Corey @ I'll Keep You Posted

THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC

It's not easy to upstage Diahann Carroll, but Marilyn Monroe dominates this whole photograph as she appears caught up in the magic of Carroll's spell.  The event was a birthday party for one of the Kennedy brothers (President John F., or brother Bobby) taken sometime between 1960-62.  Probably intoxicated with lust and certainly used to "black magic", Kennedy brother-in-law, actor Peter Lawford is seen standing right above Monroe wiping the sweat off his brow.  It just occured to me that that might be actress Joan Bennett seated next to Monroe.

Fredi's Got A Man: LAWRENCE BROWN

I still occasionally get emails from readers asking about the husbands or boyfriends of the old-time divas that appear on this blog like Nina Mae McKinney or Fredi Washington, and it's safe to assume that in order to be the man of such compelling women like the two aforementioned stars, he would have to have his own agenda in order.  Fredi Washington, who closely followed the McKinney idea in 1930's Hollywood of the next beautiful light-skinned black girl whom they might give a chance, soon found herself in the exact same predicament as her predecessor - no important film roles to follow that one initial breakthrough.  In Washington's case, it was Lawrence Brown, a talented musician who was making a name for himself with jazz innovator Louis Armstrong, who'd be there to help pick up the pieces - if she needed it!  And it was bandleader Duke Ellington, already recognized as a musical genius by the early 30's, who would see to it! 

It was no secret that Miss Washington and Mr. Ellington were involved in a semi-serious liaison as early as their 1929 pairing in the film short, Black and Tan.  Ellington was married and Fredi, not content to be his mistress, kept insisting that he divorce his wife, Edna, even though by this time, the marriage was in name only.  But no woman was bad, bold or beautiful enough to ever tell Ellington what to do and the relationship began to slowly deteriorate. 

Enter the extremely handsome and talented young trombonist, Lawrence Brown (standing over Duke's shoulder, right) in 1932.  Ellington was known to "pass" his lady friends off to various members of his band once he was "finished" with them, and there were at least five Ellingtonians who were married to women subsequent to their having affairs with their leader.  According to one source, Ellington and Washington (still hanging on) devised a plot where she would "fall in love" with Brown and marry him, thus having a reason to constantly be around by traveling with the band.  Regarding this fiasco, Washington is on record as saying "I guess I was still trying to be as close to Duke as I could."

In between the time, something happened to further sour the relationship and it devastated Fredi, so much so that she sailed to France to clear her head and plan her next move.  But something wasn't right from jump, because by the time she returned to the States, Ellington had already left his wife after a fight.  During the melee, Mrs. Ellington had slashed her husband's face, but Fredi also discovered that, in her absence, Ellington had taken up with one of her best friends, dancer Mildred Dixon.  They soon set up housekeeping, but the Washington-Ellington affair apparently hadn't quite burned out.  Regardless, in just a few years, Ellington would meet one of Dixon's Cotton Club colleague's, showgirl Evie Ellis, and true to form, leave Dixon (clothes, furniture and all) to move in with Ellis.

Brown and Washington were two extremely attractive people and it shouldn't be surprising that there were some sparks between them.  Fredi could be lively and fiesty but moody and melancholy, too.  Lawrence Brown was the quiet son of a minister.  He was known to disdain the party life and the raucousness of musicians on the road.  He was such a beautiful but quiet and unassuming man that some people thought that there was something "wrong with" him.  In other words, there must have been some initial whispers about his sexuality.  Many years later, Fredi's sister, actress/dancer Isabel Washington Powell, contradicted the earlier report and recalled that it was basically on a dare that Fredi set out to "prove" his so-called manhood and won the bet.  Lawrence Brown and Fredi Washington were married just a few months after they met in late 1933.  It is said that, at least for awhile, he absolutely adored her!

"I don't know you and I've never heard anything about you, but Mr. Mills says to get you, so come on in the band" supposedly, those were the first words Duke Ellington ever uttered to Lawrence Brown.  Not one to blindly invite random musicians into his prestigious roster, Ellington was still under the management of Irving Mills, a white music publisher who helped steal his money yet helped to build his career and provide many otherwise unattainable opportunities.  Out in California, Brown had become known as one of the standout musicians playing with Louis Armstrong at Sebastian's Cotton Club in Culver City during 1931.  When an unscrupulous, hot-head manager decided at the last minute to call an impromptu meeting on Easter Sunday, Brown, the son a minister, refused to attend and was unceremoniously fired from the group.  Mills, who had been studying Brown from the sidelines, jumped at the chance and incorporated him into the Ellington unit where he would quickly become a part of the famous Ellington sound for the next nineteen years. (Ellington's mighty brass section, shown above in the early 30's, left to right are Freddy Jenkins, Tricky Sam Nanton, Juan Tizol, Cootie Williams, Arthur Whetsol and Lawrence Brown, far right).

