Whats Buzzing in the Streets – Page 26

Carol Burnett

Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer, whose career spans seven decades of television. She is best known for her groundbreaking comedy variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, originally aired on CBS. It was one of the first of its kind to be hosted by a woman. She has achieved success on stage, television and film in varying genres including dramatic and comedic roles. She has also appeared on various talk shows and as a panelist on game shows. She would later have several daughters joining her in variety of American television series and films. She is the mother of Carrie Hamilton, an actress, Jody Hamilton, a producer and actress, and Erin Hamilton, a singer.Born in San Antonio, Texas, Burnett moved with her grandmother to Hollywood, where she attended Hollywood High School and eventually studied theater and musical comedy at UCLA. Later she performed in nightclubs in New York City and had a breakout success on Broadway in 1959 in Once Upon a Mattress, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She soon made her television debut, regularly appearing on The Garry Moore Show for the next three years, and won her first Emmy Award in 1962. Burnett had her television special debut in 1963 when she starred as Calamity Jane in the Dallas State Fair Musicals production of Calamity Jane on CBS.[3] Burnett moved to Los Angeles, California, and began an 11-year run as star of The Carol Burnett Show on CBS television from 1967 to 1978. With its vaudeville roots, The Carol Burnett Show was a variety show that combined comedy sketches with song and dance. The comedy sketches included film parodies and character pieces. Burnett created many memorable characters during the show’s run, and both she and the show won numerous Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.During and after her variety show, Burnett appeared in many television and film projects. Her film roles include Pete ‘n’ Tillie (1972), The Front Page (1974), The Four Seasons (1981), Annie (1982), Noises Off (1992), and Horton Hears a Who! (2008). On television, she has appeared in other sketch shows; in dramatic roles in 6 Rms Riv Vu (1974) and Friendly Fire (1979); in various well-regarded guest roles, such as in Mad About You, for which she won an Emmy Award; and in specials with Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton, Beverly Sills, and others. She returned to the Broadway stage in 1995 in Moon Over Buffalo, for which she was again nominated for a Tony Award.Burnett has written and narrated several memoirs, earning Grammy nominations for almost all of them, and a win for In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox.In 2005, she was recognized as “one of America’s most cherished entertainers” and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom “for enhancing the lives of millions of Americans and for her extraordinary contributions to American entertainment.” by President George W. Bush. In 2013, Burnett was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In 2019, the Golden Globes named an award after her for career achievement in television, called the Carol Burnett Award, and Burnett received its first award.

