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Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her notable recordings include "
Dinah In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only daughter of Leah and Jacob, and one of the matriarchs of the Israelites. The episode of her violation by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent vengean ...
", " Stormy Weather", "
Taking a Chance on Love "Taking a Chance on Love" is a popular song from the 1940 Broadway musical '' Cabin in the Sky''. It was introduced by Ethel Waters playing the role of Petunia Jackson both on Broadway and later in the 1943 MGM musical Cabin in the Sky (film). ...
", "
Heat Wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
", "
Supper Time "Supper Time" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical '' As Thousands Cheer'', where it was introduced by Ethel Waters. The song is about racial violence inspired by a newspaper headline about a lynching. History Berlin ...
", " Am I Blue?", " Cabin in the Sky", "
I'm Coming Virginia ''"I'm Coming Virginia"'' is a song composed in 1926 by Donald Heywood with lyrics by Will Marion Cook. It is often wrongly attributed to vocalist Ethel Waters, who first recorded it on September 18, 1926 with Will Marion Cook's Singing Orchestra. ...
", and her version of "
His Eye Is on the Sparrow "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" is a gospel hymn written in 1905 by lyricist Civilla D. Martin and composer Charles H. Gabriel. It is most associated with actress-singer Ethel Waters who used the title for her autobiography. Mahalia Jackson's recordi ...
". Waters was the second
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to be nominated for an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, the first African American to star on her own television show, and the first African-American woman to be nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
.


Early life

Waters was born in Chester, Pennsylvania on October 31, 1896 (some sources incorrectly state her birth year as 1900) as a result of the rape of her teenaged African-American mother, Louise Anderson (1881–1962), by 17 year old John Wesley (or Wesley John) Waters (1878–1901), a pianist and family acquaintance from a middle-class African-American background. Waters' family was very fair skinned, his mother in particular. Many sources, including Ethel herself, reported for years that her mother was 12 or 13 years old at the time of the rape, 13 when Ethel was born. Stephen Bourne opens his 2007 biography, ''Ethel Waters: Stormy Weather'', with the statement that genealogical research has shown that Louise Anderson may have been 15 or 16 years old. Waters played no role in raising his daughter. Soon after she was born, her mother married Norman Howard, a railroad worker, with whom she had a daughter, Juanita Howard, Ethel's half-sister. Ethel used the surname Howard as a child and then reverted to using the surname Waters. She was raised in poverty by Sally Anderson, her grandmother, who worked as a housemaid, and with two of her aunts and an uncle. Waters never lived in the same place for more than 15 months. Of her difficult childhood, she said "I never was a child. I never was cuddled, or liked, or understood by my family." Waters grew tall, standing in her teens. According to jazz historian and archivist
Rosetta Reitz Rosetta Reitz (September 28, 1924 – November 1, 2008) was an American feminist and jazz historian who searched for and established a record label producing 18 albums of the music of the early women of jazz and the blues.Martin, Douglas"Rosetta ...
, Waters's birth in the North and her peripatetic (or nomadic) life exposed her to many cultures. Waters first married in 1910 at the age of 13, but her husband was abusive, and she soon left the marriage and became a maid in a Philadelphia hotel, working for $4.75 per week. On her 17th birthday, she attended a costume party at a nightclub on Juniper Street. She was persuaded to sing two songs and impressed the audience so much that she was offered professional work at the Lincoln Theatre in Baltimore. She recalled that she earned the rich sum of $10 per week, but her managers cheated her out of the tips her admirers threw on the stage.