1932 was right at the advent of the Swing era. Not only did Brown join the group, but Ellington also acquired the effervescent Ivie Anderson, now known as the quintessential Ellington vocalist. They immediately recorded and released the song that started it all, It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing).  Ellington also issued timeless classics from the band that year including Solitude, Sophisticated Lady and Drop Me Off In Harlem, and the compositions, The Sheik of Araby and especially Slippery Horn were showcases for Lawrence Brown's virtuoso trumpet playing. The Ellington trombone section was soon unmatched in every way with the very distinctive voices of Brown, Juan Tizol and Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton. So much so that they were collectively known as God's Trombones!  (Left to right, Tricky Sam Nanton, Juan Tizol and Lawrence Brown, early 30s).

(Another early 30's shot with Brown at the far left, Tizol and Nanton, seated)

But it wasn't all peaches and cream between Brown and Ellington. They developed a highly professional but very contentious relationship, often not speaking to each other and communicating via a third party. The word is that Brown found out about his wife and his boss's shenanigans to "dupe" him into a marriage and grew increasingly salty.  Depending on the source, Fredi never really grew to love her husband and they ended up hating each other to the point that they "could have killed each other very happily and gone to prison the rest of their lives knowing they had done something worthwhile."  However, something had to have developed between them. It's said that Washington wrote Brown a letter a day for everyday that he was on the road with the Ellington band.  Part of their 1932-39 correspondence is now a part of the Fredi Washington Papers, housed at the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in New Orleans. The Brown's seperated in 1948 and were divorced by 1951.

Around the exact same time, Lawrence Brown was also deciding to divorce the Duke Ellington band.  He left with a small contingent of the orchestra, led by saxophonist Johnny Hodges in 1951.  It was during a time when most of the old big bands had already fallen out of public favor and were disbanding.  Perhaps due to an extremely high level of musicianship and an enduring appeal, Ellington's band was one of the relative few that survived. According to Brown, he was tired of playing the same thing every night and wanted a new opportunity to be more flexible with the Hodges small band.  After leaving Hodges in 1955, Brown worked as a session musician for CBS.  He rejoined Ellington in 1960 and stayed until he retired in 1970.  Lawrence Brown, the suave, debonaire but very reserved preacher's son passed away in 1988.  Fredi Washington, long since retired from the silver screen, remarried in the mid-50's to a dentist named Anthony H. Bell.  She passed away quietly in 1994 at the age of 90.

The full 1932 Ellington Orchestra; in foreground, from left is dancer Earl "Snakehips" Tucker, Juan Tizol, Artie Whetsol, Ivie Anderson, Wellman Braud, Ellington, center, Harry Carney, Freddie Jenkins, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Lawrence Brown (back) and Sonny Greer.

Mildred Dixon, Fredi's friend who was probably going with Ellington at the same time that Fredi was with him, and for whom he left his wife when Fredi couldn't get him to.

 

 

SNIFFIN' OUT THAT BEAVER!

Famous movie mega-maid, Louise Beavers, surrounded by a smiling, ravenous, wily wolf-pack, early 1940's.  Ah, wolves - good looking animals!  They'll eat anything when they get hungry enough. I'm told they're particulary fond of beaver.  That's Clarence Muse, the well-respected actor, at the far right wearing the big grin.  Maybe he caught the prey!

SOULJA BOYS

Three handsome, but unnamed World War II soldiers.  Teenie Harris, photographer, 1940-45.  Happy Memorial Day!

MALCOLM X: BIRTH AND LOSS

On May 19, 1925, Malcolm Little was born to Earl Little and Louise Norton Little in Omaha, Nebraska.  On February 21, 1965, the world lost Malcolm X, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.  Happy Birthday and Rest In Peace!

DONNA SUMMER 1948 - 2012

Here's to the LAST DANCE with the Queen of Disco!   Thank you for all those wonderful twirls on the dance floor!

 

 

 

 

Rest In Peace.

BROCK PETERS as Johnny in The L-Shaped Room.

I just finished watching The L-Shaped Room, the 1962 British film starring Leslie Caron and Tom Bell and I can't quite seem to get the stark realism of it out of my head.  The movie handles delicate subject matter such as pregnancy outside of marriage and abortion in such a straight-forward matter-of-fact way that Hollywood would have blanched at in 1962.  In fact, Leslie Caron is far, far from Hollywood as Jane Fossett, an unashamed unwed mother who decides to keep her baby after considering everyone else's advice on how to get rid of it.  There is no judgement nor sermonizing; it just IS, and everyone else seems to lay their cards out on the table in like fashion.

Spoiler Alert:  Single and two months pregnant, Jane moves into a roach and bedbug infested L-shaped London flat on the top floor of a run-down boarding house filled to the brim with other outsiders and misfits.  There are prostitutes with hearts of gold in the basement, an aging, lonely lesbian actress on the first floor (who provides one of the films most searing moments) and Toby, portrayed by Tom Bell, is a struggling, always down on his luck writer living on the second floor whom Jane quickly falls in love with. And then there's Johnny next door!

