Della Reese

Della Reese

Reese appearing in a Kraft Foods commercial, 1977.
Background information
Birth name Delloreese Patricia Early
Born (1931-07-06) July 6, 1931[1]
Black Bottom, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres Gospel, pop, jazz, R&B, traditional pop
Occupation(s) Singer, actress, minister, game show panelist
Years active 1953–2014
Labels Jubilee Records
RCA Records
Associated acts Mahalia Jackson, Erskine Hawkins, Albertina Walker, Aretha Franklin, Dorothy Norwood, Cissy Houston
Website dellareese.com

Della Reese (born Delloreese Patricia Early; July 6, 1931)[1] is an American nightclub, jazz, gospel and pop singer, film and television actress, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister, whose career had spanned six decades. She had also appeared as a guest on several talk shows and as a panelist on numerous game shows.

Reese's long career began as a singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You Know?". In the late 1960s, she had hosted her own talk show, Della, which ran for 197 episodes.[2][3] She also starred in films beginning in 1975, and included playing opposite Redd Foxx in Harlem Nights (1989), Martin Lawrence in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) and Elliott Gould in Expecting Mary (2010). She achieved continuing success in the television fantasy drama Touched by an Angel (1994–2003), in which Reese played the leading role of Tess.

Early years

Della Reese was born Delloreese Patricia Early on July 6, 1931, in the historic Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, to Richard Thaddeus Early, an African American steelworker and Nellie (Mitchelle), a Native American cook of the Cherokee tribe.[4][5] Her mother also had several children before Reese's birth, none of whom lived with her; hence, Reese grew up as an only child. At six years old, Reese began singing in church. From this experience, she became an avid gospel singer. On weekends in the 1940s, she and her mother would go to the movies independently to watch the likes of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Lena Horne portray glamorous lives on screen. Afterwards, Reese would act out the scenes from the films. In 1944, she began her career directing the young people's choir, after she had nurtured acting plus her obvious musical talent. She was often chosen, on radio, as a regular singer. At the age of 13, she was hired to sing with Mahalia Jackson's gospel group. Delloreese entered Detroit's popular Cass Technical High School (where she attended the same year as Edna Rae Gillooly, later known as Ellen Burstyn). She also continued with her touring with Jackson. With higher grades, she was the first in her family to graduate from high school in 1947, at only 15.

Afterwards, she formed her own gospel group, the Meditation Singers. However, due in part to the death of her mother, and her father's serious illness, Reese had to interrupt her schooling at Wayne State University to help support her family. Faithful to the memory of her mother, Deloreese also moved out of her father's house when she disapproved of him taking up with a new girlfriend. She then took on odd jobs, such as truck driver, dental receptionist, and even elevator operator, after 1949. Performing in clubs, Early soon decided to shorten her name from "Delloreese Early" to "Della Reese."

Musical career

Reese in the 1950s

Reese was discovered by the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, and her big break came when she won a contest, which gave her a week to sing at Detroit's well-known Flame Show Bar. Reese remained there for eight weeks. Although her roots were in gospel music, she now was being exposed to and influenced by such famous jazz artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. In 1953, she signed a recording contract with Jubilee Records, for which she recorded six albums. Later that year, she also joined the Hawkins Orchestra. Her first recordings for Jubilee were songs such as "In the Still of the Night" (originally published in 1937), "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" and "Time After Time" (1947). The songs were later included on the album And That Reminds Me (1959).

In 1957, Reese released a single called "And That Reminds Me." After years of performing, she gained chart success with this song. It became a Top Twenty Pop hit and a million-seller record. That year, Reese was voted by Billboard, Cashbox and various other magazines, as "The Most Promising Singer." In 1959, Reese moved to RCA Records and released her first RCA single, called "Don't You Know?," which was adapted from Puccini's music for La Bohème, specifically, the aria Musetta's Waltz. It became her biggest hit to date, reaching the #2 spot on the Pop charts and topping the R&B charts (then called the "Hot R&B Sides") that year. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[6] Eventually, the song came to be widely considered the signature song of her early career. Reese received a Grammy nomination for her 1960 album, Della and then released a successful follow-up single called "Not One Minute More" (#16). She remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the songs "And Now" (#69), "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)" (#56) and "The Most Beautiful Words" (#67).

