 3 October 1950 *the show started on radio in 1939 in this show Beulah was played by a white male *this job, although horribly racially steriotypical, and demeaning was the only stable job Waters could get *she eventually left the show in disgust *beyond the fact that Beulah was a maid, she was also depicted as very stupid, and caused problems.

a man gets shot because of his out of hand gambling debt, while he's dying both the lord and lucifer come to visit him. They make him a deal that they'll give him 6 months more to live and he will have to prove himself. He won't remember the deal, but they both will. The lord and Lucifer use the women in his life to temp him. Ethel waters plays his wife. *released 9 April 1943 *for one scene they repurpuosed tornado footage from the wizard of Oz *made $662,141 in the box office

A young boy named Rufus Jones is playing on the other side of his fence in the neighbors yard, when he gets a cake thrown in his face. he runs to his mother crying, and he falls asleep dreaming about becoming president of the USA *Ethel stars the film as rufus's mom *only 21 minutes *seen today as somewhat racist *Director: Roy Mack *Writers: A. Dorian Otvos and Cyrus Wood *Main Cast:Ethel Waters - Mother of Rufus Sammy Davis, Jr. - Rufus Jones

* said to be the greatest autobiography written by an african american woman *a new copy of this book is worth over 80 dollars *this book is one of the most recomended books *the horrors told in this story are so horrible, that it is questioned to be true *304 pages *published 1992 *many photographs are included in this book

*because of Earl Dancer Ethel waters auditioned for a white theater in chicago *she got in and was earning more than she ever had before. *waters was the first African American to start working in white bars and theatres *waters started a trend and was followed by many others. *even though her life was drastically better working in "white" show buisness she despised working in "white time"

*opened in 1913 *started off as a vaudeville theater *considered to have "made it" if you preform there *in 1965 it was turned into a real theater *1,740 seats *one of the top 9 brodway theaters *located at 1564 7th Ave & W 47th Street, New York, NY 10036 *one of the oldest surviving theaters

*Negro Actors Guild Award, 1949, for film Pinky, *Academy Award nominations, 1949, for Pinky, and 1953, for Member of the Wedding; *New York Drama Critics Award for best actress, 1950, for Member of the Wedding; *Tamiment Institute Award, 1951, for His Eye is on the Sparrow; *St. Genesius Medal from American National Theater and Academy, 1951; *U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamp, 1994.

*she was in a car accident and almost lost her leg *she was almost lynched. *in one theater she worked in she would have to dress in the boiler room *because of the bad air in the boiler room she got really bad migranes *by the 1940s waters was struggling for jobs *in 1948 waters could almost find no work at all, and if she did would only be able to work a few weeks a year. *eventually she starred in pinkey and her career started to turn around

*during WWII women and african american worked in jobs *when the war ended there was a struggle to get the jobs back to the white men *many people were forced out of their jobs *there was a lot of tension regarding this because on one hand you would have returning veterans without pay, or working people without pay *the veterans were favored in the end *riots broke out all over the place *people were even killed in these riots

Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, George Balanchine, Harold Arlen, Elia Kazan, Count Basie, Darryl F. Zanuck, Vincente Minnelli, Fletcher Henderson, Andy Razaf, Moss Hart, Sammy Davis Jr., Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, James P. Johnson, Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh, Guthrie McClintic, Harold Clurman, Carson McCullers, Julie Harris, Joanne Woodward, Harry Belafonte.ect,

*worked with Ethel *born September 7, 1909, Istanbul, Turkey *died September 28, 2003, Manhattan, New York City, NY *director, producer, writer and actor * six children: Nicholas Kazan, Chris Kazan, Katharine Kazan, Judy Kazan, Marco Kazan, Leo Kazan *three spouses *over 20 movies

*worked with Ethel *born December 2, 1925, Grosse Pointe, MI *died August 24, 2013, West Chatham, Chatham, MA *one child: : Peter Gurian *married three times *Actress *won 5 tony awards *born to William Pickett Harris and Elsie L. Harris *nominated for an Academy Award *won the National Medal of Arts in 1994

*worked with Ethel *born February 27, 1930 (age 85), Thomasville, GA *still alive *over 40 movies *actress *3 children *3 tv shows * Sybil, See How She Runs, Laurence Olivier Presents * was married but is now divorced

*worked with Ethel *born December 8, 1925, Harlem, New York City, NY *died May 16, 1990, Beverly Hills, CA *dancer and singer *a few songs incudes The Candy Man,I've Gotta Be Me, The Birth Of The Blues, Gonna Build A Mountain, April in Paris, Mr. Bojangles, Mister Booze, The Shelter of Your Arms, Rock-A-Bye Your Baby, We Open In Venice *3 wives *4 children