Brock Peters as Johnny, a West Indian jazz musician, is perhaps the most intriguing character in the movie because he isn't as transparent as the others.  He quickly becomes Jane's best friend, interior designer and trusting confidant - until he witnesses Jane and Toby having sex.  Johnny suddenly takes a vicious turn and tries to wreck havoc in the budding relationship between his two friends.  Ask any gay man who knows and he will tell you that there's something about the way Johnny did what he did, and the way he curses out Jane that says he's as much in love with Toby as she is. There are clues along the way; if you blink, you might miss a snatch of strange dialogue left hanging in the air between the two main characters as they discuss their friend Johnny.  He's so brotherly and sisterly at the same time!  In Peters' sensitive Johnny, we recognize certain mannerisms here or a certain touch there and we know we're watching an early film portrayal of a kindred spirit that comes off so natural, relaxed and unique that's just not common for 1962.

Made in the "kitchen sink drama" style of British films of the late 50's and early 60's, "a style of social realism, which often depicted the domestic situations of working class Britons living in rented accomodation and spending their off-hour drinking in grimy pubs to explore social issues and political controversies", The L-Shaped Room earned Leslie Caron a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Actress, and an Academy Award nomination in 1962. 

Cicely Courtneidge as Mavis, the nosy neighbor/fading actress who admits her truth to Caron's Jane is outstanding.  I've never ever seen a mediocre performance from Brock Peters, and Johnny is about as far from Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird as it gets, but if for no more than sheer versatility, Johnny ranks among his best performances.  Brock Peters worked pretty much consistently in Hollywood and on television until his death in 2005 at the age of 78, and Johnny is a testament to the talent and quiet dignity of Brock Peters, a great actor who never fully got his due.

FINE BROWN FRAME: James Edwards

1950's Black Hollywood Heartthrob, James Edwards. 

GOOD BLACK: Brock Peters

BROCK IS BEAUTIFUL!  Brock Peters, 1963?

ADELAIDE HALL, BLACKBIRD OF 1928

International Superstar, Adelaide Hall, in one of her signature costumes from Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1928.  Several of the photos used here were taken by Paul Walery and Manual Freres in Paris, around 1929.

Adelaide Hall, born in Brooklyn, raised in Harlem, first received major recognition as a dancer and cast member in the groundbreaking production of Shuffle Along in 1921. Written by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, with music and lyrics by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle,  the show was a wildly popular, all-black Broadway musical success story that, at one time or another, employed and helped introduce the likes of Florence Mills, Josephine Baker, Fredi Washington and Paul Robeson. In 1923, Miller and Lyles scored again with Running Wild, which turned out to be equally as acclaimed and successful.  In many ways, Running Wild epitomized the carefree, gin-soaked, and jazz-age decade of the 1920's by popularizing the notion of the independent flapper with the short skirt, and officially introducing the world to what is perhaps the greatest, well-known American dance, The Charleston.

Rudolph Valentino, the great Italian silent screen lover, and a dancer by trade, was captivated by the energy of the show, and of this new dance called the Charleston.  As a backer of the show, he was particularly fond of Miss Hall.  One day, he placed a call to Miller and Lyles  and had them send Adelaide to his hotel room in Manhattan ... to teach him the Charleston! Not surprisingly, Valentino proved himself to be a rapt, attentive and rather passionate student.  As she departed, he kissed Miss Hall's hand and the very next evening, a beautifully wrapped gift box arrived at her dressing room.  It was a large bottle of expensive French perfume with a handwritten note on parchment paper that read To my teacher, I will say my thank you's with perfume ... it lasts longer.  Love Rudolph Valentino.  (See The Elegance and Cool of VALENTINO)

With her high operatic tones, Adelaide Hall was sort of an early crossover artist who enjoyed immense popularity both in the segregated theatre and in mainstream entertainment. 1925's Chocolate Kiddies, gave Hall her first taste of global stardom and artistic freedom outside the confines of the states - a heady experience for many African American entertainers of the era. But Miss Hall soon reached the zenith of her early success in America in Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1928.  The most famous of the "Blackbird" revues, the score for the show is now part of the lexicon of American popular music for the 1920's with songs like Doing The New Low Down, I Can't Give You Anything But Love (attributed to Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh but actually written by Fats Waller) I Must Have That Man, and Digga Digga Do - all performed by Miss Hall. The show also boasted Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Earl "Snakehips" Tucker, Peg Leg Bates, and a very young, unknown Nina Mae McKinney in the chorus line.

1928 was a banner year for Adelaide Hall. Just the year before, she had recorded the iconic Creole Love Call with Duke Ellington's Orchestra, and it was still riding the crest of popularity.  She was a star in Harlem, on Broadway and in Europe, especially Paris, which was the beginning of a love affair that could only be consummated by leaving America for good, and in turn becoming an International Superstar!  Adelaide Hall died shortly before her 92 birthday in 1993.  She held the record for being the most consistently active cabaret performer with a career that was well into its eighth decade.

BALLARD AND BIRDSONG: This Magic Moment!

In the summer of 1975, Mary Wilson worked a little magic and pulled Florence Ballard on stage as a Supreme for one last time!  The Supremes (Wilson, Cindy Birdsong, who had replaced Florence in 1967, and Scherrie Payne, who had replaced Jean Terrell, who had replaced Diana Ross) were performing at Magic Mountain, an amusement park located just north of Los Angeles, and Ballard was there visiting. 