In November 1960, Reese appeared in advertisements in Ebony magazine for the newly launched AMI Continental jukebox. Reese recorded regularly throughout the 1960s, releasing singles and several albums. Two of the most significant were The Classic Della (1962) and Waltz with Me, Della (1963), which broadened her fan base internationally. She recorded several jazz-focused albums, including Della Reese Live (1966), On Strings of Blue (1967) and One of a Kind (1978). She also performed in Las Vegas (Nevada) for nine years and toured across the country. Reese continued to record albums in the following decades, receiving two more Grammy nominations in the gospel category for the album Della Reese and Brilliance (1991) and for the live recorded album, My Soul Feels Better Right Now (1999).[7] Motown singer Martha Reeves cites Reese as a major influence and says she named her group The Vandellas after Van Dyke Street in Detroit and Della Reese.

Television and film career

In 1969, she began a transition into acting work which would eventually lead to her greatest fame. Her first attempt at television stardom was a talk show series, Della, which was cancelled after 197 episodes (June 9, 1969 – March 13, 1970).[8]

In 1970, Reese became the first black woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She appeared in several TV movies and miniseries, was a regular on Chico and the Man and played the mother of B. A. Baracus in The A-Team episode "Lease with an Option to Die." In 1991, she starred opposite old friend, Redd Foxx, in his final sitcom, The Royal Family, but his death halted production of the series for several months. Reese also did voice-over for the late-1980s animated series A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. In 1989, she starred alongside Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor and Arsenio Hall in the theatrical release movie Harlem Nights, in which she performed a fight scene with Eddie Murphy. Reese appeared as a panelist on several episodes of the popular television game show Match Game.

Television guest appearances

Reese has had a wide variety of guest-starring roles, beginning with an episode of The Mod Squad. This led to other roles in such series as: The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Getting Together, Police Woman, Petrocelli, Joe Forrester, Police Story, The Rookies, McCloud, Sanford and Son with old friend Redd Foxx, Vega$, Insight and two episodes of The Love Boat. She also had a recurring role on It Takes Two opposite Richard Crenna and Patty Duke, three episodes of Crazy Like a Fox, four episodes of Charlie & Co. opposite Flip Wilson, 227 with best friend Marla Gibbs, MacGyver, Night Court, Dream On, Designing Women, Picket Fences, That's So Raven and The Young and the Restless.

Touched by an Angel

After coping with the death of one of her best friends, Redd Foxx, in 1991, she was reluctant to play an older female lead in the inspirational television drama Touched by an Angel, but went ahead and auditioned for the role of "Tess." She wanted to have a one-shot agreement between CBS and producer Martha Williamson, but ordered more episodes. Reese was widely seen as a key component of the show's success. Already starring on Touched by an Angel was the lesser-known Irish actress Roma Downey, who played the role of case worker Tess's angel/employee, Monica. In numerous interviews, there was an on- and off-screen chemistry between both Reese and Downey.

The character of Tess was the angelic supervisor who sent the other angels out on missions to help people redeem their lives and show them God's love, while at the same time, she was sassy and had a no-nonsense attitude. The show often featured a climactic monologue delivered by the angel Monica in which she reveals herself as an angel to a human with the words: "I am an angel sent by God to tell you that He loves you." The character of Tess was portrayed by Reese as down-to-earth, experienced and direct. Reese also sang the show's theme song, "Walk With You," and was featured prominently on the soundtrack album produced in conjunction with the show.

