Black History Day 24: Whoopi Goldberg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Whoopi Goldberg ( born Caryn Elaine Johnson; November 13, 1955) is an American comedienne, actress, political activist, writer and television host. Although Goldberg made her film debut in the avant-garde ensemble film Citizen: I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away (1982), her breakthrough role was playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South in the period drama film The Color Purple (1985). For her performance, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

She played Oda Mae Brown – a wacky psychic helping a slain man (Patrick Swayze) save his lover (Demi Moore) – in the romantic fantasy film Ghost (1990), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Goldberg was the second black woman in the history of the Academy Awards to win an acting Oscar (the first being Hattie McDaniel, who won for Gone with the Wind in 1939). She was co-producer of the television game show Hollywood Squares from 1998 to 2004. She has been the moderator of the daytime television talk show The View since 2007. Goldberg has been nominated for 13 Emmy Awards for her work in television. She is one of the few entertainers who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. In the 1990s, Goldberg was rumored to be the highest paid actress for her appearances in film.

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Perry Blackwell

I love the 1959 movie "Pillow Talk" which starred Doris Day and Rock Hudson. One of the reasons why it's in my top movie selection is because of the Singer/Actress Perry Blackwell. She only had one scene in the movie and she sang for most of that scene, but what she did with her expressions and mannerisms spoke much much more. She was also in the 1960 movie "Dead Ringer" with Bette Davis and Karl Malden. There is not much info on her available, but I did discover via a message written by her daughter, that she is a classically trained Pianist and self taught organist. She played Hammond Organ for years. Also she played with Sonny Stitt, Wes Montgomery Bros. , Roy Milton and Louis Jordan. She worked many gigs around such people as Nancy Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Joe Williams, Freddie Hubbard, Jackie Wilson and Red Foxx. She worked on the New York jazz scence for a few years, Best known for her 7 year stint at The Parisian Room in Los A

Madam C. J. Walker

Madam C.J. Walker (December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919), born Sarah Breedlove , was an African-American businesswoman , hair care entrepreneur and philanthropist . She made her fortune by developing and marketing a hugely successful line of beauty and hair products for black women under the company she founded, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. Madam C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove, on December 23, 1867 in Delta, Louisiana to Owen and Minerva Breedlove. She was one of six children; she had a sister Louvenia and 4 brothers: Alexander, James, Solomon, and Owen, Jr. Her parents and elder siblings were slaves on a Madison Parish plantation owned by Robert W. Burney. Her mother died, possibly from cholera , in 1872. Her father remarried and died shortly afterward when she was seven years old. Madam C. J. Walker moved in with her older sister, and brother-in-law, Willie Powell. She later said she married Moses McWilliams when she was 14 years old to get a home of h

Black History : Nina Simone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nina Simone (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon ; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist. She worked in a broad range of musical styles including classical , jazz , blues , folk , R&B , gospel , and pop . The sixth child of a preacher's family in North Carolina , Simone aspired to be a concert pianist. Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia , despite a well-received audition. Simone said she later found out from an insider at Curtis that she was denied entry because she was black. So as to fund her continuing musical education and become a classical pianist, she began playing in a small club in Philadelphia where she was also required to sing. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and her rendering of " I Loves You, Porgy " was

Son of Ellis

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