Remembering Diahann Carroll
by Jim Longworth
Syndicated media critic R.D. Heldenfels once proclaimed that 1954 was television’s greatest year, in part because of its literate, live dramas and innovative comedies. But 1954 was great for another reason. It was the year that 19 year old Diahann Carroll made her TV debut, winning first prize by singing on the talent show, “Chance of a Lifetime”. That led to a supporting role in her first motion picture, “Carmen Jones”, and a starring turn in the Broadway musical, “No Strings”, for which she won a Tony Award. In 1974, Diahann snagged an Oscar nomination for her dramatic performance in “Claudine”.
Along the way she would also become a Vegas headliner, author of two books, and founder of a group that helped disadvantaged women. But Diahann was best known for her role as a single mom and registered nurse in 1968’s groundbreaking “Julia”. It was the first prime time program to star a woman of color in a professional career, and it won her a Golden Globe.
In 1976, she starred in her own variety series, and in 1984 she joined the cast of “Dynasty”. Diahann also appeared as Jasmine Guy’s mother in “A Different World”, and her last regular series role was in support of Matt Bomer on “White Collar”, from 2008-2014. In 1997, Diahann was diagnosed with breast cancer, but stayed free of the disease for 22 years until it returned several months ago, and took her life on October 4. Diahann was 84. She is survived by her daughter Suzanne and two grandchildren.
I first met Diahann Carroll in 2008 when she participated in my “Salute to TV Moms” event at the Television Academy. Our discussion that night was wide ranging, and began with Diahann talking about her parents.
Diahann: My parents were very middle class, and very old fashioned, and anything having to do with show business was out of the question. They said that was for ‘racy ladies’. I even did the thing my father hated most, I performed in nightclubs, where he said, “They even pluck their eyebrows!” This man was really old fashioned.
I also asked Diahann about how she shaped her character and the scripts on “Julia”, including the time when producer Hal Kanter wanted Julia’s son Corey (played by Marc Copage) to idolize John Wayne.
Diahann: I said, “Hal, are you crazy? You can’t do that with this little Black child. Do you know any Black people, Hal? And he said, ‘I know you now’, and I said, “then you see what a pain in the ass I am.”
Jim Longworth and his wife Pamela Cook with actress Diahann Carroll
On that evening, I surprised each TV Mom by reuniting them with some of their co-stars. Appearing for Diahann were Marc Copage and Jasmine Guy.
Jasmine: You are so elegant, warm, and down to earth, and you’ve taught me a lot about growing up as a woman, a woman in this business, a mother, an actress. Thank you for having my back in so many ways.
Copage: Miss Carroll, I’m very lucky to have had the opportunity to play your son for three years. Having grown up without a real mother, you filled that void.
The day after Diahann passed away, I reached out to some of our friends who had worked with the great lady, among them was Marc, who echoed his thoughts from that evening 11 years ago.
Copage: Diahann was the only maternal figure I knew, and during that first season on “Julia”, I would beg her to take me home with her at the end of the day’s shooting. I took to her as if she was my real mother…I will greatly miss her.
Joan Collins, Diahann’s diva rival on “Dynasty”, emailed me, and wrote, “I’m shocked and saddened to hear of Diahann’s passing. We had such fun filming Dynasty”, and I have great memories of our time together.” And, Linda Evans said, “Diahann was a powerful woman with the tenacity to follow her dreams. I admired her, and enjoyed working with her.”
And my friend Matt Bomer, star of “White Collar”, told me, “We were all so blessed to know and love Diahann. She possessed a grace and elegance that you just don’t see very often anymore. She was wickedly funny, self deprecating, and lovely in every way. She was also a profound inspiration to me, and helped to give me the courage to be my most authentic self.”
Truth is, it was easy to be inspired by Diahann Carroll because she excelled at everything she did, and because she did those things on her terms. She even answered questions on her terms. During the “TV Moms” event, I asked all of the ladies if they had ever been asked to pose nude. After several of the actresses responded, I started to move on to another topic, when Diahann, said, “Jim, you didn’t ask if I had ever been asked to pose nude.” “Were you asked?” I said. “Yes”, she replied. “Well what happened?” I asked. “That’s all I’m going to say about it,” Diahann said with a mischievous smile on her face. I’ll always remember that smile.
