music.wikisort.org - Singer

Search / Calendar

Loletha Elayne Falana[1] or Loletha Elaine Falana[2][3] (born September 11, 1942),[5][6] better known by her stage name Lola Falana, is an American singer, dancer, and actress.[7]

Not to be confused with Lenora Fulani.

Lola Falana
Falana circa 1972
Born
Loletha Elayne Falana[1]
or Loletha Elaine Falana[2][3]

(1942-09-11) September 11, 1942 (age 80)[2][4]
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation
  • Actress
  • singer
  • dancer
Years active1961–1997
Spouse
Feliciano Tavares Jr.
​
​
(m. 1970; div. 1975)​

Early life


Lola Falana was born in Camden, New Jersey. She was the third of six children[2] born to Bennett, a welder[2] and Cleo Falana, a seamstress (1921–2010).[8] Falana's father, an Afro-Cuban,[9] left his homeland of Cuba to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps, later becoming a welder shortly after meeting Falana's mother, who was African-American.[9][2] By the age of three, Falana was dancing, and by age five she was singing in the church choir. In 1952, Falana's family, which by this time included two more siblings, moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the period she was in junior high school, Falana was already dancing in nightclubs to which she was escorted by her mother. Pursuing a musical career became so important to her that, against her parents' wishes, she dropped out of Germantown High School[3] a few months before graduation and moved to New York City.


Career


In 1958, Falana's first dancing gig was at age sixteen[2] during a Dinah Washington nightclub appearance in Philadelphia in which Washington gave her the opening act slot to perform. Washington, dubbed the "Queen of Blues", was influential in fostering Falana's early career. While dancing in a chorus line in Atlantic City, New Jersey,[3] Falana was discovered by Sammy Davis Jr.,[9] who gave her a featured role in his 1964 Broadway musical Golden Boy. After the musical, Falana launched her music career later in 1964. Her first single, "My Baby", was recorded and released for Mercury Records in 1965. Later in her career, she recorded under Frank Sinatra's record label. In the late 1960s, Falana was mentored by Sammy Davis, Jr.

In 1966, Davis cast Falana, along with himself, Ossie Davis, and Cicely Tyson, in her first film role, in A Man Called Adam. Falana became a major star of Italian television, from 1966, and cinema, beginning in 1967. In Italy she learned to speak fluent Italian while starring in three movies, the first of which was considered a Spaghetti Western. She was a showgirl for Saturday night main TV show Sabato sera, next to acclaimed singer Mina. She was known as the "Black Venus". During this time she was busy touring with Davis as a singer and dancer, making films in Italy, and reprising her role in Golden Boy during its revival in London. In 1969, Falana ended her close working relationship with Sammy Davis Jr., though the two remained friends. "If I didn't break away," She told TV Guide, "I would always be known as the little dancer with Sammy Davis Jr. ... I wanted to be known as something more." In 1970, she made her American film debut in The Liberation of L.B. Jones and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year – Actress for her performance. That same year she posed for Playboy magazine. She was the first black woman to model for the Fabergé "Tigress" perfume ads. In those early years, she also starred in a few movies considered to be of the blaxploitation genre. She appeared at the Val Air Ballroom sponsored by Black Pride, Inc., in 1978.

Falana with Gino Bramieri on the Italian TV show Hai visto mai?, 1973.
Falana with Gino Bramieri on the Italian TV show Hai visto mai?, 1973.

American TV audiences became familiar with Falana during the early 1970s. She often appeared on The Joey Bishop Show and The Hollywood Palace, displaying her talent for music, dance, and light comedy. These appearances led to more opportunities. She was the first supporting player hired by Bill Cosby for his much-anticipated variety hour, The New Bill Cosby Show, which made its debut on September 11, 1972 (her 30th birthday) on CBS. Cosby had met Falana in his college days, when he was a struggling comic and she was a 14-year-old dancing for $10 a show in Philadelphia nightclubs.[citation needed] Throughout the mid-1970s, Falana made guest appearances on many popular TV shows, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Muppet Show, Laugh-In and The Flip Wilson Show. She also starred in her own television specials. In 1975, Falana's disco record There's A Man Out There Somewhere reached #67 on the Billboard R&B chart. That same year, she returned to Broadway as the lead in the musical Doctor Jazz. Although the production closed after just five performances, Falana was nominated for a Tony Award and won the 1975 Theater World Award.

