Angela Evelyn Bassett is an actress and producer known for her depictions of powerful women in history on stage, television, and in major movies. Bassett was born on August 16, 1958, in New York, New York. After her father, Daniel Benjamin Bassett, and her mother, … Read MoreAngela Bassett (1958- )
Sammy Davis, Jr. was born on December 8, 1925 in Harlem, New York. His parents, Sammy Davis, Sr., an African American, and Elvera Sanchez, a Cuban American, were both vaudeville dancers. They separated when young Davis was three years old and his father took him on tour with … Read MoreSammy Davis, Jr. (1925-1990)
In the decades prior to the Russian Revolution, Pearl Hobson became the most popular African American dancer and singer in Imperial Russia. Known by various names but mostly by her Russian stage name which translated into English was “Mulatto Sharpshooter,” Hobson captivated elite audiences from St. Petersburg to Moscow although apparently … Read MorePearl Hobson (1879- ?)
James Melvin “Jimmie” Lunceford, a popular band leader during the swing era, was born near Fulton, Mississippi, in Itawamba County to James Leonard and Beulah Idella Tucker Lunceford in June, 1902. His grandparents, Daniel and Gracie Lunceford, had arrived in Mississippi as slaves from North … Read MoreJimmie M. Lunceford (1902-1947)
Henri Salvador was a popular 20th Century French entertainer, pop singer, and humorist. His most popular and emblematic song was “Le lion est mort ce soir” or “Syracuse.” Salvador was born in Cayenne (French Guiana) on July 18, 1917 to parents from Guadeloupe. His father, … Read MoreHenri Salvador (1917-2008)
Recording artist and three-time Grammy award nominee Bobby Short, a self-taught piano prodigy during his childhood, was regarded as the quintessential sophisticated cabaret and supper-club vocalist and piano player of his time. Short, who learned to play piano by ear at the age of four, … Read MoreRobert “Bobby” Waltrip Short (1924-2005)
Herb Jeffries, baritone jazz balladeer and first black singing cowboy in the movies, was born Umberto Alexander Valentino on September 24, 1913 in Detroit, Michigan, to a mixed-race father and an Irish-born mother. His mother operated a boarding house and raised her son alone. His … Read MoreHerbert “Herb” Jeffries (1913-2014)
Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens in Chicago, Illinois on March 23, 1953, eldest of Charles Stevens’ and Sandra Coleman’s five children. As a teenager growing up on Chicago’s South Side community, the presence of the Black Panther Party had an influence on Stevens. … Read MoreChaka Khan (1953- )
Steve Harvey is a media conglomerate personified in a man whose career began doing stand-up comedy in the mid-1980s. His success as a stand-up comedian led to multiple TV shows and movies, acting, hosting, writing and producing. He became a top-rated radio host, fashion entrepreneur, … Read MoreSteve Harvey (1957- )
Saxophonist, bandleader and songwriter Paul Williams was a performer at The Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland in 1952, considered to be the first rock concert. He has been recognized as a pioneer in the American music industry. Paul Williams was born on July 13, 1915 … Read MorePaul “Hucklebuck” Williams (1915-2002)
