Della Reese ( born Della Reese , July 6, 1931 - November 19, 2017 ) is an American actress and singer . She began her career in the early 1950s with the performance of songs in the gospel , pop and jazz genres and achieved great success in 1959 with the release of her hit (in the style of rhythm and blues ) “Don't You Know?” . In the 1960s , she was the host of her own talk show, “Della,” and besides that, she was remembered on television for her role as Tess in the series “ Touching an Angel ”. Recently, she has also been a preacher of the New Thinking movement in one of the churches of Los Angeles .
| Della reese Della reese | |
|---|---|
 Della Reese in July 2009 | |
| basic information | |
| Full name | Dellis Patrice Earley |
| Date of Birth | July 6, 1931 |
| Place of Birth | Detroit , Michigan , USA |
| Date of death | November 19, 2017 (86 years old) |
| Place of death | |
| A country |  USA |
| Professions | singer , actress |
| Years of activity | 1953 - 2017 |
| Instruments | |
| Genres | gospel , pop , jazz , rhythm and blues |
| Collectives | Meditation singers |
| Labels | Jubilee records RCA Records |
| Awards | [d] ( 1996 ) [d] ( 1997 ) [d] ( 1998 ) [d] ( 1999 ) [d] ( 2000 ) [d] ( 2001 ) [d] ( 2002 ) |
| Official site | |
Biography
Young years
Delloris Patricia Earley ( born Deloreese Patricia Early ) was born in Detroit on July 6, 1932 in the family of an African American and a representative of the Cherokee Indian tribe. [1] At the age of six, she began to sing in a church choir, and at 15 she was taken to the gospel group of the outstanding American singer Mahalia Jackson . [2] During her studies at Wayne University, she formed her own gospel group called “Meditation Singers,” in which there were three more girls besides her. At the same time, Delloris performed in one of the clubs in Detroit , where she achieved her first success.
Musical career
After the death of her mother and severe illness of her father, she had to interrupt her studies at the university and devote herself to caring for the family for some time. In 1953, she left Meditation Singers and began her solo career. She signed a contract with Jubilee Records, where she later recorded six of her albums. At that time, Doloriz's work was largely influenced by the popular performers of those years, Ella Fitzgerald , Billy Holiday and Sarah Won [2] , and her first recordings at the studio were such well-known songs in the USA as “In the Still of the Night” , “I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” and “Time After Time” . Although these records did not make it to the top charts, they spread across the country with a circulation of 500 thousand copies.
In 1957, Reese recorded her first single, “And That Reminds Me,” which soon became a hit, finishing 12th on Top Twenty Pop . The single sold a million copies, and the popular music magazines Billboard and Cashbox called Reese the most promising performer of the year.
In 1959, Reese switched to RCA Records , where in the same year she recorded the single “Don't You Know?” , Which, according to the performance, was like Puccini ’s opera Bohemia . The song became the most successful hit of her entire musical career, taking second place in the Top Twenty Pop , as well as the first position on the R&B charts.
The Della album, recorded by Reese in 1960 , earned her a Grammy Award nomination. In the next couple of years, a few more songs of the singer hit the American charts. Among them are “Not One Minute More” (# 16), “And Now” (# 69), “Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)” (# 56) and “The Most Beautiful Words” (# 67) .
Throughout the 1960s , Della Reese mainly recorded single singles and also released several albums, two of which, The Classic Della ( 1962 ) and Waltz with Me, Della ( 1963 ), made her famous outside U.S. In addition to pop music and gospel, she recorded three jazz albums: Della Reese Live ( 1966 ), On Strings of Blue ( 1967 ) and One of a Kind ( 1978 ). Reese for nine years also performed in concerts in Las Vegas , and later went on a tour of US cities. [2]
For her next two gospel albums, Della Reese and Brilliance ( 1991 ) and My Soul Feels Better Right Now ( 1999 ), Della Reese was again nominated for a Grammy .
Acting career
Since 1969 , in addition to her musical career, Della Reese began to demonstrate her acting talent in film and television. She has become the guest of many popular TV shows and talk shows in the USA , including McCloud, Petrocelli, Policewoman, Love Boat , Los Angeles Law . She achieved the greatest success on television thanks to the role of Tess in the series “ Touch of an Angel ”, in which she starred from 1994 to 2003 .
In 1989, she starred with Eddie Murphy in the movie Harlem Nights . Together with him, she also appeared in the film The Honorable Gentleman , where she played herself.
Della Reese was the owner of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to television.
Personal life
While still young, Della Reese accidentally collided with the glass door of her house. She had to make many stitches to isolate numerous wounds, due to which the singer lost a lot of blood and spent some time in a coma.
In 1979, Reese was diagnosed with cerebral aneurysm, and only thanks to the timely intervention of doctors and two operations the disease was defeated.
In 1983, Reese married producer and screenwriter Franklin Letta, from whom she gave birth to four children. [2]
Recently, Della Reese was also a preacher of the New Thinking movement in one of the churches of Los Angeles . In her missionary work, she was named Rev. Della Reese Lett. [2]
Death
Della Reese died in the USA at the age of 87. According to Reuters, on Sunday, the actress "passed away, surrounded by love, in her home in California."
Notes
- ↑ HILARY DE VRIES. COVER STORY; Della Reese: Earning Her Wings . New York Times (2008). Date of treatment July 16, 2009. Archived on April 8, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Della Reese Official Website
Links
- Wikimedia Commons has media related to Della Reese
- Official site