In British films of the 1930s and 1940s, American-born singer Elisabeth Welch made several memorable guest appearances in cabaret sequences, and starred opposite Paul Robeson in two features. Sophisticated, glamorous and charming, her appearances were a refreshing departure from the stereotype of black women perpetuated by Hollywood films of that ...
Obie Award for Performance, Outer Critics Circle Special Award
Nominations
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical
Movies
The Tempest, Big Fella, Song of Freedom, Arabian Adventure, Revenge of the Pink Panther, Our Man in Havana, Dead of Night, Girl Stroke Boy, Over the Moon, Cleopatra, Fiddlers Three
Star Sign
Pisces
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Quote
1
(In a 1987 interview) Ivor Novello was a great romantic. I don't think he would be accepted particularly now because of what some people call his schmaltz. I call it love. He was in love with love.
2
My mother was Scottish, and I say what is the point of my taking out British citizenship? I'm half British anyhow. I regard myself as American, but I'm English in thought ans interest.
3
I was brought up in a mixed neighborhood, 63rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, that was primarily Irish, secondly Italian, thirdly Negro, and then the mixes of all other European countries. I went to a mixed school, Julia Richman High. I've never thought of race. I'm lucky. It never hit me.
4
[on co-star Paul Robeson] There were no lines he objected to in "Song of Freedom." In later years he was very nasty in that film "Sanders of the River." He said they had tricked him into that. I don't know how or why. That's his comment, but I have no evidence of it. He was a lovely man. We discussed politics naturally, but I'm not politically minded although I follow. And I have my own theories. He said you've got to be a citizen of the world because of this... (she points to the color of her skin.} I said I've got so many bloods in me, I'm part of the world. I don't stand up for one or the other, only for what's right... for decency. He wanted to convert me, but he was very gentle about it. I'll take anybody's arguments if they have a sense of humor with it. And, of course, he laughed so easily. We became great friends. I loved him, and he always came to see me when I was playing.
5
[when friend and co-star Paul Robeson tried to persuade her to make a stand for black people] I'm of mixed blood: African, Native American Indian, Scots and Irish, Paul, I can't make a stand for all of them. You must excuse me.
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Fact
1
Lived in England since 1933.
2
Ivor Novello wrote two songs especially for her in the 1935 musical, "Glamorous Night.".
3
She never saw her father again after he left her mother.
4
Her paternal grandmother was of the Lenape tribe of Wilmington, Delaware. She was run off the reservation for marrying an African whose relatives had been slaves.
5
Her parents had troubled getting married because her mother was Caucasian and her father was African and Native American. They finally found a Catholic priest who married them in secret.
6
Was nominated for Broadway's 1986 Tony Award as Best Actress (Featured Role - Musical) for "Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood."
7
Her father, a head gardener and later coachman, was part African-American and part Native American. Her mother was born in Scotland and was part Scots and Irish. She once called herself a "one-woman United Nations."
8
Her father, a devout Southern Baptist, divorced her mother after he discovered his wife promoting Elisabeth's show business career behind his back. He supposedly said packing his bags, "Girlie's gone to the boards--she's lost!"
9
Had two brothers: Edward and John.
10
Briefly married to a musician at age 18; later married jazz musician Luke Smith, who died in 1936.
11
Began singing in a church choir at age 8.
12
First gained attention in 1923 singing the song "Charleston" in front of a group of flashy, frenzied dancers in the jazz-age musical "Runnin' Wild" on Broadway.
13
Introduced many songs which became popular standards in her shows over the years including "Charleston," "Stormy Weather," "Far Away in Shanty Town" and her "scandalous" signature song "Love for Sale."
14
A popular Paris nightclub singer after performing in the black revue "Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1928" and frequently played the Moulin Rouge.
15
During World War II she often joined artistic forces with such notables as John Gielgud, Edith Evans and Beatrice Lillie to perform for troops in Malta and Gibraltar.
16
Despite severe arthritis, she persevered in such 1970s musicals as "Pippin" and "Cindy-Eller," sometimes performing sitting down.
17
Had a seven-decade long recording career.
18
Launched a one-woman show in 1986, at age 81, at New York's Lucille Lortel Theatre, and earned an Obie and 'special' Outer Critics' Circle awards for "making old song favorites sound young, fresh and vital."
19
Made her final professional appearance in the 1996 British television documentary "Black Divas," singing "Stormy Weather" for the last time in public.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Tempest
1979
A Goddess
Arabian Adventure
1979
Beggarwoman (as Elizabeth Welch)
Revenge of the Pink Panther
1978
Mrs. Wu
Girl Stroke Boy
1973
Mrs Delaney
The Man Who Came to Dinner
1972
TV Movie
Sarah
Jackanory
1968-1969
TV Series
Storyteller / Storyteller - 'The Naughty Little Elves'
BBC Play of the Month
1967
TV Series
Tiare Johnson
BBC 3
1966
TV Series
Crane
1964
TV Series
Assunta
Cleopatra
1963
Children's Nurse (scenes deleted)
The Brockenstein Affair
1962
TV Movie
Corinne
Our Man in Havana
1959
Woman
BBC Sunday-Night Theatre
1956
TV Series
Bessie Bolt
Penny Plain
1952
TV Movie
Tuppence Coloured
1949
TV Movie
Oranges and Lemons
1949
TV Movie
Dead of Night
1945
Beulah
While Nero Fiddled
1944
Nora
Alibi
1942
Singer
This Was Paris
1942
Cabaret Singer (uncredited)
Over the Moon
1939
Cabaret Singer (as Elizabeth Welch)
Around the Town
1938
Elisabeth (uncredited)
Big Fella
1937
Amanda 'Manda'
Song of Freedom
1936
Ruth Zinga (as Elizabeth Welch)
Death at a Broadcast
1934
Elisabeth Welch - Singer
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Tempest
1979
performer: "Stormy Weather"
Dead of Night
1945
performer: "The Hullalooba"
While Nero Fiddled
1944
performer: "Drums In My Heart" - uncredited
Over the Moon
1939
performer: "Red Hot Annabelle"
Calling All Stars
1937
performer: "Nightfall"
Big Fella
1937
performer: "One Kiss", "Harlem in My Heart"
Song of Freedom
1936
"Sleepy River"
Soft Lights and Sweet Music
1936
performer: "Yesterday's Thrill"
Death at a Broadcast
1934
performer: "Lazy Lady" - uncredited
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Black and White in Colour
1992
TV Mini-Series documentary
Herself
The Jerome Kern Songbook
1990
Video
Herself
The 40th Annual Tony Awards
1986
TV Special
Herself - Nominee: Best Featured Actress in a Musical
$12 Million