Post-Modern Sitcoms / Actors That Wrote Books / 1987 Gilbert Gottfried Pilot Written By Larry David / Tarantino, DiCaprio & Pitt on Once Upon A Time In Hollywood / Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci Talk Goodfellas / Coming to America - The Awful Sitcom? / Robert Wagner Interview / Helen Mirren on 1923 / Lucky 19-Year Old Birthday Boy on The Price is Right / 1990-1999 TV Commercials / James Hong on the First & Only Asian Talent Agent in Hollywood / More Than Myagi: The Pat Morita Story / Chevy Chase 2021 Interview / Ally McBeal and that Darn Dancing Baby / Ed Begley Jr. Interview / Rap Folk Artist Demeanor Interview / Peter Boyle's Heart Attack on the Set of Everybody Loves Raymond / Patrick Swayze Refused To Do 'Ghost' Without Whoopie Goldberg / Clark Furlong on Stephen King's Mini-Series Lisey's Story / 14-Year Old Brody Bett Steals the Show at a David Foster Concert / Worst Big Budget Superhero Movie of All Time / Jerry Springer's Toxic TV Legacy / Three Generations of Talent / Mary McCormack on The West Wing / One Season Too Many / Dick Wolf on the Writer's Strike / Angela Lansbury Tribute / Sam Fribush Organ Trio / Why The Nanny Matters / Houston Knights / Rissi Palmer is Still Here / Uncle Buck Sitcom / My Brush With King Charles / Bonnie Bartlett Daniels Interview / Frank Zappa Talk Show? / Remembering Marvel & Buffy Scribe Pierce Askegren / Piper Laurie Tribute / 1993 Route 66 Reboot / David Hyde Pierce on the Last Days of ‘Frazier’ / Angela Lansbury Interview / The Shadow Movies of the 1930s & 40s / Remembering Hal Holbrook / Remembering Angela Lansbury / Greensboro Movie Theaters : Star Theatre / Police Squad Shot-By-Shot Remake of M Squad! / A Painting Saved Bill Murray's Life / Why Jim Carrey Fought to Cast Jeff Daniels in 'Dumb and Dumber' / Meredith Baxter Talks Breast Cancer / Sopranos Creator David Chase Had to Fight to Make Tony Soprano the Mobster He Was / Joan Collins on Working With Drunk Actors / Snowmaggedon 1969 / Joe Pesci HATES Practical Jokes / Books About Showbiz / Making It in Showbiz / Dark Justice / My Fave Book About Showbiz / Remembering Billy Packer / More Celebrity Biographies / Peter Falk : Inside The Actor's Studio / Jason Alexander on Duckman / Robert Ebert on Robert Mitchum / Watch Dave Chappelle's New Netflix Special for Free / Margaret (Wicked Witch of the West) Hamilton Was Almost Scarred For Life Filming Wizard of Oz / Restaurant Chains We Might Lose In 2020 / Night Heat / Short History of TV Advertising / Is Ellen A Monster? / To Binge Or Not To Binge? / 1986-87 TV SEASON / Celebrity Bios 4 / 1988-89 TV SEASON / 1990-91 TV SEASON / Can Comic Book City Survive? / When TV Plays Politics for Laughs / The Worst Thing I Ever Saw (Part 2) / Greensboro's Beef (Biff) Burger Has Closed! / Sally Field Looks Back on Smokey and the Bandit / Actors Writing Memoirs 2 / Gene Wilder's Sexual Chemistry with Richard Pryor / WORST Pizzas Served On Kitchen Nightmares / Ricky Gervais' Cruelly Funny 2020 Golden Globe Monologue / What It's Like To Win A New Car on The Price Is Right / Night Train! 3 - Las Vegas Comic Pat Cooper / Night Train! 4 - Resurrection and Death of Louis Prima / Denis Shepard of Paradise Lost / Space Force Logo is a Ripoff from Star Trek! / Batman Movie from 1939? What?!? / Michael Richards (Kramer) Really Hated It When his Seinfeld Co-Stars Messed Up / Melissa McCarthy Almost Quit Acting Days Before Landing Gilmore Girls / Bar Rescue's Wildest Customers! / How The Golden Girls and Elvis Got Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs Made / Charlie Brown Voice Actor Released From Prison / New Year's Eve on TV / Sir Laurence Olivier on the 'Genius' of Marlon Brando / 1967 Futurists Predict The 21st Century / Remembering Diahann Carroll / 50 Funniest Niles Crane Insults / TV HITS - By the Numbers / How Tom Hanks Played Mr. Rogers / Colin Farrell as The Penguin? / Alex Baldwin On His TV and Film Roles / Ray Charles' BIG Problem With TV / Malcolm Gladwell on TV Crime Dramas / Why Dolly Parton Would Not Let Elvis Record 'I Will Always Love You' / Top Ten Sitcoms of the 1970s / Danny McBride Rebooting Hogan's Heroes? / Fashion on TV / Alive & Well / James Cameron Made No Money for Titanic / Whatever Happened To Miss Cleo? / Lucy Blows Off Burt Reynolds / Dave Navarro Meets His Mother's Killer / The Real Mindhunters Killers / John Goodman Breaks Down His Iconic Roles / Growing Up In The Playboy Mansion / Ed McMahon Drunk on the Air! / Lucy Interviewed by Barbara Walters / Valerie Harper Cancer / Jeff Bridges Breaks Down His Iconic Roles / Dog Fight! The KCNC Scandal / Buckley vs Hefner / Laurence Olivier vs Marilyn Monroe / Dallas vs Eight is Enough / 1974 MAD Magazine TV Special - Never Aired! / Iconic M*A*S*H Restaurant Coming To Kroger? / Matt Damon, Bill Murray, and Graham Norton - Big Laughs! / When Lucy Got Fired / Partridge Family and Brady Bunch at Kings Island theme park 1972-73 / Awkward Talk Show Moments / Allan Blye Interview / Jack Benny's Last Tonight Show 1974 / Patricia Heaton's Audition for Everybody Loves Raymond / Luke Perry's Last Role / Johnny Cash's Last Interview / Judy Garland's Last Film / Who Was Bob Gordon? / Richard Dreyfuss vs Bill Murray / Jeff Ross vs Everybody / Tennessee Williams 1972 Interview / Ed Asner Interview / Norm Macdonald vs OJ Simpson / Tony Kornheiser Interview / Freddy's Nightmares TV Series / Awful 1990s TV Shows / The Funniest Comebacks in Talk Show History / Was Sonny Bono Murdered? / Robin Williams' Mrs. Doubtfire Screen Tests / Robert Downey Jr Asks for Forgiveness for Mel Gibson / Russell Brand / Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave / Judy Garland vs Liz Taylor / Emmy Award Multiple Winners / Nathaniel Taylor aka Rollo Lawson / Anthony Zuiker: Mr. CSI / Jimmy & Cher / Diana Muldaur: A Viewer's History / Uncle Andy's Funhouse / Bea Arthur vs Betty White / Skidoo: Worst All-Star Comedy Ever? / Every Marvel Cartoon Opening Theme From 1966 - Present / When Stars Play Themselves / My Pen Pal is in the Pen, Pal / Small Roles Big Performances / Barbara Hall / Stars Before They Were Famous / Stars Before They Were Famous 2 / Stars Before They Were Famous 3 / A Better Classic TV Network / Bill Paxton / Who Was the Black Daliah? / How Frasier Was Created / Music Videos / Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Behind the Scenes / Shirley Jones Interview / What We Lost When We Lost VHS / When Hit TV Shows Return / Commercials Starring Sopranos Cast Members / Shows Nobody Remembers But Me 4 / Shows Nobody Remembers But Me 1 / Bryan Cranston Interview / FREE streaming movie service you didn’t know you have / The Great Cable TV Migration / Sportscaster Woody Durham / Movie Posters and the documentary 24x36 /Chris Robinson /Dallas Reboot /David Letterman /Auditioning For Game Shows in the 80s /Ghosts of Cable TV past / Honey Boo Boo - WTF?!? / Steven Bochco Tribute / Ian Abercrombie / Joe Franklin / John Nettles / Gotham / Family Fued: Gilligan's Island vs Lost In Space / Jon Cryer / Jon Stewart / Lana Wood / David Letterman / Matt Bomer / Molly Ringwald / Morgan Brittany / Music Rights for TV Shows / Neilsen Ratings / Norman Lloyd / Not Your Dad's TV / TV Series Reunions / Rich Little / Special Bulletin with George Clooney / Howard Stern VS Jamie Foxx / Top Ten Action Movies / 2013 Emmy Awards / 2010 Celebrity Deaths
|
It is what it is!
|
