Miss Diahann Carroll - DL Should Discuss Her More

[quote]Fabulous, nothing by fabulous.

Stunning.

She hates burnt champagne!

As big of a cunt as Miss Denied Warwick.

And she can't sang.

She had an innate poise and elegance.

This is a revealing look at Carroll, both the person and the star, from the former child actor who played her son on Julia.

Get out your handkerchiefs.

"I don't sleep IN my clothes, nor do I sleep WITH them."

only one nomination

I saw her live once and literally let out a gay gasp when she first appeared on stage. Absolutely stunning and a terrific actress.

Truman Capote said she did the best version of “A Sleepin Bee.”

I never cared for her, she wasn't a good actress. Don't kill me but she was the first DEI hire. She became media heavy for that reason. That's my only gripe. My opinion had nothing to do with race. Hell, Butterfly Mc Queen put her to shame with acting in GWTW. I loved her. And that was long before.

Okay, r11...uh...thank you for sharing.

No Strings

Oh yes. The black one.

Always looked like she had a blast on Carol Burnett.

She really was. Plus I always thought she had this underlying sultry grace, besides being so incredibly talented and glamorous.

I use to see her at Pavillions in Weho. Always dressed to the nines! Very chic.

I did feel that she was slumming on Dynasty. She deserved better.

I read her autobiography (I know - Mary!). It was so full of negativity she could have called it “ Sour Grapes “.

Loved her appearance in "Eve's Bayou." Completely unexpected.

Also enjoyed when she worked on "White Collar" and her public support of gay actor Matt Bomer.

Glad she made up with her daughter before she passed.

link below .......early years on Arthur Godfrey/ w/ McGuire Sisters

No one is going to mention her reputation as one of the rudest and most unpleasant celebrities on the planet?

Anyway I liked her in Paris Blues with Sidney Poitier and Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.

She did soapy cat fights well with Joan Collins on "Dynasty."

I was a waiter in the late 80s, early 90s and used to wait on Miss Diahann. Oy, what a mess! She was a loud, screeching drunken harpy, and NOT nice!

She was the biggest pain in the ass and mean!

Diahann Carroll came to the surface, I believe, when Dorothy Dandridge fell out of favor with the white audience. Carroll was more of a mammy type- pretty, talented in some ways, and harmless. But for all the problems with her- she was excellent in "Claudine".

Pure class.

Always carried herself with grace and dignity. Besties with Dionne Warwick. I wonder what their lunches were like?

She was gorgeous. The kind of woman really dark black men like on their arm.

Ummm-she’s dead.

She did a talk at SAG in which she said she’d never eaten at McDonald’s” because she “didn’t want certain things in her life.”

That always gave me a laugh. When she’s saying it, it’s like she’s actually talking about shit.

She and Patti LaBelle were quite fun together on “A Different World”. Their Thanksgiving kitchen battle was hilarious.

She has an exceptionally high opinion of herself

She crashed Aaron Spelling's party to get her part as Dominique Devereaux.

Diahann Carroll recalls crashing Aaron Spelling party for 'Dynasty' role (1985)

[quote]She did a talk at SAG in which she said she’d never eaten at McDonald’s” because she “didn’t want certain things in her life.”

Oh, brother! Yet she could suck down a whole bottle of Pinot Grigio on a regular basis! She certainly like booze in her life!

Her devastating final scene in the Toronto/Vancouver production of "Sunset Boulevard."

R34. I didn't know Sunset Boulevard was about Leigh Bowery.

What is that grey wig on Diahann in that "Sunset" clip!

She looks like a drunken squirrel.

"...but when I did find that special someone I must bring them over so that she could meet them and give her approval."

What's that with the gender neutral pronouns for his "someone special".

OP, beautiful picture. Her pose shows her body to perfection.

I agree she wasn't a great actress but many times she was serviceable. In the Sunset Clip she is planing it too old and it's quite lousy acting IMO. Her makeup is terrible so that's not helping.

Her engagement to David Frost was big news...

I never liked her. She was the bougeiest black actress ever. I didn’t think she was particularly good looking either. I remember reading how she said she would shade her nose because she wanted it to look like a white persons. Dorothy Dandrige was 100 times more beautiful than she was. It’s apparent in the movie Carmen. Diahann looked almost homely next to Dorothy who was naturally beautiful and incredibly sexy. A better actress too.

Her nose did become very very small.

[quote] Truman Capote said she did the best version of “A Sleepin Bee.”

She originated the song in the 1954 show "House of Flowers." All subsequent versions, including Streisand's, were imitations of Carroll's vocal arrangement.

[quote] Diahann Carroll came to the surface, I believe, when Dorothy Dandridge fell out of favor with the white audience. Carroll was more of a mammy type- pretty, talented in some ways, and harmless. But for all the problems with her- she was excellent in "Claudine".

