| Diahann
Carroll is the consummate entertainer. So varied and dynamic are her gifts
that she continually astounds fans and critics alike with her versatility and
magnetism. She is one of America's major performing talents appearing in
nightclubs, the Broadway stage, a Las Vegas headliner, in motion pictures and
television. Diahann Carroll is a Tony Award winner, an Emmy and Grammy
nominee, a Golden Globe winner and a Best Actress Oscar nominee. In
April 2006, she debuted her new cabaret show at Feinstein's, New York's prime
venue, to sell-out audiences receiving overwhelming reviews. Stephen
Holden of The New York Times wrote, "Diahann Carroll is historic.
Experience it while you can. Her opening number, "Come Rain or Come
Shine" erupts out of her like an emotional volcano. From here on, the
lava never stops flowing. The forceful dramatic immediacy of her
performance of "As if We Never Said Goodbye", is second to none.
Throughout the show Ms. Carroll demonstrates her A-to-Z range as a singing
actress. A rip-roaring version of the Sophie Tucker showstopper "Some
of These Days" is matched in commitment by its quiet opposite, the break-up
song "Where Do I Start?". The New York Post said "Looking
impossibly beautiful for her 70 years, and dressed and coiffed in a manner that
would make Norma Desmond (whom she played "Sunset Boulevard") proud,
she delivers in a strong voice remarkably unaffected by age, a well-chosen
mixture of standards, pop ballads and songs associated with her stage
career".
Her
television nominations go back to 1963, and in 1968 Diahann Carroll become the
first black actress in television history to star in her own series,
"Julia" for NBC, which soared to the top of the Nielsen ratings and
received an Emmy nomination in its first year on the air.
In 1989 she
was nominated for an Emmy Award for the successful NBC-TV series, "A
Different World", as outstanding actress in a comedy series. In 1984
Diahann Carroll become the first black actress to star in the award-winning
night-time series "Dynasty", which is still in syndication around the
world.
She had
a recurring role in Showtime's hit series "Soul Food", playing the
outspoken 'Aunt Ruthie', for which she was nominated twice for a NAACP Image
Award. She guest starred in Lifetime TV's "Strong Medicine" and
in NBC-TV's "WHOOPI", playing Whoopi Goldberg's mother. In 2004
she starred on stage in the musical "Bubbling Brown Sugar" receiving
critical acclaim.
In
October of 1995 she starred on stage as 'Norma Desmond' in the Toronto premiere
of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical "Sunset Boulevard", staged by
director Trevor Nunn and the show's entire original creative team. Hailed
by the press as "the ultimate Norma Desmond", Diahann Carroll played
to sell-out crowds and her Canadian cast recording outsold all other recordings
of the show.
Diahann
made her Broadway stage debut starring in Harold Arlen and Truman Capote's
"House of Flowers" and after seeing her in this production, Richard
Rodgers created the Broadway production "No Strings" as a starring
vehicle for Miss Carroll, for which she won the Tony Award. She also
starred on Broadway in the award-winning play "Agnes of God".
Her
film work includes "Claudine", for which she received a 1974 Best
Actress Academy Award nomination, "Carmen Jones", "Paris
Blues", "Porgy & Bess", "Hurry Sundown", "I
Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" and "Eve's Bayou".
She is
an award-winning actress, a successful entrepreneur, a devoted humanitarian ...
indeed Diahann Carroll is a legend.
|