Della Reese

Della Reese
Della Reese

Reese in July 2009
Background information
Birth name Delloreese Patricia Early
Born July 6, 1931 (1931-07-06) (age 80)[1]
Origin Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres Gospel, pop, jazz, R&B, traditional pop
Occupations Singer, actress, minister, game show panelist
Years active 1953–present
Labels Jubilee Records
RCA Records
Associated acts Mahalia Jackson
Erskine Hawkins
Website www.DellaReese.com

Delloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese (born July 6, 1931),[1] is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You Know?". In her four decades of acting, she gained a whole new generation of fans in the 1990s, playing Tess, the leading role on the television show Touched by an Angel. In the late 1960s, she hosted her own talk show, Della, which ran for 297 episodes.[2][3] In more recent times, she became an ordained New Thought minister in the Understanding Principles for Better Living Church in Los Angeles, California.

Contents

Early years

Reese was born Delloreese Patricia Early in the historic Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan to African American steelworker, Richard Thaddeus Early, and Nellie Mitchelle, a Native American (Cherokee) cook.[4][5] Deloreese's mother also had several older children, before her birth, all of whom did not live with her, hence, she was an only child.[6] At only six years old, she began singing in church. From this experience, she became an avid gospel singer. As a young lady of the 1940s, on the weekends, she and her mother would go to the movies, independently, to watch the likes of: Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Lena Horne, each of whom had portrayed glamourous lives on-screen. After each movie, she would act out the scenes taken from every single film. In 1944, she began her career directing the young people's choir, after she'd nurtured acting plus her obvious musical talent. She was often chosen on radio, as a regular singer.[6] At the age of thirteen, she was hired to sing with Mahalia Jackson's gospel group. Upon entering Detroit's popular Cass Technical High School (where she attended the same high with an unknown star, Edna Rae Gillooly, later known as: Ellen Burstyn). At Cass Tech, she was a brilliant, no-nonsense student. 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.[6] Afterwards, she formed her own gospel group called 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 Deloreese's memory of her mother, she also moved out of her father's house, due to her feuding with her father, who had a new girlfriend. She then took on odd jobs such as truck driver, dental receptionist, even elevator operator, after 1949.[6]

Performing in clubs, Early soon realized that she had no choice but to shorten her name from Delloreese Early to Della Reese, knowing that her birth name was too long for a club marquee.

Musical career

Reese in the 1950s.

Reese was discovered by the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, and big break came when she won a contest, which gave her a week to sing at Detroit's well-known and talked-about 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 great 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 (1937 song)," "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm," and "Time after Time (1947 song)." Although the EP did not enter the charts, it sold 500,000 copies, and the songs were later included on the 1959 album "And That Reminds Me."

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 a 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, which were then called the "Black Singles Charts," that year. 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), and 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).

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 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]

Television career

Reese did some commercial work for Kraft Foods in 1977.

In 1969, Reese began a transition into acting work which would eventually lead to her greatest fame. Her first attempt at television stardom was a 1969 eponymously titled variety series, which was canceled after one season.

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 she played the mother of B. A. Baracus in The A-Team episode "Lease with an Option to Die." In 1991, she starred opposite 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 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 was seen doing a fight scene with Eddie Murphy.

Reese appeared as a panelist on several episodes of the popular television game show Match Game and was featured on That's So Raven in The Four Aces. On May 18, 2009, she guest starred on the daytime drama The Young and the Restless as Virginia Hamilton.

No-nonsense character actress

Reese also had a wide variety of guest-starring roles, beginning with an episode of The Mod Squad. This led to other roles such 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, 2 episodes of The Love Boat. She also had a recurring role on It Takes Two opposite Richard Crenna and Patty Duke, 3 episodes of Crazy Like a Fox, 4 episodes of Charlie & Co. opposite Flip Wilson, 227 with best friend Marla Gibbs, MacGyver, Night Court, Dream On, Designing Women, Picket Fences. She also had a recurring role as Tess, on Promised Land with Wendy Phillips and Gerald McRaney, among many others.

Touched by an Angel

After coping with the death of one of her best friends, Redd Foxx, in 1991, she was reluctant to have an older female lead in Touched by an Angel, but went ahead and auditioned for Tess. She wanted to have a one-shot agreement between CBS and producer Martha Williamson, but ordered more episodes. She portrayed the character of Tess on the inspirational television drama Touched by an Angel. Reese was widely seen as a key component of the show's success.