Florence had fallen on hard times financially, and had struggled with physical and emotional problems since being fired from The Supremes in 1967.  1975 was a particularly rough year, and Wilson, distressed over her old singing partner's present condition, invited Flo to spend the summer with her family in California.  There are stories of fans seeing Ballard walking backstage and through the crowds looking rather rough and tough for wear, but, to me, these photos suggest otherwise.  The visit with Wilson had its up and downs, but for one shining, magical moment, Florence Ballard held supreme with the group she named and helped found for the first time in eight years.  And she did it with the nice lady who replaced her in the group, Cindy Birdsong, the Good Supreme!

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have a surprise guest .... Miss Florence Ballard!" Wilson intoned to an audience of over 2,000.  The crowd went berserk and rushed the stage with cameras and cries of "Flo, we love you."  Florence was met with a thunderous ovation with love flooding the headlights.  She didn't sing a note!  All she did was beat a tambourine and dance around the stage, but that was good enough! There are varying stories of Ballard having stopped listening to the classic songs that helped to make her famous, and the word is during the classic group hits-medley that night, Ballard excused herself from the arena only to return when it was over.  Apparently, Wilson had no problem coaxing her onstage for the rousing finale, a rendition of the O'Jays hit, Love Train.  And in what must have been a glorious moment for everyone, there were tears in the eyes of those who watched the beleagured Ballard come full circle, and take her rightful place right alongside Cindy Birdsong for just one more magical moment.

 

AND I'M TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING

June 28, 1967.  Florence Ballard knew the hour and the day was coming. When she began to spot Cindy Birdsong sitting front and dead center in the audience studying her, she knew it was getting mighty damned close. She just didn't know when. Ballard was already telling people that she was going to tear down the mountains, yell, scream and shout and that she wasn't walking out, but when Berry Gordy finally dropped the axe, there was no fight left in her.  With bodyguards standing around to monitor her movements, there really wasn't much she could do but go back to her hotel room and get drunk. And that night, on the second show at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Florence Ballard was out of the group for good, and Cindy Birdsong, formerly of Patti Labelle and the Bluebelles, officially became a Supreme.

Days earlier, the cameras caught Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, Berry Gordy and Florence Ballard living the high and glamourous life in the hotel casino. No one would have known just by looking at them all the discord, arguments, insults, taunts, mistreatment, shade and self-destruction that was going on behind the scenes.  They were consummate professionals; the original Supremes could make anything look (and sound) beautiful!  Check out Flo's candelabra earrings and matching bracelet! Note her attempt to hold down her skirt or cover her legs.

The Supremes arrived fresh in Vegas from an engagement at New York's Copacabana, where they experienced unprecedented success.  During this time, Gordy and Ross were just beginning a stategic joint effort at making Miss Ross a solo star, while Mary Wilson was secretly teaching Cindy Birdsong, who was sequestered across the street at Caesar's Palace, the group harmonies and choreography.  Florence wasn't happy with any of it, said she wasn't having any of it, and had already had a serious run-in with Gordy. "Berry .... always said he wanted to control me, and if he couldn't control me, he didn't want me around" Flo said. He constantly harangued her about her weight and drinking issues; she threw her drinks in his face. Her relationship with Diana had slowly deteriorated to nothing.  She was angry and depressed and now only hanging on by a slender thread! 

However, on June 30, Florence experienced a high point during the run when everyone (except Gordy) got together to help celebrate her 24th birthday with a surprise party and a wild night of dancing at the local discotheques. Party guests included Wilson, Ross, Esther Gordy Edwards and Anna Gordy Gaye.

The legendary Joe Louis can be seen seated next to Diana Ross in this photo.

The next night at the Flamingo, they were dressed in silver lame' pantsuits with midriff tops (see addendum at end of article). "At this particular incident at the Flamingo in Las Vegas, I had me a few drinks .... and they kept calling me fat so much that I went onstage and I poked my stomach out as far as I could" Ballard confessed. Berry Gordy was furious and walked through the nightclub area cursing Ballard out.  "The girls" finished the show and Ballard retired to her dressing room.  When it came time for the second show of the evening, Ballard came out dressed in what she thought they were going to be wearing for that performance.  But they had switched costumes without notifying her! Cindy Birdsong was dressed in a matching dress and was poised to take her place that very night! 

Ballard was fired on the spot! Gordy told her if she went onstage that he would have her thrown off and she believed him.  Bodyguards moved in and surrounded Ballard. She was taken through the hotel kitchen, led to a service elevator and dropped off at her room. The next day they carried her out of the hotel, placed her tired and defeated body in a waiting limousine, and sent her back to Detroit.

That night, the group's name was officially changed to Diana Ross and The Supremes! The Supremes had reached the highest pinnacle of success and had almost singlehandedly ushered Motown and Mr. Gordy right into the reality of every crossover dream they ever dared to dream. They were currently riding high on the charts with another no. 1 record, Reflections (Of The Way Life Used To Be), but for Ballard the dream was over. 

