The Incomparable Pearl Bailey Dies
by: Dr. Clint Wilson
Although she was an entertainment figure of immense fame and popularity, Pearl Bailey endeared herself to people because of her down-to-earth personality and her death saddened a nation that was ill prepared for her demise.
She had performed in venues that ranged from Black Washington, D.C.’s U Street to Broadway and the great and humble alike were enraptured. Bailey was a singer and actor who served as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations under presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush. ''Pearlie Mae'' -- as she liked to be called -- earned her bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University at an age when most people are thinking of retirement.
Among other places, Pearl Bailey’s death was reported from Hollywood and the Los Angeles Sentinel eulogized her for fans around the world.
FRIENDS, FAMILY REMEMBER LEGENDARY PEARL BAILEY
Pearl Bailey, the superstar entertainer, died in the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia at 6:12 p.m.., on Friday, August 17. Following an autopsy, Dr. Emanuel Rubin, professor and chairman of the Department of Pathology at Jefferson Medical ...
1990 - Curtis Mayfield Seriously Injured Only a week before Pearl Bailey’s death, rhythm and blues singer and composer Curtis Mayfield was paralyzed in an accident as he prepared to appear in a concert.
...
1883 - Agitating for Black Rights
Outspoken Black journalist T. Thomas Fortune urged his people to continue agitation for civil rights in America before the turn of the 20th century.
...