During its first season in 1994, many critics were skeptical about the show, it being the second overtly religious prime-time fantasy series, after Highway to Heaven. The show had a rocky start, low ratings and was cancelled 11 episodes into the first season. However, with the help of a massive letter-writing campaign, the show was resuscitated the following season and became a huge ratings winner for the next seven seasons. At the beginning of the fourth season in 1997, Reese threatened to leave the show because she was making less than her co-stars; CBS ended up raising her salary. Touched by an Angel was cancelled in 2003, but it continued re-running heavily in syndication and on The Hallmark Channel. Roma Downey said of her on- and off-screen relationship with Reese:

"She's very wise. She's very loving. She can be a little gruff at times, but she's always adoring and adorable. I lost my mother when I was very young, and during my whole adolescence and into my twenties, I'd been looking for a mother figure, and I really think I can say with absolute truth and sincerity that I feel that I finally found her in Della Reese."

Downey later also said:

"I think I'll just always remember the feel of her neck against my cheek when she hugs me and the love I know that she has for me and the love that I feel for her and the love that she has for God. To know Della is to know that she loves God."

Personal life

Reese's mother, Nellie Mitchelle Early, died in 1949 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Reese's father, Richard Early, died ten years later. Reese had an adoptive daughter which she acquired from a family member unable to care for her, named Deloreese Daniels Owens, in 1961. Owens died on March 14, 2002. It was never released whether she died from suicide or from implications stemming from pituitary disease. Reese said about the painful experience, sharing her frustration with the lack of awareness and knowledge of pituitary disorders,

"When it happened, I thought, 'It's such an odd thing to die from,' because pituitary problems aren't something you hear about. It makes it harder because you don't understand what happened. It seemed so strange and hard to explain. It still is, to be honest."[9]

In 1952 Reese married factory worker Vermont Adolphus Bon Taliaferro, nineteen years her senior,[10] and adopted the stage name Pat Ferro[11] for a week, before introducing her current name - though sources differ as to whether this was after the failure of the marriage,[10] or simply a show-business decision.[12]

A second marriage ceremony, on 28 December 1959, to accountant Leroy Basil Gray, who had two children by a previous marriage, was kept secret for some time.[13] This marriage either ended in divorce[14] or was annulled on the basis that Gray's previous divorce was invalid.[10]

Reese appears to have been briefly married to Mercer Ellington (who was then her manager) in 1961, before this was annulled due to Ellington's Mexican divorce being ruled invalid.[10]

In 1979, after taping a guest spot for The Tonight Show, she suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm, but made a full recovery after two surgeries by neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Drake at University Hospital in London, Ontario. In 1983, she married Franklin Thomas Lett, Jr., a concert producer and writer. In 2002, Reese announced on Larry King Live that she had been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, but didn't come as a surprise considering what she ate and what her diet consisted of, as well as her weight. She became a spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association, traveling around the United States to raise awareness about this disorder. In 2005, Reese was honored by Oprah Winfrey at her Legends Ball ceremony, along with 25 other black women.

Reese was ordained as a minister through the Christian New Thought branch known as Unity, after serving as the senior minister and founder of her own church, Understanding Principles for Better Living. The "Up Church" is under Universal Foundation For Better Living, a denomination of Christian New Thought founded by Rev. Johnnie Colemon, a close friend of Rev. Reese-Lett. In 2014, the IRS Criminal Division began investigating the disappearance of nearly $2 million from church banking investments, as well as very questionable/misappropriation of church funds and not paying church employees their earned wages. They currently meet at First Lutheran Church (www.firsting.org) in Inglewood, California.[15] In her ministerial work, she is known as the Rev. Dr. Della Reese Lett.[16]

On July 6, 2011, Reese celebrated her 80th Birthday at the Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles, California.[17] In 2015, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.[18]