Written by Dianne Washington

Giancarlo Esposito

Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He has played Gustavo “Gus” Fring on the AMC shows Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, a role for which he won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama award at the 2012 Critics’ Choice Television Awards and was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series award at the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards.He has appeared in Spike Lee films such as Do the Right Thing, School Daze, and Mo’ Better Blues. His other film appearances include Fresh, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, The Usual Suspects and King of New York. He has portrayed Sidney Glass/the Magic Mirror on ABC’s Once Upon a Time and Major Tom Neville in the NBC series Revolution. He has had roles in two Netflix original series: The Get Down, wherein he portrays Pastor Ramon Cruz, and Dear White People, which he narrates. He also voiced “The Dentist” in the video game Payday 2.Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito was born in Copenhagen, the son of Giovanni Esposito, an Italian stagehand and carpenter from Naples, and Elizabeth Foster, an African American opera and nightclub singer from Alabama.Esposito was raised in Europe until the age of 6, when his family settled in Manhattan, New York. He attended Elizabeth Seton College in New York and earned a two-year degree in radio and television communications.Esposito made his Broadway debut (1966) at age 8 playing a slave child opposite Shirley Jones in the short-lived musical Maggie Flynn (1968), set during the New York Draft Riots of 1863.During the 1980s, Esposito appeared in films such as Taps, Maximum Overdrive, King of New York, and Trading Places. He also performed in TV shows such as Miami Vice and Spenser: For Hire. He played J. C. Pierce, a cadet in the 1981 movie Taps.In 1988 he landed his breakout role as the leader (“Dean Big Brother Almighty”) of the black fraternity “Gamma Phi Gamma” in director Spike Lee’s film School Daze, exploring color relations at black colleges. Over the next four years, Esposito and Lee collaborated on three other movies: Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, and Malcolm X. During the 1990s Esposito appeared in the acclaimed indie films Night on Earth, Fresh and Smoke, as well as its sequel Blue in the Face. He also appeared in the mainstream film Reckless with Mia Farrow, and Waiting to Exhale starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett.Esposito played FBI agent Mike Giardello on the TV crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street. That role drew from both his African American and Italian ancestry. He played this character during the show’s seventh and final season. Mike’s estranged father, shift lieutenant Al Giardello, is portrayed as subject to racism, something Esposito’s character practiced in School Daze. Another multiracial role was as Sergeant Paul Gigante in the television comedy series, Bakersfield P.D. (Fox Broadcasting Company, 1993–94).In 1997 Esposito played the film roles of Darryl in Trouble on the Corner and Charlie Dunt in Nothing to Lose. Other TV credits include NYPD Blue, Law & Order, The Practice, New York Undercover, and Fallen Angels: Fearless.Esposito has portrayed drug dealers (Fresh, Breaking Bad, King of New York, Better Call Saul), policemen (The Usual Suspects, Derailed), political radicals (Bob Roberts, Do the Right Thing), and a demonic version of the Greek God of Sleep Hypnos from another dimension (Monkeybone). In 2001, he played Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. in Ali, and Miguel Algarín, friend and collaborator of Nuyorican poet Miguel Piñero, in Piñero.In 2006 Esposito starred in Last Holiday as Senator Dillings, alongside Queen Latifah and Timothy Hutton. Also in 2006, he played an unsympathetic detective named Esposito in the 2005 film, Hate Crime. The film explores homophobia.Esposito played Robert Fuentes, a Miami businessman with shady connections, on the UPN television series South Beach. He has appeared in New Amsterdam and CSI: Miami. In Feel the Noise (2007), he played ex-musician Roberto, the Puerto Rican father of Omarion Grandberry’s character, aspiring rap star “Rob”.He made his directorial debut with Gospel Hill (2008); he also produced the film and starred in it.New York theatre credits for Esposito include The Me Nobody Knows, Lost in the Stars, Seesaw, and Merrily We Roll Along. In 2008 he appeared on Broadway as Gooper in an African American production of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Debbie Allen and starring James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, and Terrence Howard.From 2009 to 2011, Esposito appeared in seasons 2 through 4 of the AMC drama Breaking Bad, as Gus Fring, the head of a New Mexico-based methamphetamine drug ring. In the fourth season, he was the show’s primary antagonist. He received critical acclaim for this role. He won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama award at the 2012 Critics’ Choice Television Awards and was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series award at the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards, but lost to co-star Aaron Paul.He appeared in the film Rabbit Hole (2010).Esposito appeared in the first season of the ABC program Once Upon a Time, which debuted in October 2011. He portrayed the split role of Sidney, a reporter for The Daily Mirror in the town of Storybrooke, Maine, who is the Magic Mirror, possessed by The Evil Queen in a parallel fairy tale world.Esposito appeared in Revolution as Major Tom Neville, a central character who kills Ben Matheson in the pilot. He escorts a captured Danny to the capital Philadelphia of the Monroe Republic.Esposito also appeared in Community as a guest star for the episode entitled “Digital Estate Planning”. He performed again in the fourth season, in the episode titled “Paranormal Parentage”. Esposito has additionally appeared in a video of the action role-playing sci-fi first-person shooter game Destiny, as well as plays The Dentist, a non-playable story character, in the game Payday 2.He has joined the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series. He played Ra’s al Ghul in Son of Batman and Black Spider in Batman: Assault on Arkham. He had a recurring role in the first season of The Get Down on Netflix. In 2017, Esposito reprised his role as Gus Fring in the Breaking Bad prequel series, Better Call Saul. In the show’s second season, an anagram of the first letters of every episode name spelled out “FRING’S BACK”, which was revealed to be intentional by showrunners Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Esposito appeared in a teaser for the third season portraying Gus as the Los Pollos Hermanos owner, officially confirming Esposito’s involvement in season 3.He is currently portraying Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. in the EPIX series on Bumpy Johnson, “The Godfather of Harlem.”Esposito married Joy McManigal in 1995; they later divorced. He has four daughters.

Written by Dianne Washington

DMX DEAD AT 50!

DMX has died — a week after suffering an overdose … TMZ has learned.

TMZ broke the story … X had virtually no brain function after he was deprived of oxygen for nearly 30 minutes following his OD. Brain function never returned, and by Thursday his organs began failing while he remained on life support in a New York hospital.

Many people in X’s family were at the hospital over the last week, including his mom, fiancee and many of his kids.

A rep for his family tells TMZ, “We are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved one, DMX, birth name of Earl Simmons, passed away at 50 years old at White Plains Hospital with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days. Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end.”