Flo, looking here for all the world like contemporary singer Faith Evans, had no clue just how nightmarish it would become for her after she left the Supremes. At first, things looked promising, but there wouldn't be enough supreme faith in the world to return her to her glory days in the years to come. Ballard recorded a lackluster solo album for ABC but the once glorious voice was scratchy. Radio started out playing the single releases but suddenly stopped. The album was shelved.  Then it disappeared from the ABC vaults only to mysteriously turn up in the Motown vaults many years later.  Ballard was being ripped off by lawyers, record companies, and people that she thought were her friends.  The drinking escalated.  She had to go on welfare.  She married and divorced.  Tried to make a comeback.  Reconnected with Ross and Wilson. Just when things looked to be on the upswing, Florence Ballard passed away from cardiac arrest on February 22, 1976.  She was just 32 years old.

Addendum:  For the record, I just wanted to say that every source that I checked for this blog post has a slightly different telling of the Florence Ballard firing, and I have tried to piece it together as much as I could according to my own understanding of it.  Florence Ballard was actually fired from the Supremes before the fiasco at the Flamingo, but was reinstated on a "trial run."  The Flamingo engagement was slated for June 28 to July 19, 1967.  Some sources indicate that Ballard's official ousting from the group happened after the first show of the first night at the hotel, but others like Diana Ross biographer, J. Randy Taraborelli, state that several shows (there were four a day) had already taken place before Ballard left for good.  Taraborelli also states that the Supremes were wearing tailored tuxes for that fateful last show, and not the gold lame' outfits that most others say they were wearing.  Some mention the bodyguards; others do not.  Taraborelli writes that Diana Ross was actually waiting in Ballard's dressing room to have words with her but no one else seems to know about it.  The "nightclub" photos that I have used in this post were supposedly taken in the casino of the Flamingo Hotel, but Taraborelli writes that photographers were subject to having their cameras confiscated in the casino.  The whole "I'll have you thrown off stage" conversation between Ballard and Gordy is legend, but Taraborelli says that it did not happen face to face but on the hotel telephones.  Obviously, Ballard had not been fired on June 30, 1967, when they celebrated her birthday, but some say that she was officially fired the very next day, July 1, 1967. One writer has said that the hotel marquee announced The Supremes (with Diana Ross) on opening night.  Others have said Ross's name did not appear seperately until Ballard left the group.  I have found the photo above that clearly announces THE SUPREMES as the headlining act with Fats Domino as a supporting act. I always try my best to be as accurate as possible on my posts but this one ........wow!?!

 

Rejoice and Shout, It's SARAH VAUGHN (and not MARIE KNIGHT!)

Rejoice and Shout (2011) is an electrifying documentary on the history of black gospel music that interweaves insightful contemporary interviews with spellbinding archival performances culled from concerts, church services and  television shows - the way that most musical documentaries usually are.  But this one kept me hanging on for dear life with performances by the likes of Clara Ward and the Ward Singers all the way to the Staple Singers.  Seeing Ira Tucker & The Dixie Hummingbirds and Claude Jeter & The Swan Silvertones wreck the Newport Jazz Festival is tingling,  mesmerizing and worth the full price of the DVD alone.  When Marie Knight speaks, it is with such knowledge, power and authority that it feels like she's casting spells and stirring up spirits with her words.

That's why I was elated to find a bonus interview with Knight in the Special Features part of the DVD.  Once again, she conjured up another riveting tale of life on the gospel highway until all of a sudden, out of the blue - they showed a photo of the late, great jazz singer Sarah Vaughn in the late 1940's (above) in an attempt to make us think it was Miss Knight. 

My hubby said I was crazy and why would they do that in a professionally made documentary, but I know the Divine Sarah Vaughn when I see her!  It's so funny because the photo continues to be represented as Miss Knight on more than a few websites, appears on the DVD artwork as well as Marie Knight's Wikipedia page. I can see how they may have made the mistake; there was a resemblance going on in the late 40's and early 50's as evidenced by this actual period photo of Miss Knight (above left).

Rejoice and shout if you must .... but change the photo!  Please!  Consider this photo of Sarah Vaughn taken in 1947.  Esquire magazine has just presented her with an award, and she appears in the same dress with pratically the same coiffure.  Case closed!

 

Marie Knight's professional career in gospel pretty much ignited when she began singing and traveling with Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the late 1940's, leading some to speculate that they were more than just singing partners.  She crossed over and sang R&B music a few times with the same amount of fervor that she held in gospel.  Check out this version of the oft-recorded Cry Me A River that many consider to be definitive.

 

BARNABAS COLLINS DEAD AGAIN!

Jonathan Frid (December 2, 1924 - April 13, 2012) passed away in Ontario, Canada at the age of 87.  He died of natural causes, but everybody knows that true vampires never die.

HAZEL SCOTT GAVE THEM LIFE!

The beautiful Hazel Scott could always be counted on to give anyone with even a peripheral view a lesson in glamour, elegance, taste and style.  She certainly must have given them LIFE at this 1949 Herb Jeffries concert.  By this time, the virtuoso jazz and classical pianist had been married to Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (side view) for just five years after having "stole" him from Isabel Washington Powell, the sister of actress Fredi Washington.  In just a few more years, the same thing would happen to Hazel.  Life, indeed!

Photo from the Life Archives.  Gordon Parks, photographer, 1949.

NAUGHTY COUTURE

Sean Combs (c).  Sean John Couture, Autumn Collection, 2002.  I still covet it! Photograph by Herb Ritts.

