Della Reese

Singer and actress Deloreese Patricia Early, better known as Della Reese, was born in Detroit, Michigan on July 6, 1931. Reese began on the path that would lead her to show business by singing in her family's church at the age of 6. Her talents landed her to tour with gospel great Mahalia Jackson while still only a teenager. By 18, Reese had formed The Meditation Singers, the group that became the first to take gospel music to the night clubs of Las Vegas.

Reese began making records with the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra in the 1950s and produced such hits as "Don't You Know," and "That Reminds Me." She also began performing on television variety shows and was a regular guest on The Ed Sullivan Show.

In 1969 Reese became the first black woman to have her own television variety show, although the series was short-lived. The following year she became the first black woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Over the next two decades, she pursued acting and appeared in a number of TV series and movies, including Roots: The Next Generations, Chico and the Man, The Love Boat, Sanford and Son with her friend Redd Foxx and 227 with close friend Marla Gibbs. In 1989 she starred with Foxx, Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy in Harlem Nights—and stole the show with a hilarious fight scene with Murphy.

Reese had a number of health challenges over the years. In 1979 she suffered a brain aneurysm from which she made a full recovery. She announced in 2002 that she had Type 2 diabetes and subsequently became a spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association. Reese, who was married several times, adopted several children, including a daughter who died in 2002 from a pituitary disease.

From 1969 to 1970, she hosted a TV talk show while guest starring on many other shows into the 1980s, including Sanford and Son and Picket Fences. In 1987, she was nominated for a Best Female Soloist in Gospel Music Grammy Award, and in the 1990s, she landed a starring role on television's Touched By An Angel.

Reese published her autobiography, Angels Along the Way: My Life With Help From Above, in 1997. In it, she joyfully recalled the human angels who provided support and guidance—and miracles—in her own life.

In 1994 Reese received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was also one of 25 black female honorees at Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Ball in 2005.

Ms. Reese died on November 19, 2017 at the age of 86.

Photo and Info: Brown Sugar: Eighty Years of America's Black Female Superstars; by Donald Bogle and Monée Fields