Pearl Bailey
March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990
The great Pearl Bailey was a singer and actress who went from the vaudeville stage to television and Broadway, eventually winning an Emmy and Tony award. She began her career as a teenager singing and dancing in clubs in the Philadelphia area. By the early ’40s she was entertaining troops with the USO. Upon her return to the states, Bailey settled in New York where she performed with the likes of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. In 1952, Bailey married jazz great, Louis Bellson who died in 2009, just five months before the passing of their daughter, singer Dee Dee Bellson . She made her Broadway debut in a 1954 production of Carmen Jones, and later starred in an all-black production of Hello Dolly!, for which she won a Tony. She recorded popular singles and albums through much of her professional life. During the ’70, Bailey was a familiar face on television, appearing on countless variety programs as well as hosting her own. She also voiced animated features including Disney’s The Fox And The Hound in 1981. Pearl Bailey died of heart disease on August 17, 1990 at the age of 72.
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