The statement continues, “He loved his family with all of his heart and we cherish the times we spent with him. Earl’s music inspired countless fans across the world and his iconic legacy will live on forever. We appreciate all of the love and support during this incredibly difficult time. Please respect our privacy as we grieve the loss of our brother, father, uncle and the man the world knew as DMX. We will share information about his memorial service once details are finalized.”

DMX got his start in music back in the ’80s, performing with Ready Ron — while simultaneously serving time behind bars … until he finally dedicated himself to music full-time in the ’90s. He eventually got signed to Columbia Records’ Ruffhouse imprint, and appeared on records with Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Mase and even the rock band Sum 41.

It wasn’t until ’98 that he truly broke out, when he released his Ruff Ryders debut studio album “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot” to critical and mainstream acclaim … not to mention he added his new canine persona.

Judge Greg Mathis

Gregory Ellis Mathis (born April 5, 1960) is a retired Michigan 36th District Court judge turned arbiter of the Daytime Emmy Award–winning, syndicated reality courtroom show, Judge Mathis. Produced in Chicago, Illinois, his program has been on the air since September 13, 1999 and entered its 20th season anniversary beginning on Monday, September 3, 2018.

Emanating from the success of his venerable courtroom series, Mathis has also made a name for himself as a prominent leader within the Black American community as a black-culture motivational speaker. Mathis boasts the longest reign of any African American presiding as a court show judge, beating out Judge Joe Brown whose program lasted 15 seasons. Mathis is also the second longest serving television arbitrator ever, behind only Judith Sheindlin of Judge Judy by three seasons.

A spiritually inspired play, Been there, Done that, based on his life toured twenty-two cities in the U.S. in 2002. In addition, Inner City Miracle, a memoir, was published by Ballantine Books.

Mathis was born in Detroit, Michigan, was the fourth of four boys born to Charles Mathis, a Detroit native, and his wife Alice Lee Mathis, a devoted Seventh-day Adventist, nurse’s aide, and housekeeper. Alice (then divorced from Charles) raised Mathis alone in Detroit during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. Mathis moved to Herman Gardens in 1964 and lived there with the family until roughly 1970. They moved away from the housing complex to avoid rising drug use and rates of violent crime.

Judge Mathis’ real father was estranged from him, but associated closely with the Errol Flynns, a past notorious Detroit street gang, that Mathis would eventually join while a teenager. In the 1970s, he was arrested numerous times. While he was incarcerated in Wayne County Jail, as a seventeen-year-old juvenile, his mother visited him and broke the news that she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Mathis was offered early probation because of his mother’s illness.

Once out of jail, Mathis began working at McDonald’s, a job he needed to keep in order to maintain his release on probation. A close family friend helped Mathis get admitted to Eastern Michigan University.

Written by Dianne Washington

DMX IN HOSPITAL POSSIBLE OD

DMX suffered a drug overdose Friday night and is currently in the hospital. According to TMZ, the OD occurred at his home at around 11 PM. Their sources say the overdose triggered a heart attack. DMX was rushed to a hospital in White Plains, New York and is in the critical care unit.

Street Line will keep you posted as detail arise.

Lil Nas X Teams Up with MSCHF To Release Satan Shoes

Lil Nas X Teams Up with MSCHF To Release ‘Satan Shoes’ are you buying devil footwear?

Brand-Nike Air Max ’97, Contains -60cc ink and 1 drop of human blood, Limited-666 Pairs, Special amount-individually numbered, cost-$1,018