On August 29, 2016, nearly two months after she celebrated her 85th birthday, Reese was said to be in failing health, as she uses a wheelchair, following 2 serious brain surgeries. She also admitted about her suffering from diabetes, "My life is at stake," she said. "I don’t have type 2 diabetes — type 2 diabetes has me."[19] Reese is not wheelchair bound, and tries to avoid using one often because it could make her condition worse.[20] Prior to attending the ceremony to honor her former co-star and long-term friend, Roma Downey, who herself, received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, years after her mentor, she also admitted (after collapsing on the set of Touched by an Angel) in 2014, contributed to her diabetes, after years of eating her old, nightly snacks of fried chicken, potato chips, ice cream, candy bars and cola, who was very frustrated because she didn't do anything to prevent her health, when she did the best she could to control her disease, "With diet, exercise and medication, I took control of my diabetes," she stated. "I lost 20 pounds and lowered my blood sugar from between 275 and 300 to between 67 and 110."[21] After her last appearance on Signed, Sealed, Delivered, she had retired from acting.

Discography

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1975 Psychic Killer Mrs. Gibson
1989 Harlem Nights Vera
1996 Thin Line Between Love and Hate, AA Thin Line Between Love and Hate Ma Wright
2000 Dinosaur Eema (voice)
2005 Beauty Shop Mrs. Towner
2007 If I Had Known I Was a Genius Nana
2010 Expecting Mary Doris Dorkus
2012 Meant to Be Mave
2012 Me Again Muriel
2012 Christmas Angel Elsa Way

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1968 Mod Squad, TheThe Mod Squad Paula Episode: "Find Tara Chapman!"
1970 Bold Ones: The New Doctors, TheThe Bold Ones: The New Doctors Grace Dayton Episode: "Killer on the Loose"
1973 Voyage of the Yes Opal Parker TV film
1973 Daddy's Girl Diane TV film
1974 Twice in a Lifetime Flo TV film
1974 Police Woman Tina Thompson Episode: "Requiem for Bored Wives"
1974 McCloud Police Sg.t Gladys Harris Episode: "This Must Be the Alamo"
1975 Petrocelli Angela Damon Episode: "Once Upon a Victim"
1975 Cop on the Beat Claudine TV film
1975 Rookies, TheThe Rookies Landers Episode: "Ladies Day"
1975 Sanford and Son Herself Episode: "Della, Della, Della"
1975-1978 Chico and the Man Della Rogers Recurring role (27 episodes)
1976 McCloud Police Sgt. Gladys Harris Episode: "The Day New York Turned Blue"
1976 Medical Center Capt. Sykes Episode: "Major Annie, MD"
1976 Flo's Place Flo TV film
1976 Nightmare in Badham County Sarah TV film
1979 Welcome Back, Kotter Mrs. Tremaine Episodes: "Come Back, Little Arnold", "The Gang Show"
1980 Insight Judge Roberta Lynn Episode: "God in the Dock"
1982 Love Boat, TheThe Love Boat Millie Washington 2 episodes
1982-1983 It Takes Two Judge Caroline Phillips Recurring role (5 episodes)
1985 A-Team, TheThe A-Team Mrs. Baracus Episode: "Lease with an Option to Die"
1985-1986 Crazy Like a Fox Nurse Flood Episodes: "Fox Hunt", "Is There a Fox in the House?", "A Fox at the Races"
1986 Charlie & Co. Aunt Rachel Recurring role (4 episodes)
1986 ABC Afterschool Special Aunt Faith Episode: "The Gift of Amazing Grace"
1987 227 Rita Episode: "Far from the Tree"
1989 Night Court Aunt Ruth Episode: "Auntie Maim"
1990 227 Grace Episode: "Where Do We Go from Here?"
1990 Young Riders, TheThe Young Riders Stagecoach Sally Episode: "Born to Hang"
1990 Kid Who Loved Christmas, TheThe Kid Who Loved Christmas Alicia Slater TV film
1990 MacGyver Mama Colton Episode: "Squeeze Play"
1991 MacGyver Mama Colton Episode: "The Coltons"
1991 Married People Annette Episode: "Dance Ten, Friends Zero"
1991-1992 Royal Family, TheThe Royal Family Victoria Royal Main role (15 episodes)
1992 Dream On Receptionist Episode: "No Deposit, No Return"
1992 You Must Remember This Ella DuChamps (voice) TV film
1993 Designing Women Mrs. Toussant Episode: "Wedding Redux"
1993 L.A. Law Lucille Lake Episode: "Vindaloo in the Villows"
1993 Picket Fences Naomi Grand Episode: "The Lullaby League"
1994-2003 Touched by an Angel Tess Main role (211 episodes)
1996-1998 Promised Land Tess Recurring role (6 episodes)
1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child The Blues Fairy (voice) Episode: "Pinocchio"
1997 Match Made in Heaven, AA Match Made in Heaven Katie Beale TV film
1997 Miracle in the Woods Lilly Cooper TV film
1998 Emma's Wish Mona Washburn TV film
1998 Mama Flora's Family Nana Fleming TV film
1999 Secret Path, TheThe Secret Path Honey TV film
1999 Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters First 100 Years Martha Logan TV film
1999 Anya's Bell Anya Herpick TV film
2000 Moving of Sophia Myles, TheThe Moving of Sophia Myles Sophia Myles TV film
2006 That's So Raven Miss Rhonnie Wilcox Episode: "The Four Aces"
2009 Young and the Restless, TheThe Young and the Restless Aunt Virginia TV series
2010 Detroit 1-8-7 Lorraine Henderson Episode: "Shelter"
2011 Hallelujah Dulcie Prejean TV film
2012 Christmas Angel Elsie Waybright TV film
2013 Dear Secret Santa Linda TV film
2013 Miracle at Gate 213 Alma Peddington TV film
2014 Signed, Sealed, Delivered Cora Brandt Episodes: "Soulmates", "The Masterpiece"