Already starring on Touched by an Angel was an unfamiliar Irish actress and future wife of reality television shows producer (Mark Burnett), Roma Downey, who played the role of a case worker Tess's angel/employee, Monica. In numerous interviews, there was an on- and off-screen chemistry of both Reese & Downey, as the two clicked as second mother and second daughter of any other 1990s TV series, when Reese was playing the boss whilst Downey played employee.

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, had no-nonsense, but always had an 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 balanced the emotional tone of the show, and was portrayed by Reese as down to earth, experienced, and direct.

The series introduced Reese to a new young fan base, and added to her appeal with television viewers who remembered her earlier career highlights. 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 had been skeptical about the new drama, it being the second prime-time fantasy series (after Highway to Heaven, being the first) that talked about God. The program featured kind-hearted angels who appeared on Earth, and helped guide people in their toughest moments. The show also had a rocky start, and was not a ratings winner, hence, they cancelled it after the first season with only 11 episodes, but with the help of die hard fans and massive letter-writing, the show resuscitated, the following season, and became a huge ratings winner for the next seven seasons. The same year, unfamiliar actor John Dye played Andrew. Though he was a handsome actor, there had been threats to the familiar TV star. At the beginning of the fourth season in 1997, unlike her co-stars making more money, Reese was offered a lesser salary, hence, she threatened to leave the Angel set. Angry about the imbalance of her paycheck, Reese fought with both CBS and Williamson, and she continued playing Tess until the end, having raised her salary.[8]

During its final season in 2002, Touched by an Angel CBS decided to cancel the show after nine seasons and 212 episodes. Despite the show being cancelled, it continued re-running heavily into syndication and on The Hallmark Channel.

Roma Downey said of her on- and off-screen relationship with Reese, who had adopted her as a daughter: "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." The last thing Downey said about her TV boss/mother was that she could be as loving as her mentor's Jesus: "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."[8]

Personal life

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Reese's mother, Nellie Mitchelle Early, died in 1949 of a cerebral hemorrhage, at the time, Reese was only 18.

Reese's father, Richard Early, died in 1959.

Reese had an adoptive daughter, Deloreese Daniels Owens, in 1961, who died on March 14, 2002, after complications stemming from pituitary disease. She 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 1979, after taping a guest spot for The Tonight Show, she suffered a nearly fatal brain aneurysm, but made a full recovery after two operations 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. 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 women of African-American descent.

Reese was ordained as a minister in 2010, after serving as the senior minister and founder of the Understanding Principles for Better Living Church, an independent "Christian New Thought" congregation, which currently meets at First Lutheran Church (www.firsting.org) in Inglewood, California.[10] In her ministerial work, she is known as the Rev. Dr. Della Reese Lett.[11]