McFadden and Whitehead

McFadden and Whitehead were an American songwriting, production, and recording duo, best known for their signature tune “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”. They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated with Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International soul music record label.When they were teenagers, Gene McFadden and John Whitehead formed a group called The Epsilons. The personnel included Allen Beatty, James Knight, and future Blue Notes member Lloyd Parks. They were discovered by Otis Redding and toured with him during the late 1960s until Redding’s death in a plane crash in 1967.They signed with Stax and had a moderate success in 1970 with “The Echo. The duo later joined Philly International Records, where they wrote several hit songs, the first being “Back Stabbers” in 1972 for The O’Jays. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart.McFadden and Whitehead also wrote songs such as “I’ll Always Love My Momma”, “Bad Luck”, “Wake Up Everybody”, “Where Are All My Friends”, “The More I Get, The More I Want”, and “Cold, Cold World”. The production team also worked with Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, producer Rahni Song and Gloria Gaynor, Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Gladys Knight, The Jackson 5, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Lou Rawls, Archie Bell & the Drells, Jerry Bell and The Intruders.McFadden and Whitehead formed together as a group officially under the name “McFadden & Whitehead” in 1977. The pinnacle of their success came in 1979 with “Ain’t No Stoppin Us Now,” which went to #1 on the R&B charts, #13 on the pop charts, sold eight million records worldwide and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The duo was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where they sang their most famous song on an episode in which Oprah featured the top hits of the 1970s.Other hits co-written by McFadden & Whitehead include:”Back Stabbers” (the O’Jays)”Bad Luck” (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)”Wake Up Everybody” (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)”Where Are All My Friends” (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)”I’ll Always Love My Momma” (the Intruders)”Let’s Groove” (Archie Bell & the Drells)”The Strength of One Man” (the Jacksons)”I Got the Love” (McFadden & Whitehead)”You’re My Somebody to Love” (McFadden & Whitehead)”I’ve Been Pushed Aside” (McFadden & Whitehead)”Got to Change” (McFadden & Whitehead)”Do You Want to Dance?” (McFadden & Whitehead)”Just Wanna Love You Baby” (McFadden & Whitehead)”Mr. Music” (McFadden & Whitehead)”This Is My Song” (McFadden & Whitehead)”All the Man You Need” (Jerry Bell)According to the American Top 40 radio program for the week ended August 4, 1979, Casey Kasem reported that McFadden and Whitehead were in Chicago on May 25, 1979 promoting their music and doing various interviews. Because they agreed to do one more music interview at the last minute, they decided to reschedule their flight to Los Angeles to the next day, May 26. They were originally scheduled to fly on American Airlines Flight 191 on May 25, which crashed shortly after take off from O’Hare International Airport killing all 258 passengers plus the crew.On May 11, 2004, Whitehead was murdered on the street outside of his Philadelphia home studio, while standing aside as a young man made repairs on his SUV. There, he was shot once by one of several unknown gunmen, who then fled. The case remains unsolved. Whitehead was 55 years old.On January 27, 2006, McFadden died of liver and lung cancer. He was 56.

written by Dianne Washington

Charley Pride

Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid 1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley. During the peak years of his recording career (1966–1987), he had 52 top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 30 of which made it to number one. He won the Entertainer of the Year award at the Country Music Association Awards in 1971.Charley Pride was a rare African American performer to break through to real success in country music in the late ’60s and ’70s, scoring country and crossover hits and Grammy Awards with his silky baritone and a flair for romantic songs.One of 11 children, Pride’s parents were tenant farmers. He became a fan of country music radio and bought his first guitar at Sears, Roebuck and Co. at age 14. He already had two big dreams: to sing country music and play professional baseball.In the late 1950s, Pride pitched baseball in the Negro American League, and played guitar and sang on the team bus between cities. After a two-year stint in the military, singer Red Sorvine caught him performing in Helena, Mont., and suggested Pride come to Nashville. He instead took a playing position on the farm team of the New York Mets.He finally got to Nashville in 1964 and auditioned for RCA producer Chet Atkins. Pride was signed to the label and in 1966 released the singles “Snakes Crawl at Night,” “Before I Met You” and the Grammy-winning “Just Between You and Me” (also a top-10 country hit). He was invited to appear at the Grand Ole Opry the following year.In 1970, he sang “All His Children,” the theme song for the film “Sometimes a Great Notion,” directed by Paul Newman. Many more hits followed, peaking in 1971 with the million-selling “Kiss an Angel Good Morning,” which topped the country chart for five weeks and crossed over to become a top-40 pop hit.In 1980, he released an album of Hank Williams songs, “There’s a Little Bit of Hank in Me,” a tribute to one of his main influences. By 1984, Pride had scored 36 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country singles chart. In 1993, he was the first African American to be asked to join the Opry as a member.His autobiography, “Pride: The Charley Pride Story,” was published in 1994. He received a star on the Walk of Fame in 1999.On April 29, 2011, it was announced that a biographical film was in the works based on Pride’s life and career. The film will be produced by and star actor and professional wrestler, Dwayne Johnson.Pride died in Dallas on December 12, 2020, of complications related to COVID-19. He was 86 years old.