Career


Singing

After her start in Baltimore, Waters toured on the black
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
circuit, in her words "from nine until unconscious." Despite her early success, she fell on hard times and joined a carnival traveling in freight cars headed for Chicago. She enjoyed her time with the carnival and recalled, "the roustabouts and the concessionaires were the kind of people I'd grown up with, rough, tough, full of larceny towards strangers, but sentimental and loyal to their friends and co-workers." But she did not last long with them and soon headed south to Atlanta, where she worked in the same club as
Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...
. Smith demanded that Waters not compete in singing blues opposite her. Waters conceded and sang
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
s and popular songs. Around 1919, Waters moved to
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
and became a performer in the
Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
of the 1920s. Her first Harlem job was at Edmond's Cellar, a club with a black patronage that specialized in popular ballads. She acted in a
blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...
comedy, ''Hello 1919''. Jazz historian
Rosetta Reitz Rosetta Reitz (September 28, 1924 – November 1, 2008) was an American feminist and jazz historian who searched for and established a record label producing 18 albums of the music of the early women of jazz and the blues.Martin, Douglas"Rosetta ...
pointed out that by the time Waters returned to Harlem in 1921, women blues singers were among the most powerful entertainers in the country. In 1921, Waters became the fifth black woman to make a record, for tiny Cardinal Records. She later joined
Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...
, where
Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...
was her accompanist. Waters later commented that Henderson tended to perform in a more classical style than she preferred, often lacking "the damn-it-to-hell bass." She recorded for Black Swan from 1921 through 1923. Her contract with Harry Pace made her the highest paid black recording artist at the time. In early 1924,
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
bought Black Swan, and she stayed with Paramount through the year. Around that time, Waters was approached by Maury Greenwald for the London run of '' Plantation Days'', although she later joined the company on its return to Chicago in August 1923, as an "extra added attraction" to "save the fast-flopping revue". She started working with Pearl Wright, and they toured in the South. In 1924, Waters played at the Plantation Club on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
. She also toured with the Black Swan Dance Masters. She first recorded for Columbia in 1925, achieving a hit with "
Dinah In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only daughter of Leah and Jacob, and one of the matriarchs of the Israelites. The episode of her violation by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent vengean ...
". With Earl Dancer, she joined what was called the "white time"
Keith Vaudeville Circuit Benjamin Franklin Keith (January 26, 1846 – March 26, 1914) was an American vaudeville theater owner, highly influential in the evolution of variety theater into vaudeville. Biography Early years Keith was born in Hillsboro Bridge, New ...
, a vaudeville circuit performing for white audiences and combined with screenings of silent movies. They received rave reviews in Chicago and earned the unheard-of salary of US$1,250 in 1928. In September 1926, Waters recorded "
I'm Coming Virginia ''"I'm Coming Virginia"'' is a song composed in 1926 by Donald Heywood with lyrics by Will Marion Cook. It is often wrongly attributed to vocalist Ethel Waters, who first recorded it on September 18, 1926 with Will Marion Cook's Singing Orchestra. ...
", composed by
Donald Heywood Donald Heywood (24 October 1896 – 13 January 1967) was a Trinidadian-born American songwriter, composer, writer and director. He is best remembered for composing "I'm Coming Virginia" in 1926, which became a hit for Ethel Waters. He became a pro ...
with lyrics by
Will Marion Cook William Mercer Cook (January 27, 1869 – July 19, 1944), better known as Will Marion Cook, was an American composer, violinist, and choral director.Riis, Thomas (2007–2011)Cook, Will Marion ''Grove Music Online.'' Oxford Music Online. Retrieved ...
. She is often wrongly attributed as the author. The following year, Waters sang it in a production of ''Africana'' at Broadway's Daly's Sixty-Third Street Theatre. In 1929, Waters and Wright arranged the unreleased
Harry Akst Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011
was an American Am I Blue?", which was used in the movie '' On with the Show'' and became a hit and her signature song.


