Entertainment
Nell Carter (Black History Month)
Nell Carter was an American singer, and film, stage, and television actress. Carter was known for her Emmy-nominated role as the sassy housekeeper on Gimme A Break.
Nell Carter was an American singer, and film, stage, and television actress.
About Nell Carter
Carter was known for her Emmy-nominated role as the sassy housekeeper on Gimme A Break. She originally made her a name on a Broadway stage winning a Tony award for her performance in Ain’t Misbehavin’.
Carter died in 2003 from complications of diabetes, which she had struggled with for many years.
Big voice and stage presence
At just four-feet-eleven-inches tall, Carter was “Blessed with a big voice and stage presence,” Variety noted in an obituary. Robert Bianco concurred in USA Today.
“Carter was known for a comic verve that leaned heavily on sass, a dance style that sent her entire body shaking, and a powerful, character-filled adenoidal voice that could move the rafters,” he wrote.
Nell Carter was born Nell Hardy on September 13, 1948, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Horace L. and Edna M. Hardy.
One of nine children, she grew up listening to her mother’s Dinah Washington and B.B. King records and her brother’s Elvis Presley records.
She claimed she originally aspired to become an opera singer, but cited such popular singers as Doris Day, the Andrews Sisters, Johnny Mathis, Cleo Laine, and Barbara Streisand among her influences. Carter’s childhood was also marked by trauma.
Her father was electrocuted after accidentally stepping on a live power line when she was young, and she was raped at gunpoint when she was 15.
She grew up singing in her church choir, and began her career singing on the gospel circuit.
“When I grew up, [performing] was not something you aspired to,”
Carter was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.
“I was a weirdo to want to be in show business. Most kids wanted to be teachers or nurses.”
She was featured on a weekly radio show with a group called the Y Teens, and performed in coffeehouses and nightclubs in Birmingham before making her way to New York City at age 19.
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Black Excellence
Inside the 17th Annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood® Awards
Hosted by Clifford “Method Man” Smith, the star studded event premiered March 15, exclusively on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
Get a look inside the 17th Annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards.
Hosted by Clifford “Method Man” Smith, the star studded event premiered March 15, exclusively on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
About ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards
The ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood honors women who are making their undeniable mark in film and television and amplifies their strides in defining what it means to be a Black woman in Hollywood.
Honorees
This year’s honorees and entertainment industry trailblazers include Academy Award nominated actress & Grammy Award winner, Danielle Brooks, six-time Grammy nominated singer and leading-actress Halle Bailey, acclaimed screenwriter and showrunner of All American, All American: Homecoming and Found, Nkechi Okoro Carroll, and industry powerhouse & President of Original Programming for STARZ, Kathryn Busby.
Check out some photo highlights inside the 17th ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards
For more, please visit http://www.essence.com/bwih2024
Culture
U.S. Virgin Islands Announces the Performance Line-up for St. Thomas Carnival Village Featuring Shaggy, Sizzla, Patrice Roberts, and Machel Montano
The Village will be headlined by Caribbean superstars Shaggy, Patrice Roberts, Sizzla Kalonji, Kes, and Machel Montano, who will kick off the six-night free Village concerts on Monday, April 29.
The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism and Division of Festivals has announced the performance line-up for the 72nd Annual St. Thomas Carnival Village.
72nd Annual St. Thomas Carnival Village
The Village will be headlined by Caribbean superstars Shaggy, Patrice Roberts, Sizzla Kalonji, Kes, and Machel Montano, who will kick off the six-night free Village concerts on Monday, April 29.
“The anticipation around this year’s St. Thomas Carnival is at an all-time high, and the Village night performers reflect the continued influence and growth of our territory’s three carnivals,” exclaims USVI Department of Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte.
Center Stage
Adam O, Rudy Live, Temisha, Karnage, Blind Earz, VIO International, and Spectrum Band are among the performers who will take center stage to represent the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“Every year, our goal is to pay homage to the vast Virgin Islands and Caribbean culture that is at the cornerstone of these annual celebrations for natives and visitors alike,” added USVI Division of Festivals Director Ian Turnbull.
Haitian kompa band VAYB and Dominican salsa orchestra Chiquito Team Band will provide a cross-cultural immersion of sound, highlighting the diverse musical interests of Virgin Islands residents.
First-time performers
Rounding out the village are a few first-time performers in the territory, including TeeJay, Jada Kingdom, and Kollision Band, and returning favorites Edwin Yearwood and Krosfyah, and Grandmasters.
Kids Night Out Village Night
This year, the Division of Festivals will host its first Kids Night Out Village Night, with activities including the Toddlers Derby, Best Dressed Doll, and performances by TMK and OTB.
More information on 72nd Annual St. Thomas Carnival Village
For up-to-date information about the 72nd Annual St. Thomas Carnival, visit https://www.instagram.com/usvifestivals/.
Culture
Online romances get a dose of reality in OWN’S all-new love & relationship series ‘The Never Ever Mets’
Hosted by Ta’Rhonda Jones, this 10-episode series features seven couples who have been virtually dating for some time and believe they may have found lasting love – only they have never met each other in person.
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network has announced an all-new relationship series that takes online dating into the real world, The Never Ever Mets.
About The Never Ever Mets Series
Hosted by Ta’Rhonda Jones, this 10-episode series features seven couples who have been virtually dating for some time and believe they may have found lasting love – only they have never met each other in person! Now, they’re meeting face-to-face for the very first time and sharing a house together for three weeks to see if their internet love can survive off the screen and in real life.
Synopsis
As all seven couples convene under the same roof, dating in person rather than through their computers or phones quickly proves to be the biggest challenge yet.
While many couples have been years in the making, some quickly find the in-person relationship is not what they anticipated.
To test the strength of their love connections, the group participates in a series of fun and flirty relationship activities, couples therapy and for some, a trip to the “boom boom room.” But visits from discerning loved ones, meddling opinions and tension from others in the house challenge their bonds even further. At the end of their stay, some will go home together…and some will be signing off for good.
Premiere
The series premieres on Friday, April 19 at 8pm ET/PT, on the OWN Network.
Check out the trailer below:
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