The Broadway community mourns the loss of beloved performer, pioneer, and Tony Award® winner Diahann Carroll, who passed away on October 4, 2019 at age 84. To commemorate her life and work, the Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of the American Airlines, Broadhurst, Helen Hayes, Hudson, Marquis, New Amsterdam, Samuel J. Friedman, St. James, and Vivian Beaumont Theatres in New York for one minute on Wednesday, October 16th at exactly 7:45pm.
“Much has been made of Ms. Carroll’s groundbreaking role shattering racial barriers in film and on Broadway,” said Thomas Schumacher, Chairman of The Broadway League. “That she was a pioneer is undeniable. But she was first and foremost a gifted, Tony-winning actress of enormous warmth and charm. She made just three visits to Broadway – in two musicals and a turbulent drama – but the breadth of those roles is a measure of her range and craft.”
On Broadway Ms. Carroll appeared in Agnes of God (1982), No Strings (1962), and House of Flowers(1954). Winner of the 1962 Tony Award for Best Actress in A Musical for her performance in No Strings, she was the first African-American woman to win this award. On the road, Ms. Carroll toured with the production of Same Time, Next Year (1977) and starred as Norma Desmond in the Toronto production of Sunset Boulevard (1995).
Ms. Carroll, well known for her groundbreaking starring roles in the television series “Julia” and “Dynasty,” had an extensive television and film career with credits including: “White Collar;” “Diary of a Single Mom,” “Grey's Anatomy,” “Soul Food,” “Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story,” “Sally Hemings: An American Scandal,” “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years,” “Eve’s Bayou,” “Touched By An Angel,” “Lonesome Dove: The Series,” “Evening Shade,” “A Different World,” The Five Heartbeats, “The Colbys,” “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “Roots: The Next Generations,” “The Love Boat,” Claudine, Paris Blues, Porgy and Bess, and Carmen Jones among many others.
Nominated for various entertainment industry awards throughout her career including an Oscar in 1975, Ms. Carroll received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Biography / Auto-biography (2009), the TV Land Groundbreaking Show Award (2003), the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (1975), and the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star – Female (1969).
Her full Broadway biography can be found on the Internet Broadway Database: https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/diahann-carroll-34679#Credits
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