MISS BROWN TO YOU

Miss Minnie Brown, Williams and Walker showgirl, photographed by Luther S. White, New York, 1907.

The Elegance and Cool of VALENTINO

Today, they're called divos or mandivas.  Yesterday, descriptions for men like that weren't quite so nice, and in Valentino's case in particular, he was disparagingly referred to as a "pink powder puff." But that had more to do with the ignorance and insecurities of his (American male) detractors and less to do with Rudolph Valentino. Regardless, 1920's silent screen icon, Rudolph Valentino is the man that started it all!  Possessed with an innate elegance and natural male beauty, Valentino cultivated a high octane glamour that was normally only associated with female stars of the era like Gloria Swanson.  Born in Italy, and with swarthy good looks, he also set the precedent for what would become known as the Latin Lover!  No male star before him, and very few afterwards, had such savoir faire and expressed such an obvious love for dress up, finery, and posing before the camera.

Valentino started out as a ballroom dancer and gigolo for hire in New York, but rose to fame in the early days of silent screen cinema with the romantic male lead in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) a role that allowed him to utilize his dancing skills, and helped ignite the 1920's American fascination with an Argentinian dance called the Tango.  But it was as the handsome but dangerous, dark-skinned Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan in The Sheik (also 1921) that Valentino's career really caught fire. It is at this point that I stopped to wonder if the original Sheik (at least in the movies) had any connections to Harlem, and what he must have thought of the trendsetters and darker-skinned sheiks uptown?

In those days, everybody was going to Harlem for one reason or another.  So far, I haven't found any record of Valentino sneaking uptown, but it is a matter of record that he was old friends with dancer, Bessie Dudley. It was Miss Dudley who provided Valentino with an important professional tip that would advance his early career as a dancer in the late Teen's. It also stands to reason that if one really wanted a hot act, one visited Harlem for inspiration.

The outrageous Harlem Renaissance luminary, Richard Bruce Nugent also became acquainted with Valentino in the early 20's while working as a young messenger and apprentice at the catalogue house of Stone,Van Dresser and Company in New York. Nugent was fascinated by Italian men, and it can be argued that his protagonist in Smoke, Lillies and Jade, the first blatantly homoerotic story by an African American, is at least in part created in the image of Rudolph Valentino. 

And then there is the influence Valentino had on Lorenzo Tucker, billed as The Colored Valentino in Oscar Micheaux's "race" films of the 20's and 30's. Tucker got to meet his idol in early August, 1926, in Atlantic City, shortly before the star's sudden death. Tucker was fond of reminding people that he was actually lighter in complexion than Valentino and found himself decades later, invited to deliver annual eulogies at Valentino's tomb in Hollywood's Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Like many African Americans fresh from small Southern towns in Alabama and Georgia, Valentino as an immigrant, loved to rent clothes he couldn't afford and spend money he didn't have just to take prosperous looking photos to send back home to unsuspecting relatives in Italy. His obsession with the camera would last throughout his reign as king of Hollywood, up to his early death at the age of 31. 

Valentino relished costumes, props, makeup, accessories, robes, turbans, jewelry, cars, fabrics and dogs.  And that is how I must present him in this striking series of photographs ....

Valentino was a known spend-thrift and often went way over budget for his films. He spent a small out-of-pocket fortune on costumes for films that were often never made or never used, or used just to play dress up.  As seen in the last photo above, sometimes body paint and a leather jockstrap sufficed.

Whenever Mr. Valentino went out in public, it was an exercise in elegance, a lesson in style.  He had thousands of suits, and hundreds of pairs of shoes to choose from.  Beloved pets were often used as accessories.  Even while lounging at home, it was all about silk and satin and posing.

 

 

 

Often the proof is to be found in the small details like the shoes, socks and the spats.  Valentino knew how to utilize a walking stick and a cigarette holder to full effect.  Most men of his era could care less about kid gloves, fur collars and cuffs but most men were not Valentino and Valentino wasn't like most men.  Even the most stylish men of the 1920's wouldn't be caught dead in a gold slave bracelet - at least not for a few more DECADES.  Valentino had IT so he flaunted it!  Having IT is taken for granted these days, but in the 20's - for a man - it was revolutionary.

 

 

Valentino even knew how to flaunt his basket on the beach!

I'd be remiss if I didn't say something about sexuality and race. During his lifetime, and especially afterwards, rumors ran rampant that Valentino was, at least, bisexual. There were whispers about his days as a struggling dancer (and gigolo for hire) in the early days of his career. 85 years later, there is no direct proof, but in Emily W. Leider's definitive Valentino bio, Dark Lover:  The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino, considerable time and scholarship is devoted to making a case for his relationships with French magazine publisher and theatre producer, Jacques Herbetot, and French actor/producer Andre Daven, who helped introduce Josephine Baker to Paris in 1925.  Here, Herbetot is shown (left) with the gay Hollywood actor, Ramon Novarro, whom many considered Valentino's successor in films until the advent of talking pictures.  His career was basically over when Novarro opened his mouth and spilled all of his secrets.

