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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.
She currently recurs on the USA Network series “White
Collar” and recently starred in the film “Peeples” with
Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson. In 2010, Diahann
filmed her stage show, “The Lady-The Music-The Legend”,
backed by 28 musicians, for PBS TV.
She debuted her one woman show at Feinstein’s, New
York’s premier 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 show-stopper
“Some of These Days” is matched in commitment by its
quiet opposite, the break-up song, “Where Do You Start?”
The New York Post said, “Looking impossibly beautiful
and dressed and coiffed in a manner that would make
Norma Desmond (whom she played in “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 became the first black actress in
television history to star in her own series, “Julia”
for NBC, which soared to the top of the Nielsen rating
and received an Emmy nomination in its first year on
air.
She was nominated for an Emmy Award for the successful
NBC series, “A Different World”, as outstanding actress
in a comedy series, and also co-starred 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
was nominated twice for a NAACP Image Award, guest
starred in Lifetime TV’s “Strong Medicine” and in NBC’s
TV show “Whoopi”, playing Whoopi Goldberg’s mother.
She also starred on stage in the musical “Bubbling Brown
Sugar” receiving more critical acclaim.
She starred on stage as ‘Norma Desmond’ in the
Toronto premiere production 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. |