Pearl Bailey

Birth Name:

Pearl Mae Bailey

Birth Place:

Southampton County, Virginia, United States

Profession

Soundtrack, Actress, Writer

Served as a delegate to the United Nations during the Ford, Reagan, and Bush Administrations
Won the Donaldson Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her performance in "St․ Louis Woman" in 1946
Began her stage career after winning first prize at an amateur night in Philadelphia in 1933
Toured in small dramatic productions in Pennsylvania coal-mining towns before joining the vaudeville circuit as a singer and dancer for Noble Sissle's band
Quote: "I believe in humanity in that you don't bother to look at the color of a man's face․ That's brotherhood․"
Quote: "I'm not a comedienne․ I call myself a humorist․ I tell stories to music and, thank God, in tune․ I laugh at people who call me an actress․"
Best known as an actress and singer who starred in the 1967 Broadway musical "Hello, Dolly!"
Her two best known film roles were Maria in "Porgy and Bess" and Frankie in "Carmen Jones․"
In addition to her two years in "Hello, Dolly!," she also appeared in other Broadway musicals like "House of Flowers" and "St․ Louis Woman․"
At a performance of "Hello, Dolly!" in Washington that President Lyndon B․ Johnson was attending, she called the President to the stage to be part of a sing-along chorus of the show's title song

Fast Facts