 
Race matters.  Rudolph Valentino was born Rudolpho Guglielmi in Castellaneta, a quiet village along the costal regions of Southern Italy - just across the Mediterranean Sea from Africa's Northern Coast.  His parents were Giovanni Guglielmi and Maria Gabriella Barbin Guglielmi, who was supposedly from France. Many Southern Italians trace their roots across the sea but don't always talk about it.  Many Creoles of color from the American South, especially in New Orleans, were sent to France in the early 19th Century by their white fathers to be educated, and many stayed there and started families!  All I know is that Mother Guglielmi (above, left) and her offspring (top) look like any of my multi-racial maternal ancestors.  My great-uncle James greatly resembled Valentino in the 20's, and so did his son, James, Jr. (above, right) in the 30's.

The decline of Rudolph Valentino started on August 15, 1926 when he was stricken with agonizing abdominal pains in a hotel rooom.  X-rays confirmed a perforated ulcer in the abdominal cavity surrounded by other ulcerated areas.  He passed away in the hospital on August 23, becoming the first major star to die young and become an icon for the ages.  His death, public viewing and funeral are the stuff of legend that none of his movies could ever match and no Hollywood press agent could ever dream up.  It is an unbelievable saga that one biographer devoted almost 100 well-deserved pages to (Valentino by Irving Shulman). The plot includes suicide, poisonings, the outrageous antics of actress Pola Negri, and the unscripted mayhem of thousands of New York mourners.  Among the cast of characters are psychic mediums, Italian fascists, a dummy corpse, and unscrupulous doctors, and the drama traveled all the way from the east coast to the west. He was FINALLY laid to rest on September 7, 1926. 

Valentino did not want to be remembered as just another handsome face but that would be his fate.  He was not necessarily a great actor but had the makings of one.  Today, he is one of the few still-recognizable stars of the silent screen.  He helped define the word STAR!  Who says a man can't be a diva?!

 

IMAGE OF EMERALDS AND CHOCOLATE

The image of emeralds and chocolate is a visually stimulating and almost decadent combination. Especially when it's personified in the mysterious Marquis LeBlanc, a very tall, completely bald, completely black, beautiful and chiseled to perfection African Adonis. His secrets are deep. Dark  with blood at the root. But don't tell any of that to Eric Peterson, the brilliant but extremely lonely, young student who has fallen in love with him.  Image of Emeralds and Chocolate is the self-published debut by K. Murry Johnson.  And for those who've been anticipating that next, outside the box breakthrough novel to push the self-prescribed boundaries of the contemporary urban black gay novel - this very well may be THE ONE! 

K. Murry Johnson's first book is both a tender coming of age story and a romantic revelation thirteen years in the making. Set in Louisiana, Johnson incorporates the intrigue of old New Orleans and its surroundings through an epic telling of a historical slave narrative, the curious magic of voodoo and the delicious element of black gay vampires thus setting the stage for a new Southern Gothic.

Johnson is no less intriguing. He grew up just 13 miles outside of New Orleans, and attended the prestigious Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts. He began playing the clarinet in the fifth grade and eventually made it into the Louisiana All-State Concert and Symphonic bands.  He attended Loyola University, a local Jesuit university where he became the president of a gay and lesbian outreach organization, graduating with a degree in Computer Information Systems.  Johnson also holds two master's degrees, but beyond the three degrees, K. Murry Johnson wants the readers of Corey @ I'll Keep You Posted to know that he is more interested in telling meaningful love stories of black men who are not ashamed nor afraid to love one another.  Stories beyond the downlow and not based soley on sex.  "I'm very passionate about black gay issues and black people being treated equally and fairly" he says.  And like his brainy protagonist, Eric Peterson, Johnson loves the clarinet!

I'll Keep You Posted:  Tell us exactly what you want us to know about your book and why we should buy it?  K. Murry Johnson:  Image of Emeralds and Chocolate (IEC) speaks to so many different groups of people. It incorporates a plethora of genres: black, gay, vampire, coming of age, mystery, fantasy, and historical, but most of all it is a love story.  People should purchase this book because it’s a wonderful story, told in a very unique way.  The characters will make you laugh and cry and the plot will transport you to the past, as well as immerse you into a world of musical delight.

There are many similarites between yourself and Eric Peterson, the young protagonist in IEC.  Just how much of the story is autobiographical?  Did you ever fall in love with a Vampire?  Are you habitually late?  Eric’s skin is the color of a bright sunny morning and his hair, although kept short, is a beautiful shade of red, whereas my skin is pecan candy brown and I have a shiny baldhead. And when I’m running behind on shaving, the blackness of my hair makes itself visible. Eric is a figment of my imagination, but I will admit that we do share some similarities. I was a force to be reckoned with on clarinet during high school, attended a gifted boarding high school, and unfortunately, I am habitually late (laughs). I’ve run across a few vampires in my day, but they weren’t the superhero kind.

