Della Reese - Black History Mini Docs

Actress, singer, and ordained minister Della Reese born July 6, 1931, was first a gospel singer in her early days but she was soon introduced to and influenced by respectable jazz artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughn. In 1953, she signed a contract with Jubilee Records and joined the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra.

Chart success eventually came with the 1957 release of her fourth single titled "And That Reminds Me." Reese's record sold over one million copies and made it into the Top Twenty Pop list. Her biggest hit came after she signed with RCA Records in 1957. The single titled "Dont You Know" climbed all the way to the #2 spot on the pop charts. Throughout the 1960s, she continued to release singles and albums while touring across the country. In 1969, her music career was put on the back burner to shoot a variety series, but the show was cancelled after the first season.

In the 1970s, Reese appeared on several television shows such as Sanford and Son and The House of Yes. After taping a guest show in 1979, she had a near fatal brain aneurism that required her to undergo two neurosurgical operations. Following her recovery, Reese bounced back and lent her voice to the animated series A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. In the fall of 1991, she starred opposite her good friend Redd Foxx in the TV series the Royal Family for NBC. Foxx collapsed and died on the set after the show had completed only seven episodes. BHMDs Neema Barnette directed two episodes of that show. She also appeared with Foxx in the Eddie Murphy directed comedy favorite, Harlem Nights. Quoting one of the funniest lines in modern films, "Oh, l you wanna hit people with garbage cans"

In 1994, the television drama series Touched by an Angel offered #DellaReese the shows theme song and she was a part of the show for ten years. Motown singer Martha Reeves cites Reese as a major influence and says she named her group The Vandellas after Van Dyke Street in Detroit and Della Reese. Reese died on November 19, 2017, at the age of 86.

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