Diahann Carroll obit

Diahann Carroll, pioneering star of 'Julia' and 'Dynasty,' dead at 84

She was not on the list.


Diahann Carroll, who pioneered television with her starring role in the 1968 series "Julia," died Friday, her daughter Suzanne Kay confirmed to CNN.
Carroll was 84.
She died early Friday, following a battle with breast cancer, according to her publicist Jeffery Lane.

Known as much for her talent as she was her beauty and elegance, Carroll was beloved for her work in "Julia," as well as her subsequent performance as the wealthy and cultured Dominique Deveraux in the 1980s ABC primetime soap opera "Dynasty."
She became the first African-American woman to star in a network sitcom not revolving around a stereotypical character when "Julia" premiered on NBC in 1968.

Her role as widowed nurse Julia Baker, who was raising a charming young son, also broke ground for its portrayal of a black woman as something other than a domestic worker.
But while some called "Julia" groundbreaking for its non-stereotypical premise, others criticized the show for what they saw as a simplified depiction of the black experience in America in the late '60s.
In 1998, Carroll told the Television Academy Foundation she was reluctant to do the series.

"I really didn't believe that this was a show that was going to work," she said of "Julia." "I thought it was something that was going to relieve someone's conscience for a very short period of time and I really thought 'Let them go elsewhere.'"
The series earned her an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe award.
Carroll already had an established career by that point.
Born Carol Diann Johnson in New York City, she attended the New York High School of Music and Art.

At the age of 16, she adopted the name Diahann Carroll and won an audition for the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts television show.
The opportunity led to radio performances, modeling work and singing in nightclubs.
Carroll made her Broadway debut in 1954 in the musical "The House of Flowers," which also starred Pearl Bailey and Juanita Hall. She appeared in her first film, the now classic "Carmen Jones," starring Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge, that same year.

Carroll performed in Las Vegas and released several albums early on, including "Diahann Carroll Sings Harold Arlen" (1957), "Diahann Carroll and Andre Previn "(1960) and "The Fabulous Diahann Carroll (1962)."
It was on Broadway, however, where Carroll hit her stride.

She became the first African-American woman to win a Tony for best actress when she snagged the coveted award for her portrayal as Barbara Woodruff in the 1962 musical "No Strings."
She went on to receive an Oscar nomination for the 1974 movie "Claudine," in which she starred opposite James Earl Jones.
Carroll once again changed the television landscape in the 1980s when she became the first major African-American character on a primetime soap in "Dynasty."

Her character, the previously referenced Dominique Deveraux (which she also played on the spinoff "The Colbys"), served as an antagonist to Alexis Carrington, played by Joan Collins.
In an interview her first day on the set in 1984, Carroll said she wanted to be "the first black b***h on television."

"I've never played a role quite this unlikeable," she said. "And I like that. I like that very much because I think very often, particularly minorities, it's almost required of them that they are nice people."
Carroll's personal life was no less glamorous.

She was married four times: to record producer Monte Kay from 1956 to 1963 during which time they had a daughter, Suzanne; briefly to Las Vegas boutique owner Fred Glusman in 1973; to Jet magazine managing editor Robert DeLeon from 1975 until his death two years later in a car crash; and to singer Vic Damone from 1987 to 1996.

In the 1990s, Carroll won a new legion of fans playing Whitney Gilbert's mother, Marion, on "A Different World" and the new millennium found Carroll appearing on multiple TV shows, including "Grey's Anatomy" and "Diary of a Single Mom."

Her last credited role was as Miss Edna in the 2016 film "The Masked Saint."
Carroll is survived by her daughter and her grandchildren, August and Sydney.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role

1954      Carmen Jones    Myrt

1959      Porgy and Bess    Clara

1961      Goodbye Again     Night Club Singer

Paris Blues          Connie Lampson

1967      Hurry Sundown                 Vivian Turlow

1968      The Split               Ellen "Ellie" Kennedy

1974      Claudine               Claudine

1991      The Five Heartbeats        Eleanor Potter

1992      Color Adjustment            Herself

1997      Eve's Bayou        Elzora

2008      Over the River...Life of Lydia Maria Child, Abolitionist for Freedom            Narrator

2013      Tyler Perry Presents Peeples       Nana Peeples

2015      The Masked Saint             Ms. Edna

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1954      Chance of a Lifetime       Herself Four consecutive weeks as a contestant