Who or what influenced you to write a black gay love story about vampires?  Why flip the script and change the tried, true (and tired) formula of characters on the downlow?  IEC was originally a 13-page short story that was born in an undergraduate creative writing class. My initial intention was for it to be a black gay coming of age love story only. There was no vampire element. It wasn’t until after I reached page fifty something and decided to go see Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight that the seed was planted in my mind to change one of the characters into a very handsome vampire. I wanted to show Eric Peterson grow as a person. I wanted to show him slowly come to grips with his sexuality and eventually have a healthy view of himself as a black gay male, opposed to celebrating the down low. There are gay men in this world that actually love being gay and like being a part of healthy gay relationships. Gay men need characters whose relationships, although not perfect, can serve as a model union.

Are there any other movies that figure into the equation?  What about the classic 60's television show, Dark Shadows?  How much of a fan are you? I am a big fan of Interview With a Vampire, The Lost Boys, and absolutely loved Dark Shadows. Although I did not watch the original Dark Shadows, I was a big fan of the 1991 version that aired on NBC. I would rush home every Friday to watch the television show. I was hooked! I was so upset when it was cancelled at the end of its first season.

Many would consider a supernatural tale about vampires to be very dark, but there are overriding messages of light, hope, change and especially empowerment woven throughout the text.  Please speak on that!  Vampires can be seen in two different lights in IEC - their thirst for blood and their immortality and unique abilities.  In IEC I look at both aspects of vampires; however, I give a generous amount of attention to the latter.  My protagonist is an individual who was born into slavery and who eventually becomes an immortal. It would only make sense if he used his gift (or curse in some people’s eyes) to aid his people in their plight to overcome oppression.

The sex is hot and very erotic!  It's also very beautiful to suggest sex with someone you love as opposed to plunging headfirst into lust.  How important is it to you to get that message across to our young men without beating them over the head?  Although writing the sex scenes was a lot of fun, it was imperative that they occur within loving relationships. I took my time to build and develop the relationships between my characters. I wanted to show the love mature over time so that the emotions radiate from the pages. I wanted it to seem believable and not rushed or forced.  Furthermore, I made sure there was a safe sex message echoed throughout. I think it is very important to be responsible when engaging in any type of sexual activities.

With a black gay twist, you expertly cover a lot of ground in just slightly over 300 pages.  From slave plantations and the historical slave narrative to the Native American Two-Spirits, how important is it to know that "we" were there, too?  Gay people have been around since the beginning of time.  However, it was always mind boggling that whenever I watched or read black American slave-focused movies and books, there was never any mention of gay slaves. I thought it was about time to give us the center stage in IEC. IEC also discusses the rape of black male slaves. The raping of slaves is often focused on black females. It was time to tell a story that has gone untold for too long.

*I'll Keep You Posted would like to thank K. Murry Johnson for not bombarding us with the typical master/slave "love story" and showing us love and solidarity among black slave men*

 In some of your other press, you've mentioned James Earl Hardy and his classic B-Boy Blues, a book that continues to have a profound impact on young black gay men of every generation.  Tell us how it affected you and how Hardy entered the picture?  I first read B-boy Blues in undergraduate school. At first, it was hard for me to get into the dialect but I eventually grew accustomed to the slang and quickly became a fan of James’ work.  At the time I was a big E. Lynn Harris fan as well, but I saw a big difference between Harris and Hardy.  Harris spoke about a more preppy black gay man, whereas James spoke about a more rugged and hood type of guy with an intellectual edge.  Mr. Hardy entered the world of IEC when I approached him on Facebook to do a critique of my work.  He referred to IEC as “groundbreaking.” I continued to get advice from him throughout the process.

What is your own writing process like?  Can you sit down and write a brilliant poem in an hour and fifteen minutes like Eric Peterson?  How did your characters "speak" to you?  Are they done speaking?  Forty percent of the poems written in IEC were the poetry assignment for my own creative writing class.  Several of the poems were written when I was going through something personally draining or uplifting.  It would take me about forty to fifty minutes to write two poems.  After my writing course ended for the semester, I would write as the inspiration came to me.  That method of writing got me up to page fifty something.  It wasn’t until I moved to Atlanta and got into a relationship that I started writing more systematically. My ex-boyfriend and I were both working on novels at the time. We decided to meet at Borders Books two to three times a week to write.  Some of my characters are loosely based on people that were in my life in my past and present, other characters were creations of mine.  Marques is a compilation of people I ran across, amplified with my imagination and thoughts that were rooted after viewing the Twilight movie and reading all of the books.   I’ve already started writing the next book. I’m shooting for releasing the book on Halloween 2013!

I knew it wasn't over!  Considering the way Image of Emeralds and Chocolate ends, let's just say that the waters have definitely been troubled and the story (and the fans) are left kicking and screaming for the sequel. But YOU have to first read the book to know what I mean by that. Do emeralds last forever?  Does chocolate eventually melt?  Don't be so sure!  To learn more, please visit http://kmurryjohnson.com/.  Thank you, K. Murry Johnson!

GOTHIC ROSS

Diana Ross arrives at Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills to attend the funeral of comedy genius Richard Pryor, her co-star in Lady Sings The Blues and The Wiz.  Pryor, who battled multiple sclerosis and other ailments for 20 years, passed away on December 10, 2005, just nine days after his birthday.  His unconventional funeral was held on December 17th at Church of the Hills, a funerary chapel on the grounds of the Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries, where Miss Ross led an improptu sing-along version of Amazing Grace.