Rosalie King (born Rosa Lea Frances Stephens, August 23, 1902,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

– died June 11, 1997,

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

), also known as Rosalie Simpson, was an American character actress and singer. She appeared on radio in The

Maxwell House Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the Ma ...

Coffee Hour. She was an original member of the Katherine Dunham Company, leaving because of the troupe's proposed tour of Australia and New Zealand (1956–1957), citing the distance from her children. The decision also cost the company the services of her husband, basso profondo Gordon Simpson, for which she later said that Dunham never fully forgave her. She also performed with the Eva Jessye Choir. King was known for the timbre of her

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

voice. She became a favourite of playwright

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

, who wrote original material for her. She costarred in his play ''

Jericho-Jim Crow ''Jerico-Jim Crow'' is a 1964 musical, with a book written by Langston Hughes and William Hairston. It was a pioneering work in the urban contemporary gospel Musical theater, musical style, based on the themes of the Civil Rights Movement in the ...

'' in 1964. King's career was cut short by a stroke in the mid-1960s. She recovered from it but retired from the stage, doing only occasional performances and consultancies in the 1970s and 1980s. In her later years, King was credited as Rosalie Simpson, her married name from her second marriage. Her stage credits are sometimes confused with those of her daughter, Rosalie King, Jr., a child actor turned educator. Rosalie King died in Ocala, Florida in 1997.

Selected Broadway credits

*''

Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen ''Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen'' is a musical with a book by John Patrick and music and lyrics by Stan Freeman and Franklin Underwood. Overview The musical is based on Patrick's 1953 play and screenplay '' The Teahouse of the August Moon''. It ...

'' – 1971 – Okinawan/American *'' Tambourines to Glory'' – 1963 – Mattie Morningside *''

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 ...

'' – original and 1942 revival *''

Lew Leslie Lew Leslie (born Lewis Lessinsky; April 15, 1888 – March 10, 1963) was an American writer and producer of Broadway shows. Leslie got his start in show business in vaudeville in his early twenties. Although white, he was the first major imp ...

's Blackbirds of 1939'' *'' Roll, Sweet Chariot'' – 1934 *''

Run, Little Chillun ''Run, Little Chillun'' or ''Run Little Chillun'' is a folk opera written by Hall Johnson. According to James Vernon Hatch and Leo Hamalian, it is one of the most successful musical dramas of the Harlem Renaissance. It was the first Broadway sho ...

'' – 1933 – Sister Mahalie Ockletree *'' Bal Nègre – 1946: ''Flaming Youth, 1927'' – The Blues Singer

References

External links

* * American stage actresses Actresses from Jacksonville, Florida 1902 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers {{US-theat-actor-1900s-stub