Dandridge was about 10 years older than Carroll. I don't know what is meant by "mammy-type" but very early in her career Carroll was fashioned as the first Black glamour-girl ingenue. She was that onstage, onscreen and as a performer. In that regard her image and industry status was more refined than Dandridge, or Eartha Kitt, both of whom were more harlot than ingenue. In 1962, she won a Tony for "No Strings" and was the first Black woman to win in a lead actress category. But for her choices in men, she had a "problem-free" 65 year entertainment career, winning or being nominated for most major awards. Notably, she was the first "non-Mammy" Black woman to headline a network television show.

In the mid-2000s, I saw her perform at the cabaret venue in what is now the Loew's Regency in NYC. It was heralded as her performing "comeback" and she was in her early 70s. She made the most breathtaking entrance I've ever seen. It was a small, very crowded room, loud with conservation and silverware hitting dishes. She was announced, a few minutes passed and the room went completely pitch-black dark like there was a power failure. Just before panic could set in, a spotlight hit the middle of the room and there she was -- no more than 12 feet away -- the most gorgeous, glamorous, regal woman I've ever seen. She was in fantastic voice that evening. I've seen them all and she was one of the best.

Claudine is a perfect movie, with sexy Diahann and James Earl Jones.

From the Judy Garland Show:

She had everything - including huge attitude - but little charisma. She did everything right, but it just didn’t happen on stage or TV. I’m a star, I’m a star, I’m a STAR, but not much true star quality.

Great and funny interview with Miss Carroll in good spirits.

It starts of with a great bit poking fun at Oprahs Legends Ball . At some point the interviewer mentions that some folks think that Big O should run for president and Miss Carroll turns to the audience and says: "Don´t applaud that!.....Oprah is a m.e.r.c.h.a.n.d.i.s.e.r"

This is the only place where I've ever heard that Miss Carroll was difficult and diva. I think we may have some unreliable narrators here.

As a young'un my cousin gave me her Diahann Carroll barbie doll (she was dressed like Julia the nurse). She was by far my most favorite doll, made my Barbie and Ken dolls look really unsophisticated, and totally rocked driving the Barbie TransAm. Loved her.

But for Dynasty i wouldnt have heard of her. She never seemed integrated in that show. It felt like the way Nilolette Sheridan was clinging on in Desperate Housewives. I dont recall any regular scenes other than stand offs with Joan. I imagine they liked each other but i never hear her mentioned by the cast in interviews. Maybe she was born too soon. Shed probably be oscar nominated nowadays; rightly so. Shed also have been great as the matriarch of Beyond the gates or whatever its called and might have gotten night time status. Was she ultimately wasted in Dynasty?

[quote]This is the only place where I've ever heard that Miss Carroll was difficult and diva.

Oh, aren't you darling!

You must not get out much.

R29’s quote made me spit-laugh. LOL! Those old divas and actresses could toss shade with the precision of a surgeon’s razor.

..and she prefers beluga caviar!

A friend of mine went to see her in concert in the late 70s. The audience wasn’t responding to her liking, and she yelled at them “What are y’all - a bunch of fags?”

That never happened r53.

[quote] But for Dynasty i wouldnt have heard of her. She never seemed integrated in that show. It felt like the way Nilolette Sheridan was clinging on in Desperate Housewives.

The network and production company received a lot of hate mail about her character. Dominique was too grand, too assertive and too "uppity" for racist viewers and they let their displeasure be known. So they had to keep minimizing her character. Towards the end of her run she had morphed into a kindly "Aunt Dominique" who was just there to be helpful to the white actors.

r3 and r52

never forget

[Quote] Besties with Dionne Warwick

Lmao!

Fuck, like I have time to keep setting the fucking record straight with all you hateful bents.

Damned buttons on this phone. I can't see any of them since I stepped on my cheaters.

Signed now for R58 and copywrite se-cured.

Oh. She treated black men like white women did. Come in the back door and when I'm done with you get out.

But class is class.

Followed her whole glamorous career. Loved her final role as June Ellington. Great chemistry with Matt Bomer’s Neal Caffrey.

And with Mozzie played by Willie Garson (also dead now). They played games like CandyLand and had a book club. Both were proficient pick pockets & con artists.

She was announced for both the James Earl Jones On Golden Pond (which she may have even started rehearsal for, but did not perform) that ended up starring Leslie Uggams, and the Denzel Raisin in the Sun which ended up starring LaTanya Richardson Jackson. She bowed out of both. Her last theatre appearance in New York was a few weeks in The Vagina Monologues, where the actors had the safety net of reading their dialogue from cards.

R43 I saw her show at Feinstein's twice and it remains one of the best nightclub acts I've ever seen. She brought a large band for that space: nine players plus a conductor if I'm remembering correctly, when many performers in that space would just use a trio, quartet, or quintet. Carroll could really sing, she received the Metropolitan Opera's scholarship to the NY High School of Music and Art and had a seamless voice with solid technique.

There are stories of her being a bit distant at times, but she was certainly capable of being nice to fans after a show, while standing her ground when she had to. She must have gotten tired of people asking her race-related questions about her work. Her two autobiographies reveal a lot about her personality.

