Helen Dowdy was a Broadway actress and singer who played the role of Queenie in the 1946 revival of Kern and Hammerstein's '' Show Boat'' (a role originally played by

Tess Gardella Therese Gardella (December 19, 1894 – January 3, 1950) was an American performer on the stage and screen whose stage persona was Aunt Jemima. She was of Italian descent. The Aunt Jemima brand name used for pancake mix and related products in t ...

in 1927). She was born in New York City. Dowdy created the roles of Lily and the Strawberry Woman in

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

'' — roles she played for nearly twenty years in several productions. In the 1951 so-called "complete" recording of the opera, she sang both roles as well as that of Maria. In 1944, Dowdy performed with

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ma ...

, troupe on tour. Dowdy also appeared on television on the October 17, 1957, episode of ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...

'' as the Stout Angel in a television production of Marc Connelly's

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning play, ''

The Green Pastures ''The Green Pastures'' is a play written in 1930 by Marc Connelly adapted from ''Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun'' (1928), a collection of stories written by Roark Bradford. The play was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. It had th ...

''.

References

External links

* * African-American actresses American musical theatre actresses Actresses from New York City Year of birth missing Possibly living people American television actresses 20th-century African-American women singers {{US-tv-actor-stub