Swell Dames # 115 – Sheila Guyse

Sheila Guyse
Beautiful multi-talented Sheila Guyse was a popular, well-loved figure on the stage and screen of the Dorothy Dandridge era. Some critics even felt she was a better actress than Dandridge, some said if Sheila ever decided to go to Hollywood, she would give her a run for her money. She appeared in three independent black films, "Boy, What A Girl", "Sepia Cinderella" and "Miracle In Harlem" giving magnificent performances in all of them. Guyse wasn't an experienced or trained actress, but you never know it. She appeared in many stage productions such as "Lost in the Stars" and "Finian's Rainbow" which were both long running. Her singing voice was as beautiful as she was, divine, sweet, easy on the ears whether singing jazz, pop, or gospel. Very popular in the 1940s and 1950s, Sheila graced many covers of magazines like Jet, Ebony, Our World, Hue and many others, reviews were always flattering.

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Swell Dames # 113 – Dorothy Lamour

Dorothy Lamour
In addition to being Miss New Orleans in 1931, Dorothy Lamour worked as a Chicago elevator operator; band vocalist for her first husband, band leader Herbie Kaye; and radio performer. In 1936 she donned her soon-to-be-famous sarong for her debut at Paramount, The Jungle Princess (1936), and continued to play female Tarzan-Crusoe-Gauguin-girl-with make-up parts through the war years and beyond. The most famous of these was in the popular Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road" pictures - a strange combination of adventure, slapstick, ad-libs and Hollywood inside jokes. Of these she said, "I was the happiest and highest-paid straight woman in the business." As she aged, however, the quality of her films dropped. Among her serious films were Johnny Apollo (1940) and A Medal for Benny (1945).

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Swell Dames # 112 – Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge was modern, dignified and refined in person as well in films like Bright Road and The Harlem Globetrotters. That’s a contrast to the sexy nightclub routines she became famous for. She considered herself an actor more than a singer and these appearances were a specific kind of performance. In 1955, she became the first black woman to be nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for the rebellious principal character in Carmen Jones. Otto Preminger, her director and lover, advised her that as a movie star she should not take supporting roles. But few leading roles in Hollywood were forthcoming. After taking a break of a few years at the peak of her career, she went on to star in European films and smaller productions, before dying in 1965 at the age of 42. This season shines a light on the diverse range of roles Dandridge embraced throughout her career.

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Swell Dames # 109 – Ann Richards

Ann Richards was a better singer than she was often given credit for, but her career fell short of its potential. She was self-taught on piano and started taking singing lessons when she was ten. Richards began singing professionally in the San Francisco Bay area and played a short stint with Charlie Barnet. She joined Stan Kenton's band for a few months in 1955; they were married and she was a part-time singer throughout their marriage (which lasted until 1961). Richards recorded a few pleasing and swinging albums on her own for Capitol, Atco, and Vee Jay. She died by suicide in 1982, at the age of 46.

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Swell Dames # 106 – Alice Darr

Alice Darr (April 22, 1930 – February 4, 2024) was an American jazz musician and songwriter. Alice grew up on Pine Avenue in Cumberland, Maryland, and attended the Carver School. At age seven, she won an amateur competition; at 17, she performed professionally. Her parents were extremely hard working and worked several jobs to provide for the family. Her father, James Darr, worked as a jazz musician with many well-known musicians of his time at the local level. Alice not only sang but learned to play the piano and snare drum at a young age. She first gained experience performing at the Cadillac Cocktail Lounge in downtown Cumberland, where she was eventually discovered by a brother of singer Nat King Cole. Soon after, she received a call from an agent in Pittsburgh, which led to a nationwide tour. She performed in New York, Miami Beach, Chicago, and Mexico, where she had engagements in supper clubs, including extended periods at The Toast (1068 First Avenue) and The Left Bank in Manhattan. Darr also performed all over the world, Television host Ed Sullivan wrote that she had  "a lot of talent" in his column in the New York Daily News. Billboard magazine described Alice Darr as "talented, with the ability to project a ballad with feeling and warmth". The nationally syndicated show business columnist Earl Wislon, writing for the New York Post, described her as, "a lovely, charming, and vivacious girl".

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