"Feinstein's" !!!!! Thank you, r63. I could not remember the name. The night I saw her, Barbara Walters was in attendance. Yes, she was on top of the world during that engagement.

Was she having an affair with composer Richard Rodgers when they did NO STRINGS on Broadway? I'm not sure if it's ever been verified though I believe Rodgers' daughter Mary Rodgers wrote about it in her bio, SHY (though now I can't remember what she said. Oy, I'm getting old!)

Either way, Diahann certainly had the talent to carry off the role and his music.

R65. I'm listening to "Shy" right now and Mary Rodgers claims that her father always had affairs, but that Diahann was the most relevant and significant. There were real feelings there.

Affair?! That is a surprise to me. Carroll always spoke of Rodgers with reverence but with a twinge of contempt. She recounted in her first autobiography the during the "No Strings" tryout in Detroit, a local socialite invited the entire cast to her home except Carroll. She did not want to expose her children to Black people who were not servants. Rodgers and the rest of the cast attended. Rodgers dismissed the slight to Carroll as inconsequential. Also, Rodgers was as old as her father, and she was juggling her husband and an adulterous affair with Sidney Poitier at the time. I wonder if Mary knew what she was talking about.

R67 so she WAS a whore

Uppity. Treated others badly. Not a gay icon.

R46 I watched that entire video. The flowers they gave her at the end looked like something you would pick up "last-minute" at Trader Joe's.

R67. Richard Rodgers was a son of a bitch to begin with. I don't think it shocking that in that time period he would turn the other way if high society, the people who were responsible for his career and popularity, practiced racism. Hell, Lorenz Hart was his musical partner for many years and Rodgers had no qualms calling him the F word.

Wasn't she supposed to be Kirby's mother on Dynasty, but they rewrote it?

Damn, her figure in OP is something else. Marilyn Monroe’s curves applied to Audrey Hepburn lines.

R67 It's pretty well known she had an affair with Rodgers.

R67, Diahann spoke of most people with contempt

She was somewhat haughty. I was surprised when she did the movie, Claudine (1974) about an inner city woman who had kids, and was on welfare. It was about as believable as Mary Tyler Moore playing a woman with six kids, on welfare.

*an inner city woman who had six kids

Diahann was extremely AFFECTED, like the opposite way that Lena Horne (in her later years) was affected.

Was just watching an old Tony awards where she sang ‘’ Sleeping Bee’’ from “ House of Flowers’’ Wonderful. So beautiful and talented.

R76 it’s called acting

Saw her in person once at the Santa Barbara Builtmore when I was working there in my youth. It was their famous Sunday brunch at the time and celebs showed up on a regular basis. That was before Montecito got infested with Ellen, Oprah and dozens of others from Hollywood. She was wearing a big hat and still filming Dynasty.

stunning 🤩 pic

R53 you quit that right now.

R80 Katharine Hepburn playing a hillbilly faith healer in Spitfire (1934) was also called acting. Doesn't mean it made sense.

Gershwin with Sammy Davis, Jr. on her variety show.

She was a boojie bitch.

Gershwin???

[quote] [R76] it’s called acting

"It's called acting, darling."

FIFY

[quote] Diahann was extremely AFFECTED, like the opposite way that Lena Horne (in her later years) was affected.

False! She was in real-life pretty close to Dominique Devereaux in manner, disposition and temperament. And long before that character was created.

[quote] Gershwin???

The composer of "Porgy and Bess"? Ring a bell?

Sammy Davis Jr. used his considerable (for the time) clout in Vegas to get Diahann Carroll, Shirley Bassey and Lola Falana gigs in some of the more prestigious venues in Vegas.

[quote]Diahann spoke of most people with contempt

Or in other words, she would have fit in perfectly on Datalounge.

She shit in my wig!

Was Diahann affected or was she naturally "that way?"

“Nothing by fabulous”? Did you mean “Nothing but fabulous”?

[quote]R22 No one is going to mention her reputation as one of the rudest and most unpleasant celebrities on the planet?

Well, she always came across as unnecessarily full of herself in interviews. I know that.

R90 I also was baffled by the post until I clicked on the link.

"Gershwin with Sammy Davis, Jr. on her variety show." Since George was dead, I wondered what it meant. Maybe Ira was a guest, along with Sammy?

If it had said "Gershwin medley" or something like that, it would have been clearer.

[Quote] Well, she always came across as unnecessarily full of herself

Are there people who are necessarily full of themselves?

[quote] Well, she always came across as unnecessarily full of herself in interviews. I know that.

Honey, if I had half of what Diahann Carroll had, I'd be unnecessarily full of myself too. She knew her worth.

Yes That photo of her is just stunning-can’t stop looking at it and clearly I’m gay-clearly.

I remember several of the ‘’Julia’’ episodes as a kid and she was wonderful-just ‘’ate that show up’’ I believe Lloyd Nolan was the Dr. she worked for-sweet story.