Written by Dianne Washington

Irene Cara

Irene Cara (born Irene Cara Escalera; March 18, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is best known for her roles as title character Sparkle Williams in the 1976 film Sparkle and Coco Hernandez in the 1980 film Fame, earning her a Golden Globe nomination, and her recording of the song “Fame” became an international hit. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing “Flashdance… What a Feeling”, which also became an international hit.Cara was born in The Bronx, New York City, the youngest of five children. Her father, Gaspar Escalera, a factory worker and retired saxophonist, was Afro-Puerto Rican, and her mother, Louise, a cinema usher, was an American of Cuban descent. Cara has two sisters and two brothers.At the age of three, Irene Cara was one of five finalists for the “Little Miss America” pageant. She began to play the piano by ear, then studied music, acting, and dance seriously, first having dance lessons, aged five. Her performing career started on Spanish-language television, professionally singing and dancing. She made early TV appearances on the Original Amateur Hour (singing in Spanish) and Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. In 1971–72, aged 13, she was a regular on PBS’s educational program The Electric Company. As a child, Cara recorded a Latin-market Spanish-language record and an English Christmas album. She also appeared in a major concert tribute to Duke Ellington that also featured Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Roberta Flack.Cara appeared in on-and off-Broadway theatrical shows including the musicals Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Me Nobody Knows (which won an Obie Award), Maggie Flynn opposite Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, and Via Galactica with Raúl Juliá.Cara was the original Daisy Allen on the 1970s daytime serial Love of Life. Next came her role as Angela in romance/thriller Aaron Loves Angela, followed by her portrayal of the title character in Sparkle. Television brought Cara international acclaim for serious dramatic roles in two outstanding mini-series, Roots: The Next Generations and Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones.John Willis’ Screen World, Vol. 28, named her one of twelve “Promising New Actors of 1976”; that same year, a readers’ poll in Right On! magazine named her Top Actress.Cara graduated from the Professional Children’s School in Manhattan.The 1980 hit movie Fame, directed by Alan Parker, catapulted Irene Cara to stardom. Cara was originally cast as a dancer, but when producers David Da Silva and Alan Marshall and screenwriter Christopher Gore heard her voice, they re-wrote the role of Coco Hernandez. As Coco Hernandez, she sang both the title song “Fame” and the film’s other single, “Out Here on My Own.” These songs helped make the film’s soundtrack a chart-topping, multi-platinum album. Further history was made at the Academy Awards that year: it was the first time two songs from the same film were nominated in the same category and both sung by the same artist. Thus, Cara had the opportunity to be one of the few singers to perform more than one song at the Oscar ceremony; “Fame,” written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford, won the award that year.Cara earned Grammy nominations in 1980 for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical. Billboard named her Top New Single Artist, while Cashbox Magazine awarded her both Most Promising Female Vocalist and Top Female Vocalist.Asked by Fame TV series’ producers to reprise her role as Coco Hernandez, she declined so as to focus her attention on her recording career. As a result, Erica Gimpel assumed the role.Cara was slated to star in her own sitcom, Irene, on NBC in 1981. Even though the pilot aired and received favorable reviews, the network did not pick it up for its fall season. It also starred veteran performers Kaye Ballard and Teddy Wilson, as well as newcomers Julia Duffy and Keenen Ivory Wayans.In 1983, Cara appeared as herself in the film D.C. Cab, which is a film about a group of cabbies. The movie stars Mr. T. One of the characters, Tyrone played by Charlie Barnett, is an obsessed Cara fan who decorated his Checker Cab as a shrine to her. Her contribution to the film’s soundtrack, “The Dream (Hold on To Your Dream)” played over the closing credits of the film, and proved to be a minor hit, peaking at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984.In 1982, Cara earned the Image Award for Best Actress when she co-starred with Diahann Carroll and Rosalind Cash in the NBC Movie of the Week, Maya Angelou’s Sister, Sister. Cara portrayed Myrlie Evers-Williams in the PBS TV movie about civil rights leader Medgar Evers, For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story; and earned an NAACP Image Award Best Actress nomination. She also appeared in 1982’s Killing ’em Softly.In addition to her music and film work, Cara also continued to perform in live theatre during this period. In the summer of 1980, she briefly played the role of Dorothy in The Wiz on tour, in a role that Stephanie Mills had first portrayed in the original Broadway production. Coincidentally, Cara and Mills had shared the stage together as children in the original 1968 Broadway musical Maggie