Film, theater and television

In 1933, Waters appeared in a satirical all-black film, ''
Rufus Jones for President ''Rufus Jones for President'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code satirical musical-comedy, clocking in at 21 minutes. The film was directed by Roy Mack, and starred Ethel Waters and Sammy Davis Jr., in his first onscreen appearance, as the title charact ...
'', which featured the child performer
Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...
as Rufus Jones. She went on to star at the
Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...
, where, according to her autobiography, she "sang ' Stormy Weather' from the depths of the private hell in which I was being crushed and suffocated." In 1933, she had a featured role in the successful
Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...
Broadway musical revue ''
As Thousands Cheer ''As Thousands Cheer'' is a revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, first performed in 1933. The revue contained satirical sketches and witty or poignant musical numbers, several of which became standards, includin ...
'' with
Clifton Webb Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966), known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He worked extensively and was known for his stage appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, i ...
,
Marilyn Miller Marilyn Miller (born Mary Ellen Reynolds; September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, and the combination of these ...
, and
Helen Broderick Helen Broderick (August 11, 1891 – September 25, 1959) was an American actress known for her comic roles, especially as a wisecracking sidekick. Career Broderick began on Broadway as a chorus girl in the ''Follies of 1907'', the first ...
. She became the first black woman to integrate Broadway's theater district more than a decade after actor Charles Gilpin's critically acclaimed performances in the plays of
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...
beginning with ''
The Emperor Jones ''The Emperor Jones'' is a 1920 tragic play by American dramatist Eugene O'Neill that tells the tale of Brutus Jones, a resourceful, self-assured African American and a former Pullman porter, who kills another black man in a dice game, is jailed, ...
'' in 1920. Waters held three jobs: in ''As Thousands Cheer'', as a singer for Jack Denny & His Orchestra on a national radio program, and in nightclubs. She became the highest-paid performer on Broadway. Despite this status, she had difficulty finding work. She moved to Los Angeles to appear in the 1942 film ''
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
''. During the same year, she reprised her starring stage role as Petunia in the all-black film musical '' Cabin in the Sky'' directed by
Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), ''An American in Paris'' (1951), ''Th ...
, and starring
Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...
as the ingenue. Conflicts arose when Minnelli swapped songs from the original script between Waters and Horne: Waters wanted to perform "Honey in the Honeycomb" as a ballad, but Horne wanted to dance to it. Horne broke her ankle and the songs were reversed. She got the ballad and Waters the dance. Waters sang the Academy Award nominated " Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe". In 1939, Waters became the first African American to star in her own television show, before the debut of
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
's in 1956. '' The Ethel Waters Show'', a variety special, appeared on NBC on June 14, 1939. It included a dramatic performance of the Broadway play ''
Mamba's Daughters ''Mamba's Daughters'' () is a 1929 novel written by DuBose Heyward and published by the University of South Carolina Press. It was later adapted by Heward and his wife Dorothy Heyward for the stage; the play premiered on Broadway in 1939. Nove ...
'', based on the
Gullah The Gullah () are an African Americans, African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain ...
community of South Carolina and produced with her in mind. The play was based on the novel by DuBose Heyward. Waters was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film '' Pinky'' (1949) under the direction of
Elia Kazan Elia Kazan (; born Elias Kazantzoglou ( el, Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one o ...
after the first director,
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
, quit over disagreements with Waters. According to producer
Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...
, Ford "hated that old...woman (Waters)." Ford, Kazan stated, "didn't know how to reach Ethel Waters." Kazan later referred to Waters's "truly odd combination of old-time religiosity and free-flowing hatred." In 1950, she won the
New York Drama Critics Circle Award The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...
for her performance opposite
Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...
in the play ''The Member of the Wedding''. Waters and Harris repeated their roles in the 1952 film version. In 1950, Waters was the first African-American actress to star in a television series, '' Beulah,'' which aired on ABC television from 1950 through 1952. It was the first nationally broadcast weekly television series starring an African American in the leading role. She starred as Beulah for the first year of the TV series before quitting in 1951, complaining that the portrayal of blacks was "degrading." She was replaced by
Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servan ...
in the second and third season. She guest-starred in 1957 and 1959 on NBC's ''
The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford ''The Ford Show'' (also known as ''The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford'' and ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'') is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday eveni ...
''. In a 1957 segment, she sang "Cabin in the Sky".