With help from Sammy Davis, Jr., she brought her act to Las Vegas and became a top draw there. By the late 1970s, Falana was considered the "Queen of Las Vegas". She played to sold-out crowds at The Sands, The Riviera, and the MGM Grand hotels. Finally The Aladdin offered her $100,000 a week to perform. At the time, Falana was the highest paid female performer in Las Vegas. Her show ran twenty weeks a year and became a major tourist attraction. While still playing to sold-out crowds in Las Vegas, Falana looked to other key TV roles, originally being slated to star in a remake of the 50s Vampira Show. When this project collapsed she joined the cast of a short-lived CBS soap opera, Capitol, as Charity Blake, a wealthy entertainment mogul.


Later career and life


In 1995, Falana recorded the song "Don't Cry, Mary" with Catholic artist Joseph Lee Hooker. No longer performing, she now tours the country with a message of hope and spirituality. When not on tour, she lives a quiet life in Las Vegas working on the apostolate she founded, The Lambs of God Ministry. The ministry is focused on helping children who have been orphaned in Sub-Saharan Africa, and works closely with the group Save Sub-Saharan Orphans.[10] Falana's last known musical performance was in 1997, at Wayne Newton's theater in Branson, Missouri.


Personal life



Love affair and marriage


Sometime during 1965–1968, Lola Falana had an affair with her then-mentor Sammy Davis Jr., that became public knowledge after Davis confessed it to his then-wife May Britt, which led to their divorce in 1968.[11] Falana was married to Feliciano "Butch" Tavares Jr., one of five brothers of the popular R&B and Soul vocal band Tavares in 1970, later divorcing in 1975.[2]


Health problems


In 1987, Falana had a severe relapse of multiple sclerosis.[9] Falana's left side was paralyzed, she became partially blind, and her voice and hearing were impaired. Her recovery lasted a year and a half, during which she spent most of her time praying. Falana attributes her recovery to a spiritual experience which she described as "Being able to feel the presence of the Lord".[9] Falana converted to Roman Catholicism in 1988 and worked her newly found spirituality into her daily life.[9] Though she performed again in Las Vegas shows in 1987, Falana's practice of religion and faith became the center of her life. After another bout with multiple sclerosis in 1996, Falana returned to Philadelphia and lived with her parents for a short time.


Cultural references



Filmography



Television work



References


  1. S. Richter (2013). Women, Pleasure, Film: What Lolas Want. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-30973-0. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  2. Thomson Gale (2005). "Falana, Lola 1942–". Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  3. Jan Onofrio (1999). Pennsylvania Biographical Dictionary. Somerset Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-0-403-09950-4. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  4. Kathleen Fearn-Banks, Anne Burford-Johnson (2014). Historical Dictionary of African American Television. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-7917-1. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  5. S. Torriano Berry, Venise T. Berry (2015). Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-4702-4. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  6. S. Torriano Berry, Venise T. Berry (2009). The A to Z of African American Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7034-5. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  7. Jessie Carney Smith (1996). Notable Black American Women, Book 2. VNR AG. ISBN 978-0-8103-9177-2. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  8. "CLEO F. TWINE". Legacy. 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  9. Tia Williams (August 18, 2011). "Vintage Vamp: Showgirl Lola Falana". Essence. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  10. Catholic Exchange, "Former Entertainer Lola Falana Founds New Catholic Apostolate", August 31, 2002
  11. "May Britt Keeps Kids, Divorces Sammy Davis Jr". Jet. January 9, 1969. Retrieved December 28, 2017 – via Google Books.
  12. Angelica Jade Bastién (2019). "Niecy Nash on the Claws Finale and Why Desna Is a 'Strip-Mall Superhero'". Vulture. Retrieved August 12, 2019.


Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lola Falana.

На других языках

[de] Lola Falana

Lola Falana (* 11. September 1942 in Camden, New Jersey) ist eine US-amerikanische Sängerin, Tänzerin und Schauspielerin.
- [en] Lola Falana

[es] Lola Falana

Lola Falana (Loletha Elaine Falana: n. Camden, de Nueva Jersey, 11 de septiembre de 1942 ) es una artista estadounidense, cantante, bailarina y actriz.


Текст в блоке "Читать" взят с сайта "Википедия" и доступен по лицензии Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike; в отдельных случаях могут действовать дополнительные условия.

Другой контент может иметь иную лицензию. Перед использованием материалов сайта WikiSort.org внимательно изучите правила лицензирования конкретных элементов наполнения сайта.

2019-2024
WikiSort.org - проект по пересортировке и дополнению контента Википедии