Discography

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1968 The Mod Squad Rose Episode: "Find Tara Chapman!"
1970 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Grace Dayton Episode: "Killer on the Loose"
1971 Getting Together Episode: "Singing the Blues"
1973 Voyage of the Yes Opal Parker TV movies
Daddy's Girl Diane
1974 Twice in a Lifetime Flo
Police Woman Tina Thompson Episode: "Requiem for Bored Wives"
McCloud Police Sgt. Gladys Harris Episode: "This Must be the Alamo"
1975 Petrocelli Angela Damon Episode: "Once Upon a Victim"
Joe Forrester Episode: "The Return of Joe Forrester"
Police Story
Cop on the Beat Claudine TV movie
The Rookies Landers Episode: "Ladies Day"
Psychic Killer Mrs. Gibson
Chico and the Man Della Rogers 1975-1978 (27 episodes)
1976 McCloud Police Sgt. Gladys Harris Episode: "The Day New York Turned Blue"
Medical Center Captain Sykes Episode: "Major Annie, MD"
Flo's Place Flo TV movies
Nightmare in Badham County Sarah
1978 Vega$ Ernie Episode: "Lost Women"
1979 Welcome Back, Kotter Mrs. Tremaine Episode: "Come Back, Little Arnold"
Episode: "The Gang Show"
1980 Insight The Judge Episode: "God in the Dock"
1982 The Love Boat Millie Washington 2 episodes
It Takes Two Judge Caroline Phillips Episode: "Promises in the Dark"
1983 Episode: "Looks Bad, Feels Good"
Episode: "Rhythm Blues"
Episode: "Instinct"
1985 The A-Team Mrs. Baracus Episode: "Lease with an Option to Die"
Crazy Like a Fox Episode: "A Fox at the Races"
1986 Episode: "Fox Hunt"
Episode: "Is There a Fox in the House?"
Charlie & Co. Aunt Rachel 4 episodes
ABC Afterschool Specials Aunt Faith Episode: "The Gift of Amazing Grace"
1987 227 Rita Episode: "Far from the Tree"
1988 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Additional Voices TV series
1989 Night Court Aunt Ruth Episode: "Auntie Maim"
Harlem Nights Vera
1990 227 Grace Episode: "Where Do We Go from Here?"
The Kid Who Loved Christmas Alicia Slater TV movie
The Young Riders Stagecoach Sally Episode: "Born to Hang"
MacGyver Mama Colton Episode: "Squeeze Play"
1991 Episode: "The Coltons"
Married People Episode: "Dance Ten, Friends Zero"
The Royal Family Victoria Royal 1991-1992 (15 episodes)
1992 Dream On Receptionist Episode: "No Deposit, No Return"
The Distinguished Gentleman Elevator Operator (uncredited)
1993 Designing Women Mrs. Toussant Episode: "Wedding Redux"
L.A. Law Lucille Lake Episode: "Vindaloo in the Villows"
Picket Fences Naomi Grand Episode: "The Lullaby League"
1994 Touched by an Angel Tess 1994-2003 (212 episodes)
1996 Promised Land 1996-1998 (5 episodes)
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate Ma Wright
1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child The Blues Fairy Episode: "Pinocchio"
A Match Made in Heaven Katie Beale TV movies
Miracle in the Woods Lilly Cooper
1998 Emma's Wish Mona Washburn
Mama Flora's Family Nana Fleming
1999 Chasing Secrets Honey
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years Martha Logan
Anya's Bell Anya Herpick
2000 The Moving of Sophia Myles Sophia Myles
Dinosaur Eema (voice)
2005 Beauty Shop Mrs. Towner
2006 That's So Raven Miss Rhonnie Wilcox Episode: "The Four Aces"
2007 If I Had Known I Was a Genius Nana
2009 The Young and the Restless Aunt Virginia 2 episodes
2010 Expecting Mary Doris Dorkus

Awards and nominations

Awards
  • 1994: Hollywood Walk of Fame: 7060 Hollywood Boulevard – Television
  • 1996: Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama SeriesTouched by an Angel
  • 1997: Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series – Touched by an Angel
  • 1998: Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series – Touched by an Angel
  • 1999: Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series – Touched by an Angel
  • 2000: Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series – Touched by an Angel
  • 2001: Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series – Touched by an Angel
  • 2002: Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series – Touched by an Angel
Nominations

References

  1. ^ a b Andrea LeVasseur (2009). "Della Reese: Biography". All Movie Guide. MSN. http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity-biography/della-reese. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
  2. ^ "Della (1969)". Internet Movie Database. 2009. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063892. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
  3. ^ Colson Whitehead and Della Reese (12 June 2009) (Video). Interview with Tavis Smiley. Tavis Smiley Late Night. PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=tavi08s29c1q9d6. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
  4. ^ "Della Reese Biography". filmreference. 2009. http://www.filmreference.com/film/64/Della-Reese.html. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
  5. ^ Hilary de Vries (14 June 1998). "Della Reese: Earning Her Wings". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/14/tv/cover-story-della-reese-earning-her-wings.html. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
  6. ^ a b c d http://www.biography.com/
  7. ^ "Music". dellareese.com. 2009. http://www.dellareese.com/html/music.html. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
  8. ^ a b http://www.biography.com
  9. ^ http://www.cushings-help.com/reese.htm
  10. ^ "Ministry". dellareese.com. 2009. http://www.dellareese.com/html/minst.html. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
  11. ^ "Ministry: Biography". Understanding Principles for Better Living Church. 2009. http://www.upchurch.org/index.php?page=home. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 

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