Personal life

Her first autobiography, ''His Eye Is on the Sparrow'', (1951), written with
Charles Samuels Charles Samuels (September 15, 1902 in Brooklyn, New York – April 27, 1982 in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico) was an American journalist, and writer best known for his biographies of celebrities, He penned as-told-to autobiographies for Bus ...
, was adapted for the stage by Larry Parr and premiered on October 7, 2005. In 1953, she appeared in a Broadway show, ''At Home With Ethel Waters'' that opened on September 22, 1953 and closed October 10 after 23 performances. Waters married three times and had no children. When she was 13, she married Merritt "Buddy" Purnsley in 1909; they divorced in 1913. During the 1920s, Waters was involved in a romantic relationship with dancer Ethel Williams. The two were dubbed "The Two Ethels" and lived together in Harlem. She married Clyde Edwards Matthews in 1929, and they divorced in 1933. She married Edward Mallory in 1938; they divorced in 1945. Waters was the great-aunt of the singer-songwriter
Crystal Waters Crystal Waters (born November 19, 1961) is an American house and dance music singer and songwriter, best known for her 1990s dance hits " Gypsy Woman", " 100% Pure Love", and 2007's " Destination Calabria" with Alex Gaudino. All three of her s ...
. In 1938, Waters met artist Luigi Lucioni through their mutual friend, Carl Van Vechten. Lucioni asked Waters if he could paint her portrait, and a sitting was arranged at his studio at 64 Washington Square South. Waters bought the finished portrait from Lucioni in 1939 for $500. She was at the height of her career and the first African American to have a starring role on Broadway. In her portrait, she wore a tailored red dress with a mink coat draped over the back of her chair. Lucioni positioned Waters with her arms tightly wrapped around her waist, a gesture that conveyed vulnerability, as if she were trying to protect herself. The painting was considered lost because it had not been seen in public since 1942. Huntsville (Alabama) Museum of Art Executive Director Christopher J. Madkour and historian Stuart Embury traced it to a private residence. The owner considered Waters to be "an adopted grandmother" but she allowed the Huntsville Museum of Art to display ''Portrait of Ethel Waters'' in the 2016 exhibition ''American Romantic: The Art of Luigi Lucioni'' where it was viewed by the public for the first time in more than 70 years. The museum acquired ''Portrait of Ethel Waters'' in 2017, and it was shown in an exhibition in February 2018. A turning point came in 1957 when she attended the
Billy Graham Crusade William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. ...
in Madison Square Garden. Years later, she gave this testimony of that night: "In 1957, I, Ethel Waters, a 380-pound decrepit old lady, rededicated my life to Jesus Christ, and boy, because He lives, just look at me now. I tell you because He lives; and because my precious child, Billy, gave me the opportunity to stand there, I can thank God for the chance to tell you His eye is on all of us sparrows." In her later years, Waters often toured with the preacher
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
on his crusades. She was a baptized
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and considered herself a member of that religion throughout her life. Waters died on September 1, 1977, aged 80, from
uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the uteru ...
,
kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...
, and other ailments, in Chatsworth, California. She is buried at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries in Southern Ca ...
. ''Ethel'' was written and performed by Terry Burrell as a one-woman tribute to Waters. It ran as a limited engagement in February and March 2012.


Awards and honors

* Her recording of " Stormy Weather" (1933) was listed in the
National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...
by the
National Recording Preservation Board The United States National Recording Preservation Board selects recorded sounds for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. The National Recording Registry was initiated to maintain and preserve "sound recordings that ...
of the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
in 2003. * Gospel Music Hall of Fame, 1983 * Christian Music Hall of Fame, 2007 * Waters was approved for a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
in 2004; however, the star was never funded or installed. * In 2015, a historical marker memorializing Waters was unveiled along Route 291 in Chester, Pennsylvania to recognize her life and talents in the city of her birth. * Commemorative stamp, U.S. Post Office, 1994 * Nomination, Best Supporting Actress, Academy Awards, '' Pinky'' 1949 * Nomination, Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Series,
Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
, for ''
Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
'' "Goodnight Sweet Blues", 1962 * Three recordings by Waters were inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
, a special Grammy Award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and have "qualitative or historical significance."


Hit records


Filmography


Features

* '' On with the Show'' (1929) as Ethel * '' Gift of Gab'' (1934) as Ethel Waters * ''
Tales of Manhattan ''Tales of Manhattan'' is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart, worked on the six stories in this film. Ba ...
'' (1942) as Esther * ''
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
'' (1942) as Cleona Jones * '' Cabin in the Sky'' (1943) as Petunia Jackson * ''
Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...
'' (1943) as Ethel Waters * '' Pinky'' (1949) as Dicey Johnson * ''
The Member of the Wedding ''The Member of the Wedding'' is a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers. It took McCullers five years to complete, although she interrupted the work for a few months to write the novella '' The Ballad of the Sad Café''.McDowell, Marga ...
'' (1952) as Berenice Sadie Brown * ''
Carib Gold ''Carib Gold'' is a maritime-themed 1956 B-movie, written and filmed almost entirely in Key West, Florida, with locally-cast musicians and extras. Its cast is largely African-American headlined by Ethel Waters and features the first known film r ...
'' (1957) as Mom * '' The Heart Is a Rebel'' (1958) as Gladys * ''
The Sound and the Fury ''The Sound and the Fury'' is a novel by the American author William Faulkner. It employs several narrative styles, including stream of consciousness. Published in 1929, ''The Sound and the Fury'' was Faulkner's fourth novel, and was not immedi ...
'' (1959) as Dilsey


