Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress, singer and author.
27 Facts About Pearl Bailey
2.
Pearl Bailey received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on October 17,1988.
3.
Pearl Bailey made her stage-singing debut at the age of 15.
4.
Pearl Bailey won and was offered $35 a week to perform there for two weeks.
5.
Pearl Bailey later won a similar competition at Harlem's famous Apollo Theater and decided to pursue a career in entertainment.
6.
Pearl Bailey was known to have performed in the church choir at St Peter Claver Catholic Church in Brooklyn, at the behest of Msgr Bernard J Quinn.
7.
Pearl Bailey began by singing and dancing in Philadelphia's black nightclubs in the 1930s, and soon started performing in other parts of the East Coast.
8.
In 1941, during World War II, Pearl Bailey toured the country with the USO, performing for American troops.
9.
In 1946, Pearl Bailey made her Broadway debut in St Louis Woman.
10.
Pearl Bailey continued to tour and record albums along with her stage and screen performances.
11.
Early in the television medium, Pearl Bailey guest starred on CBS's Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town.
12.
Female impersonator Lynne Carter credited Pearl Bailey with launching his career.
13.
Pearl Bailey was given a special Tony Award for her role, and RCA Victor released a second original-cast album, the only recording of the score to have an overture written especially for the recording.
14.
Pearl Bailey sang the national anthem prior to Game 1 of the 1981 World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium.
15.
Bailey hosted her own variety series on ABC, The Pearl Bailey Show, which featured many notable guests, including Lucille Ball, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong.
16.
Pearl Bailey earned a degree in theology from Georgetown University in Washington, DC in 1985 at age 67.
17.
In 1988, Pearl Bailey received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Reagan.
18.
Pearl Bailey went through a number of failed marriages in her earlier adult years.
19.
Pearl Bailey married John Randolph Pinkett, either her third or fourth husband, when she was 30 years old, and divorced him four years later, accusing him of physical abuse.
20.
On November 19,1952, Pearl Bailey married jazz drummer Louie Bellson in London.
21.
Pearl Bailey attended several meetings of the United Nations and later appeared in a campaign ad for President Gerald Ford in the 1976 election.
22.
Pearl Bailey was awarded the Bronze Medallion in 1968, the highest award conferred upon civilians by New York City.
23.
In 1969, Crawford and Pearl Bailey joined fellow friend Gypsy Rose Lee in accepting a USO award.
24.
That same year, Pearl Bailey was recognized as USO's woman of the year.
25.
Pearl Bailey died at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia on August 17,1990.
26.
Pearl Bailey had suffered from heart problems for over thirty years.
27.
Pearl Bailey is buried at Rolling Green Memorial Park in West Chester, Pennsylvania.