Louis Allen Rawls was an American singer, record producer, composer and actor.
26 Facts About Lou Rawls
2.
Lou Rawls worked as a film, television, and voice actor.
3.
Lou Rawls was hired by the Chosen Gospel Singers and moved to Los Angeles, where he joined the Pilgrim Travelers.
4.
In 1955, Lou Rawls enlisted in the United States Army as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.
5.
Lou Rawls left the Army three years later as a Sergeant and rejoined the Pilgrim Travelers.
6.
In 1958, while touring the South with the Travelers and Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls was in a car crash.
7.
Lou Rawls was pronounced dead before arriving at the hospital, where he stayed in a coma for five and a half days.
8.
Lou Rawls spent a year recuperating and it was several months before his memory returned.
9.
Lou Rawls charted with a cover of "Bring It On Home to Me" in 1970.
10.
In 1969, Lou Rawls was co-host of NBC's summer replacement series for the Dean Martin Show with Martin's daughter, singer Gail Martin.
11.
The hit single "Lady Love" followed, from the 1977 album When You Hear Lou Rawls, You've Heard It All.
12.
Lou Rawls appeared in a segment aired during the first season of Sesame Street to sing the alphabet.
13.
Lou Rawls dismissed the suggestion to use cue cards for the performance but reversed his decision when he forgot the order of the letters.
14.
Lou Rawls was a guest during the second season of The Muppet Show.
15.
Lou Rawls's first acting credit was in the Western television series The Big Valley.
16.
Lou Rawls was in the season 5 episode "Lifeline" of the television show Mannix and the season 6 episode "Return to the Cotton Club" of the show Fantasy Island.
17.
Lou Rawls appeared in the films Leaving Las Vegas, Blues Brothers 2000, and Angel, Angel, Down We Go.
18.
Lou Rawls had a role and sang in Lookin' Italian, an independent film about the mafia.
19.
Lou Rawls was a guest host on Jazz Central, a television program that was broadcast on the BET channel.
20.
In December 2005, it was announced that Lou Rawls was being treated for lung cancer that metastasized to his brain.
21.
Lou Rawls died from this illness on January 6,2006, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.
22.
Lou Rawls is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
23.
Lou Rawls performed "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "It Was A Very Good Year" as a tribute to Frank Sinatra.
24.
Lou Rawls was invited to sing the anthem many times over the next 28 years.
25.
In 1982, Lou Rawls received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
26.
In January 2004, Lou Rawls was honored by the United Negro College Fund for his more than 25 years of charity work with the organization.