1954      The Red Skelton Hour     Herself 1 episode

1955      General Electric Theater                Anna      Episode: "Winner by Decision"

1957-1961          The Jack Paar Tonight Show         Herself    28 episodes

1957-1968          The Ed Sullivan Show      Herself    9 episodes

1959-1962          The Garry Moore Show Herself   8 episodes

1960      Peter Gunn         Dina Wright        Episode: "Sing a Song of Murder"

1960      The Man in the Moon                     TV movie

1962      What's My Line?               Mystery Guest

1962      Naked City          Ruby Jay               Episode: "A Horse Has a Big Head – Let Him Worry!"

1963      The Eleventh Hour           Stella Young       Episode: "And God Created Vanity"

1963-1975          The Merv Griffin Show   Herself 2 episodes

1964      The Judy Garland Show Herself Episode 21

1964-1967          The Danny Kaye Show    Herself 6 episodes

1964-1969          The Hollywood Palace    Herself 10 episodes

1965–1971          The Dean Martin Show Herself 5 episodes

1966–1978          The Mike Douglas Show                Herself 12 episodes

1967-1971          The Carol Burnett Show                 Herself 2 episodes

1968      Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing       Herself

1968–1971          Julia       Julia Baker           86 episodes

1969      The Joey Bishop Show    Herself 1 episode

1972, 1986          The Dick Cavett Show     Herself 3 episodes

1972      The New Bill Cosby Show              Herself 1 episode

1975      Death Scream    Betty May           TV movie

1976      The Diahann Carroll Show             Herself 4 episodes

1977      The Love Boat    Roxy Blue            Episode: "Isaac the Groupie"

1977-1978          Hollywood Squares          Herself 11 episodes

1978      Star Wars Holiday Special             Mermeia Holographic Wow        

1979      Roots: The Next Generations      Zeona Haley      

1979      I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings              Vivian    TV movie

1982      Sister, Sister       Carolyne Lovejoy              TV movie

1984–1987          Dynasty                Dominique Deveraux      74 episodes

1985–1986          The Colbys          Dominique Deveraux      7 episodes

1989      From the Dead of Night Maggie

1989–1993          A Different World             Marion Gilbert   9 episodes

1990      Murder in Black and White          Margo Stover

1991      Sunday in Paris Vernetta Chase

1993      The Sinbad Show              Mrs. Winters      Episode: "My Daughter's Keeper"

1994      Burke's Law        Grace Gibson     Episode: "Who Killed the Beauty Queen?"

1994      Evening Shade   Ginger   Episode: "The Perfect Woman"

1994–1995          Lonesome Dove: The Series         Ida Grayson        7 episodes

1994      A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle Lydia Bishop      

1995      Touched by an Angel      Grace Willis        Episode: "The Driver"

1998      The Sweetest Gift            Mrs. Wilson       

1999      Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years            Sadie Delany      TV movie

1999      Jackie's Back       Herself TV movie

1999      Twice in a Lifetime           Jael        2 episodes

2000      The Courage to Love       Pouponne           TV movie

2000      Sally Hemings: An American Scandal        Betty Hemings   Miniseries

2000      Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child      Crow      Episode: "Aesop's Fables: A Whodunit Musical"

2000      Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story      Maria Cole          TV movie

2001      The Legend of Tarzan     Queen La (voice)              3 episodes

2002      The Court            Justice DeSett    6 episodes

2002      Half & Half          Grandma Ruth Thorne   Episode: "The Big Thanks for Forgiving Episode"

2003      Strong Medicine               Eve Morton        Episode: "Love and Let Die"

2003–2004          Soul Food            Aunt Ruthie        2 episodes

2004      Whoopi                Viveca Rae          Episode: "Mother's Little Helper"

2006–2007          Grey's Anatomy                Jane Burke          5 episodes

2008      Back to You         Sandra Jenkins Episode: "Hug & Tell"

2009–2014          White Collar       June       25 episodes

2010      At Risk Nana     TV movie

2010      The Front             Nana     TV movie

2010      Diahann Carroll: The Lady. The Music. The Legend             Herself Filmed live in concert in Palm Springs, California

2010–2011          Diary of a Single Mom    Therapist             7 episodes