Short subjects

* ''
Rufus Jones for President ''Rufus Jones for President'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code satirical musical-comedy, clocking in at 21 minutes. The film was directed by Roy Mack, and starred Ethel Waters and Sammy Davis Jr., in his first onscreen appearance, as the title charact ...
'' (1933) as Mother of Rufus Jones * '' Bubbling Over'' (1934) as Ethel Peabody * ''Let My People Live'' (1939)


Television

* First African American, male or female, to star in own TV show, '' The Ethel Waters Show'', which was broadcast on NBC on June 14, 1939. * Starred in title role of '' Beulah'' on ABC-TV from 1950 to 1951. * TV guest appearances from 1950 to 1952 on ''
The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMon ...
'', ''
Texaco Star Theater ''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Mi ...
'', ''
This Is Show Business ''This Is Show Business'' is an American variety television program that was broadcast first on CBS and later on NBC beginning July 15, 1949, and ending September 11, 1956. It was CBS-TV's first regular series broadcast live from coast to coast. It ...
'', ''
What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'', and ''
The Chesterfield Supper Club ''The Chesterfield Supper Club'' is an NBC Radio musical variety program (1944–1950), which was also telecast by NBC Television (1948–1950). Radio ''The Chesterfield Supper Club'' began on December 11, 1944, as a 15-minute radio program, ...
'' * ''
Person to Person ''Person to Person'' is a popular television program in the United States that originally ran from 1953 to 1961, with two episodes of an attempted revival airing in 2012. Edward R. Murrow hosted the original series from its inception in 1953 unti ...
'' (1954) * ''
Whirlybirds ''Whirlybirds'' (sometimes called ''The Whirlybirds'' or ''Copter Patrol'') is a syndicated American drama/adventure television series, which aired for 111 episodes — broadcast from February 4, 1957, through January 18, 1960. It was pro ...
'', episode "The Big Lie" (1959) * ''
Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
'', episode "Good Night, Sweet Blues" (1961) * ''
The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Title ...
'', hosted by
Diana Ross and the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
(1969) * ''
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...
'', episode "Mamma Cooper" (1970)


Stage appearances

* ''Hello 1919!'' (1919) * ''Jump Steady'' (1922) * '' Plantation Days'' (1923 re-run of 1922 production) * ''Plantation Revue'' (1925) * ''Black Bottom'' (1926) * ''Miss Calico'' (1926–27) * ''Paris Bound'' (1927) * ''Africana'' (1927) * ''The Ethel Waters Broadway Revue'' (1928) * Lew Leslie's ''Blackbirds'' (1930) * ''Rhapsody in Black'' (1931) * ''Broadway to Harlem'' (1932) * ''
As Thousands Cheer ''As Thousands Cheer'' is a revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, first performed in 1933. The revue contained satirical sketches and witty or poignant musical numbers, several of which became standards, includin ...
'' (1933–34) * ''At Home Abroad'' (1935–36) * ''
Mamba's Daughters ''Mamba's Daughters'' () is a 1929 novel written by DuBose Heyward and published by the University of South Carolina Press. It was later adapted by Heward and his wife Dorothy Heyward for the stage; the play premiered on Broadway in 1939. Nove ...
'' (1939; 1940) * ''Cabin in the Sky'' (1940–41) * ''Laugh Time'' (1943) * ''Blue Holiday'' (1945) * ''The Member of the Wedding'' (1950–51) * ''At Home with Ethel Waters'' (1953) * ''The Voice of Strangers'' (1956)


References


Further reading

* * *
Underneath A Harlem Moon
by Iain Cameron Williams


External links




Ethel Waters
at the African American Registry *
Ethel Waters 1896-1977
at Red Hot Jazz Archive
Ethel Waters recordings
at the
Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...
. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Ethel 1896 births 1977 deaths Musicians from Philadelphia People from Chester, Pennsylvania Singers from Pennsylvania Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers African-American actresses 20th-century African-American women singers American women jazz singers American film actresses American gospel singers American jazz singers American stage actresses Bisexual musicians Bisexual women Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Classic female blues singers Deaths from kidney failure Deaths from uterine cancer Jubilee Records artists LGBT African Americans LGBT actresses LGBT people from Pennsylvania LGBT singers from the United States Torch singers Vaudeville performers Biograph Records artists Mercury Records artists Paramount Records artists RCA Victor artists Vocalion Records artists African-American Catholics 20th-century LGBT people