Let's talk about the great Ethel Waters!

suppertime

One of my favorite singers. She drew colors and textures from songs that even the writers didn't know were there. Unfortunately, she stopped recording in her later life, so there are few major examples of her singing after a certain time. She was also a superb actress; contemporaries raved about her role in Mamba's Daughters. And if you haven't seen her in Member of the Wedding, go there now.

Unfortunately, she was known to be truly difficult, even nasty , and in her later years embraced Christianity a la Billy Graham and lost the salty sexuality of her early persona. But in her heyday, must have been something to see!

The bio Heat Wave Donald Bogle is recommended.

She will always be "Beulah" to me.

Openly bisexual? She was full on lez. Famously spurned by Lena Horne.

Ethel also hated Lena for bringing on the sexy in CABIN IN THE SKY, while Ethel had to play the housewife.

Her commercials for Jello Custard will never be forgotten.

I find it fascinating that she hated Lena Horne during the film of Cabin In the Sky. Lena, another singer who cited Ethel as a significant influence, gave her the highest praise by saying that, "Ethel Waters was the mother of us all." I hope that Ethel reconciled with Lena Horne later in life considering how Lena and others revered her. (Lena said that she was so moved by Ethel singing "Stormy Weather" at The Cotton Club that she wanted to do a version of the song as a tribute to Ethel. Of course, Stormy Weather became Lena's signature song afterwards, which probably made Ethel abhorred her even more.)

Ethel did the definitive version of I Got Rhythm, even showcasing some scatting near the bridge. (Jazz historians say that she was the first singer to introduce that style of singing on record.)

She'sh mishpronounshing the lyricsh! Sheesh!

The shong really goesh like thish:

"Here I go again,

I hear thoshe trumpetsh blow again

All aglow again,

Taking a chanshe on love!"

Ethel was such a raving megabitch she even scared John Ford, the nastiest man alive, and made him turn tail and run from directing "Pinky."

Crystal Waters (of "Gypsy Woman" fame) is her grandniece.

The photo accompanying the Stormy Weather recording is NOT Ethel Waters.

There is no link to an Ethel Waters recording of "Stormy Weather" yet, r7.

I love that this thread gets an “Elder Gay” tag!

R3 The Decades network was showing a couple of episodes of "Beulah" a few weeks ago. The idiot presenter (and the person who wrote her material) went on an on about Ethel Waters starring in the title role, all the while showing pictures of Hattie McDaniel in the background. And then of course, both episodes starred McDaniel and not Waters. I guess Decades thinks black actresses are interchangeable.

R14, I saw a Youtube interview with some young guy talking to Butterfly McQueen, and to round out the interview he thanked Ms. McDaniel for her time. Butterfly looked so hurt by that.

I love that clip of OP's! Ethel is just so engaging, you feel watching her that you are in the best of hands. And just who is that adorable young guy with the Jeri-curled hair who shows up with Rochester at Ethel's kitchen door?

In terms of her supposed "nastiness" I can only imagine how difficult and confusing her life was, adored as a star onstage but forbidden to attend many of the public places her audiences casually enjoyed. And not being a classic beauty or sex symbol like Lena Horne, she probably felt second rate in most of her Hollywood endeavors.

R4 And the proof that she was gay is where

Her first memoir, His Eye Is On The Sparrow, is fantastic, about life and show business back in the day. Great read.

Her second memoir, To Me It's Wonderful, is about the last years of her life with Billy Graham. It doesn't pack the wallop of her first book but it's interesting in its own way.

In the latter part of her life Ethel Waters was pretty much washed up in show business. Being quite religious she connected with Billy Graham, went on crusades with him and became part of his team. It gave her a new lease on life and sustained her in her old age.

Yup, lots of rumors that Ethel Waters was bisexual back in the day and liked to dally with the ladies. But all of that disappeared when she got older and quite religious. It was never addressed in either of her books.

Ethel Waters was married 3 times (none of them lasted very long) and she had no children. Died when she was 80.