Flynn, starring Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, in which both young girls played Civil War orphans.In 1983, Cara reached the peak of her music career with the title song for the movie Flashdance: “Flashdance… What A Feeling”, which she co-wrote with Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey. Cara penned the lyrics to the song with Keith Forsey while riding in a car in New York heading to the studio to record it; Moroder composed the music.Cara admitted later that she was initially reluctant to work with Giorgio Moroder because she had no wish to invite further comparisons with another artist who worked with Moroder, Donna Summer. But the collaboration paid off and became a hit in several countries, garnering numerous accolades for Cara. She won the 1983 Academy Award for Best Song (Oscar), 1984 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, 1984 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and American Music Awards for Best R&B Female Artist and Best Pop Single of the Year.”Flashdance…” was re-recorded by Cara twice. The first time was in 1995 as a track in the original soundtrack for the movie “The Full Monty”; the second time was in 2002, as a duet she recorded with Swiss artist DJ BoBo.In 1984, she was in the comedic thriller City Heat, in which she co-starred opposite Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds and sang the standards “Embraceable You” and “Get Happy.” She also co-wrote the theme song “City Heat”, which was sung by the jazz vocalist Joe Williams. In May of that year she scored her final Top 40 hit with “Breakdance” going to #8. The follow up, “You Were Made for Me” reached #78 that summer but then she never charted on the Hot 100 again. In 1985, Cara co-starred with Tatum O’Neal in Certain Fury, an exploitation underachiever about two troubled young women who flee a court hearing and are mistaken for killers. In 1986, Cara appeared in the film Busted Up. She also provided the voice of Snow White in the unofficial sequel to Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Filmation’s Happily Ever After, in 1993. That same year, she appeared as Mary Magdalene in the record-breaking anniversary tour of Jesus Christ Superstar opposite Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, and Dennis DeYoung.Along with her career in acting and hit singles, Cara released several albums: Anyone Can See in 1982, What A Feelin’ in 1983, and Carasmatic in 1987, the most successful of these being What A Feelin. In 1985 she collaborated with the Hispanic group Hermanos in the song “Cantaré, cantarás,” in which she sings a solo segment with the Spanish opera singer Plácido Domingo. She also released a compilation of Eurodance singles in the mid to late 1990s entitled Precarious 90’s. Cara recently contributed a dance single, titled “Forever My Love”, to the compilation album titled Gay Happening Vol. 12, in 2006.Cara has also worked as a backup vocalist for Vicki Sue Robinson, Lou Reed, George Duke, Oleta Adams, and Evelyn “Champagne” King. Cara toured Europe and Asia throughout the 1990s, scoring several modest dance hits on European charts, but no US chart hits. Cara received two prestigious honors for her career in March 2004, with her induction into the Ciboney Cafe’s Hall of Fame and a Lifetime Achievement Award presented at the sixth annual Prestige Awards.In June 2005, Cara won the third round of the NBC television series Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, performing “Flashdance (What a Feeling)” and covered Anastacia’s song “I’m Outta Love” with her current all-female band, Hot Caramel. At the 2006 AFL Grand Final in Melbourne, Cara performed “Flashdance (What a Feeling)” as an opener to the pre-match entertainment.As of 2016, Cara divides her residence between New Port Richey, Florida and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She works with her band Hot Caramel, which she formed in 1999. Their album called Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel was released on April 4, 2011. Cara appeared in season 2 of CMT’s reality show Gone Country,.Cara married stuntman Conrad Palmisano in Los Angeles in April 1986 and they divorced in 1991.In March 2004, Cara received two honors with an induction into the Ciboney Cafe’s Hall of Fame and a Lifetime Achievement Award presented at the sixth annual Prestige Awards. In June 2005, Cara won the third round of the NBC television series Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, performing “Flashdance (What a Feeling)” and covered Anastacia’s song “I’m Outta Love” with her current all-female band, Hot Caramel. At the 2006 AFL Grand Final in Melbourne, Cara performed “Flashdance (What a Feeling)” as an opener to the pre-match entertainment.In 2006, Cara contributed a dance single, titled “Forever My Love”, to the compilation album titled Gay Happening Vol. 12.As of 2016, Cara divided her residence between New Port Richey, Florida and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She works with her band Hot Caramel, which she formed in 1999. Their album called Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel was released on April 4, 2011. Cara appeared in season 2 of CMT’s reality show Gone Country.On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Irene Cara among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Written by Dianne Washington