*worked with Ethel *born January 22, 1904, Saint Petersburg, Russia *died January 22, 1904, Saint Petersburg, Russia * ballet choreographer *Quote: Most ballet teachers in the United States are terrible. If they were in medicine, everyone would be poisoned. *4 wives *no children

*worked with Ethel *born September 5, 1902, Wahoo, NE *died December 22, 1979, Palm Springs, CA *film producer and studio executive *founded 20th Century Fox *over 50 movies * Three children Richard D. Zanuck, Darrylin Zanuck DePineda, Susan Zanuck *6 granchildren

*worked with Ethel *born February 28, 1903, Chicago, IL *died July 25, 1986, Beverly Hills, CA *stage director and film director, *2 children *over 35 movies *4 spouses *previously married to Judy Garland

*worked with Ethel *born February 1, 1894, New Brunswick, NJ *died November 17, 1955, Jamaica, New York City, NY *pianist and composer *albums Harlem Stride Piano: 1921-1929, Early Harlem Piano *songs: Carolina Shout, Black Water Blues, Scouting Around, If I Could Be With You, Victory Stride, You've Got to Be Modernistic, Runnin' Wild Medley, Snowy Morning Blues, Keep Off the Grass, Harlem Strut

*in january 1957 *appeared on the game show "Break the $250,000 Bank" *In this Ethel waters publically anounced that she was broke *she needed money ti pay back the IRS *She won 10000 dollars by the end of the second week *Her winning category was religious music *the show was abruply canceled before it came to an end *she accepted the offer to appear in the next show *she did not win anything

*Universal Pictures announced in November 1968 *making a movie version of Waters autobiography "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" *from a screenplay by Peter S. Feibleman, *Julian Blaustein producing. *It was planned to use an unknown to play Waters the *film was never made.

*in her hometown of Chester, Pennsylvania. * Park is located at Third & Dock Streets *a plaque reading "dedicated to the city of Chester for the enjoyment of its people" was placed there May 1, 1972 following * "Ethel Waters Week," April 24th to April 30, 1972. *April 30, 1972 was proclaimed "Ethel Waters Day" in Pennsylvania by then governor Milton Shapp. *Waters attended the ceremonies.

*ethel waters U.S. Postal Service stamp *issued September 1, 1994 *part of the Legends of American Music series. *issued at a ceremony at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, *with stamps honoring Nat 'King' Cole, Bing Crosby, Al Jolson and Ethel Merman. *west coast ceremony held by the U.S. Postal Service at Compton Community College in Compton, CA the next day. *The city of Compton declared September 2, 1994 'Nat King Cole/Ethel Waters Day' for the occasion.

*October 15, 1953 *in New York City * Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri. *Waters was honored in a City Hall ceremony by the Mayor and the Negro Actors Guild for her "limitless and tireless efforts" in advancing the country's democratic ideals at home and abroad. *Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, founders of the Guild, attended the occasion.

*earliest movies had no sound *sound movies were called talkies *everyone with musically talent was being recruted to act in sound movies *Sound movies were a giant deal when they came out and the industry exploded * practically every star from the 20s and 30s was in a movie or two

*from the show on with the show *composed in 1929 * written by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke *preformed with John Bubbles(John Sublett) *John bubbles is one half of the famous duo buck and bubbles *released by warner brothers *originally in technicolor

*played with Ethel *memphis tenesse *1940's *vocal quartet *Bob Davis on lead, William Barnes on tenor, James Pugh on baritone, and bass singer David Pugh. *songs: "Teach Me Teach Me, Baby" ,"Why Does It Always Rain On Sunday?", "Wedding Bells"' "Baby Don't Be Mad At Me" *seemed to dissapear in the 1950's, but resurfaced in 1959

*friends with ethel *singer *March 26, 1944, *in Detroit, Michigan *began singing in the group the Primettes with Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard * solo career in 1969 *1990s, Ross made several appearances on the small screen *1990s, Ross made several appearances on the small screen *starred 1994 television movie Out of Darkness

*born March 29, 1918, Southampton County, VA *died August 17, 1990, Philadelphia, PA *married Louie Bellson (m. 1952-1990), John Randolph Pinkett (m. 1948-1952) *singer *children Dee Dee Belson, Tony Bellson *won a Tony Award for production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968 *songs, Best of Friends, Five Pound Box of Money, Hello Dolly, It Takes Two to Tango, That's Good Enough, For Me, Legalize My Name, Lack of Education, You Can Be Replaced

*get dinner and a show for 1.50 *still open today *there was a movie in 1984 about the cotton club by francis coppola ( the godfather) * on 142nd St & Lenox Ave (harlem NY) *dance club *the bar had jazz, dancing, even shows *many artists including Fletcher Henderson and Ethel waters preformed there *Ellington, Armstrong, and Calloway frequently played there.