Awards and nominations

Awards
Nominations

References

  1. 1 2 Andrea LeVasseur (2009). "Della Reese: Biography". All Movie Guide. MSN. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  2. ↑ "Della (1969)". Internet Movie Database. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  3. ↑ (Video). Della Reese interview with Tavis Smiley. June 12, 2009. Tavis Smiley Late Night. PBS.
  4. ↑ "Della Reese Biography". filmreference. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  5. ↑ Hilary de Vries (June 14, 1998). "Della Reese: Earning Her Wings". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  6. ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 117. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  7. ↑ "Music". dellareese.com. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  8. ↑ "Della" Talk Show on IMDb Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Deloreese Daniels Owens's Story", Cushing's.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Jessie Carney Smith (1996). Notable Black American Women. VNR AG. p. 546. ISBN 978-0-8103-9177-2.
  11. ↑ Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 138.
  12. ↑ Jet, 25 August 1977, page 58
  13. ↑ Jet, 11 February 1960
  14. ↑ Andy Gregory (2002). The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002. Psychology Press. p. 425. ISBN 978-1-85743-161-2.
  15. ↑ "Ministry". dellareese.com. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  16. ↑ "Ministry: Biography". Understanding Principles for Better Living Church. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  17. ↑ "Della Reese Presenting Her Accomplished 80 Years Of Life In Song For 'I'm Still Here' Performance At Catalina Jazz Club « 94.7 The WAVE". 947thewave.cbslocal.com. 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  18. ↑ Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated
  19. ↑ Radar Staff (August 29, 2016). "Calling All Angels! Sickly Della Reese Admits: 'My Life is at State'". Radar Online. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  20. ↑ Radar Staff (August 29, 2016). "Calling All Angels! Sickly Della Reese Admits: 'My Life is at State'". Radar Online. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  21. ↑ Victoria Uwumarogie (August 31, 2016). "Della Reese Reportedly In Bad Shape: "I Don't Have Type 2 Diabetes — Type 2 Diabetes Has Me"". Madamenoire. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
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