Queen Latifah

Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and producer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album All Hail the Queen on November 28, 1989, featuring the hit single “Ladies First”. Nature of a Sista’ (1991) was her second and final album with Tommy Boy Records.Latifah starred as Khadijah James on the FOX sitcom Living Single from 1993 to 1998. Her third album, Black Reign (1993), spawned the single “U.N.I.T.Y.”, which was influential in raising awareness of women’s rights and the perspective of women in communities worldwide. The record won a Grammy Award and peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. She then starred in the lead role of Set It Off (1996) and released her fourth album, Order in the Court, on June 16, 1998, with Motown Records. Latifah garnered acclaim with her role of Matron “Mama” Morton in the musical film Chicago (2002), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.Latifah released her fifth album The Dana Owens Album in 2004. In 2007 and 2009, she released two more studio albums – Trav’lin’ Light and Persona. She created the daytime talk show The Queen Latifah Show, which ran from late 2013 to early 2015 on CBS. She has appeared in a number of films, such as Bringing Down the House (2003), Taxi (2004), Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2005), Beauty Shop (2005), Last Holiday (2006), Hairspray (2007), Joyful Noise (2012), 22 Jump Street (2014) and Girls Trip (2017) and provided voice work in the Ice Age film series. Latifah received critical acclaim for her portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith in the HBO film Bessie (2015), which she co-produced, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. From 2016 to 2019, she starred as Carlotta Brown in the musical drama series Star. In 2020, she portrayed Hattie McDaniel in the miniseries Hollywood.She has been described as a “feminist” rapper. Latifah received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. Latifah’s work in music, film and television has earned her a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, an Academy Award nomination and sales of over two million records.Dana Elaine Owens was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 18, 1970, and lived primarily in East Orange, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Rita Lamae (née Bray; d. 2018), a teacher at Irvington High School (Latifah’s alma mater), and Lancelot Amos Owens, a police officer. Owens attended Essex Catholic Girls’ High School in Irvington, but graduated from Irvington High School. Her parents divorced when Latifah was ten. Latifah was raised in the Baptist faith and attended Catholic school in Newark, New Jersey. She found her stage name, Latifah, meaning “delicate” and “very kind” in Arabic, in a book of Arabic names when she was eight. Always tall, the 5-foot-10-inch (1.78 m) Latifah was a power forward on her high school basketball team. She performed the number “Home” from the musical The Wiz in a grammar school play. After high school, Queen Latifah attended classes at Borough of Manhattan Community College.She began beat boxing for the hip-hop group Ladies Fresh and was an original member of the Flavor Unit, which, at that time, was a crew of MCs grouped around producer DJ King Gemini, who made a demo recording of Queen Latifah’s rap Princess of the Posse. He gave the recording to Fab 5 Freddy, the host of Yo! MTV Raps. The song got the attention of Tommy Boy Music employee Dante Ross, who signed Latifah and in 1989 issued her first single, “Wrath of My Madness”. More recent artists, like Ice Cube and Lil’ Kim, would go on to sample Latifah’s track in their songs, “Wrath of Kim’s Madness” and “You Can’t Play With My Yo-Yo” in later years. Latifah has a two-octave vocal range. She is considered a contralto, having the ability to both rap and sing.Latifah made her mark in hip-hop by rapping about issues surrounding being a black woman. Her songs covered topics including domestic violence, harassment on the streets, and relationship problems. Freddy helped Latifah sign with Tommy Boy Records, which released Latifah’s first album All Hail the Queen in 1989, when she was nineteen. That year, she appeared as Referee on the UK label Music of Life album 1989 – The Hustlers Convention (live). She received a Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 1992. In 1993, she released the album Black Reign, which was certified Gold in the United States and produced the Grammy Award-winning song “U.N.I.T.Y.” In 1998, co-produced by Ro Smith, now CEO of Def Ro Inc., she released her fourth hip-hop album Order in the Court, which was released by Motown Records. Latifah was also a member of the hip-hop collective Native Tongues.Latifah performed in the Super Bowl XXXII halftime show, making her the first rapper to do so.After Order in the Court, Latifah shifted primarily to singing soul music and jazz standards, which she had used sparingly in her previous hip-hop-oriented records. In 2004, she released the soul/jazz standards The Dana Owens Album. On July 11, 2007, Latifah sang at the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles as the headlining act in a live jazz concert. In front of a crowd of more than 12,400, she was backed by a 10-piece live orchestra and three backup vocalists, which was billed as the Queen Latifah Orchestra. Latifah performed new arrangements of standards including “California Dreaming”, first made popular by 1960s icons the Mamas & the Papas. Later in 2007, Latifah released an album titled Trav’lin’ Light. Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Joe Sample, George Duke, Christian McBride, and Stevie Wonder made guest appearances. It was nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album” category.In 2009, Latifah, along with the NJPAC Jubilation Choir, recorded the title track on the album Oh, Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration, covering the song that the Edwin Hawkins Singers made popular in 1969.In 2008, Latifah was asked if she would make another hip-hop album. She was quoted stating that the album was done already and it would be called All Hail the Queen II. The following year, in 2009, she released her album Persona. The song “Cue the Rain” was released as the album’s lead single. She also has a song with Missy Elliott. 2011 saw Queen Latifah sing “Who Can I Turn To” in a duet with Tony Bennett for his album “Duets II”. In January 2012, while appearing on 106 & Park with Dolly Parton, to promote Joyful Noise, Latifah stated that she had been working on a new album.On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Queen Latifah among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.She began her film career in supporting roles in the 1991 and 1992 films House Party 2, Juice and Jungle Fever. Moreover, she has guest starred in two episodes during the second season (1991–1992) of the NBC hit The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and had a guest role as herself on Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper in 1993. From 1993 to 1998, Latifah had a starring role on Living Single, the FOX sitcom, which gained high ratings among black audiences; she also wrote and performed its theme music. Her mother Rita played her mother on-screen. Latifah appeared in the 1996 box-office hit, Set It Off, and had a supporting role in the Holly Hunter film Living Out Loud (1998). She played the role of Thelma in the 1999 movie The Bone Collector, alongside Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. She also had her own talk show, The Queen Latifah Show, from 1999 to 2001 and revamped in 2013. On January 6, 2014, The Queen Latifah Show was renewed for a second season. However, on November 21, 2014, Sony Pictures Television canceled Latifah’s show due to declining ratings. Production of the series closed down, taking effect on December 18, 2014, leaving new episodes that were broadcast until March 6, 2015.Queen Latifah produced the 2007 film The Perfect Holiday. In addition to producing the film, Latifah starred alongside Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Charles Q. Murphy, Jill Marie Jones, and Faizon Love. In 2008, Latifah appeared in the crime comedy Mad Money opposite Academy Award–winner Diane Keaton as well as Katie Holmes and Ted Danson. She appeared on Saturday Night Live on October 4, 2008, as moderator Gwen Ifill in a comedic sketch depicting the vice-presidential debate between then-Senator Joe Biden and then-Governor Sarah Palin and played in The Secret Life of Bees. In 2009, Latifah was a presenter at the 81st Academy Awards, presenting the segment honoring film professionals who had died during 2008 and singing “I’ll Be Seeing You” during the montage. Latifah spoke at Michael Jackson’s memorial service in Los Angeles. She also hosted the 2010 People’s Choice Awards. Latifah sang America the Beautiful at Super Bowl XLIV hosted in Miami, Florida, on February 7, 2010, with Carrie Underwood. Latifah hosted the 2010 BET Awards on June 27, 2010. She starred with Dolly Parton in Joyful Noise (2012). In June 2011, Latifah received an honorary doctorate degree in Humane Letters from Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware. On September 16, 2013, Latifah premiered her own syndicated daytime television show titled The Queen Latifah Show. On January 26, 2014, Latifah officiated the weddings of 33 same-sex and opposite-sex couples during a performance of “Same Love” by Macklemore at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. In 2015, Latifah received a Best Actress Emmy nomination for her lead role as Bessie Smith in Bessie, an HBO film which received a total of 12 Emmy nominations.On April 26, 2017, MTV announced that Latifah will be an executive producer for the third season of the slasher television series Scream. The show will undergo a reboot with a new cast and Brett Matthews serving as show runner. In addition, Matthews, Shakim Compere and Yaneley Arty will also be credited as executive producers for the series under Flavor Unit Entertainment. On June 24, 2019, it was confirmed that the third season is scheduled to premiere over three nights on VH1, starting from July 8, 2019. The third season titled Scream: Resurrection premiered on July 8, 2019.Latifah played the sea witch Ursula in The Little Mermaid Live!. Although the production itself was not well received, critics widely praised Latifah’s performance, with The Hollywood Reporter calling her performance “the best moment of the evening”.CBS has announced a new active TV series, The Equalizer, a reboot the 1980s detective series The Equalizer starring Latifah in the lead role (renamed as Robyn for her version).Raised in East Orange, New Jersey, Latifah has been a resident of Colts Neck, New Jersey; Rumson, New Jersey; and Beverly Hills, California.Latifah’s older brother, Lancelot Jr., was killed in 1992 in an accident involving a motorcycle that Latifah had purchased for him. A 2006 interview revealed that Latifah still wears the key to the motorcycle around her neck, visible throughout her performance in her sitcom Living Single. She also dedicated Black Reign to him. In her 1999 autobiography, Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman, Latifah discussed how her brother’s death had led to a bout of depression and drug abuse, from which she later recovered.In 1995, Latifah was the victim of a carjacking, which also resulted in the shooting of her boyfriend, Sean Moon.In 1996, she was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of a loaded handgun. In 2002, she was arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles County. She was placed on three years’ probation after being convicted.

Written by Dianne Washington