Della Reese

At 86 years old, Della Reese has this physical status:

Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades.

Her long career began as a singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You Know?".

In the late 1960s she hosted her own talk show, Della, which ran for 197 episodes.

From 1975 she also starred in films, playing opposite Redd Foxx in Harlem Nights (1989), Martin Lawrence in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) and Elliott Gould in Expecting Mary (2010).

Reese achieved continued success in the religious television drama Touched by an Angel (1994–2003), in which she played the leading role of Tess.

Early years

Della Reese was born Delloreese Patricia Early on July 6, 1931, in the historic Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, to Richard Thaddeus Early, an African-American steelworker, and Nellie (Mitchelle), a Native American cook of the Cherokee tribe. Her mother had had several children before Reese's birth, none of whom lived with her; hence, Reese grew up as an only child. At six years old, Reese began singing in church; from this experience she became an avid gospel singer. On weekends in the 1940s, she and her mother would go to the movies independently to watch the likes of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Lena Horne portray glamorous lives on screen. Afterward, Reese would act out scenes from the films. In 1944, she began her career directing the young people's choir, after she had nurtured acting plus her obvious musical talent. She was often chosen, on radio, as a regular singer. At the age of 13, she was hired to sing with Mahalia Jackson's gospel group. Reese entered Detroit's Cass Technical High School (where she attended the same year as Edna Rae Gillooly, later known as Ellen Burstyn). She also continued with her touring with Jackson. With higher grades, she became in 1947 the first in her family to graduate from high school, aged 15.

After this she formed her own gospel group, the Meditation Singers. However, due in part to her father's serious illness and the death of her mother, Reese had to interrupt her schooling at Wayne State University to help support her family. Faithful to the memory of her mother, Delloreese moved out of her father's house when she disapproved of him taking up with a new girlfriend. She then took on odd jobs, such as truck driver, dental receptionist, and elevator operator, after 1949. Performing in clubs, Early soon decided to shorten her name from "Delloreese Early" to "Della Reese".

Personal life

Reese was the godmother of Roma Downey's daughter Reilly Marie. Reese officiated at the marriage ceremony of Downey and Mark Burnett in the absence of Downey's late mother.

Reese's mother, Nellie Mitchelle Early, died in 1949 of an intracerebral hemorrhage. Reese's father, Richard Early, died ten years later. Reese had an adoptive daughter from a family member unable to care for her, named Delorese Daniels Owens, born in 1961. Owens died on March 14, 2002. She died from complications stemming from pituitary disease. Sharing her frustration with the lack of awareness and knowledge of pituitary disorders, Reese said:

In 1952, Reese married factory worker Vermont Adolphus Bon Taliaferro, nineteen years her senior. She adopted the stage name Pat Ferro for a week, before introducing the stage name she used for the rest of her life—though sources differ as to whether this name change was after the failure of the marriage, or simply a show-business decision. A second marriage ceremony, on December 28, 1959, to accountant Leroy Basil Gray, who had two children by a previous marriage, was kept secret for some time. This marriage either ended in divorce or was annulled on the basis that Gray's previous divorce was invalid. In 1961, Reese was briefly married to bandleader Mercer Ellington (who was then her manager), before their union was annulled later that year due to Ellington's Mexican divorce from his wife Evelyn Walker being ruled invalid. In 1983, Reese married Franklin Thomas Lett, Jr., a concert producer and writer.

In the 1980s, Reese was ordained a minister through the Christian New Thought branch known as Unity after serving as the senior minister and founder of her own church, Understanding Principles for Better Living. The "Up Church" is under Universal Foundation for Better Living, a denomination of Christian New Thought founded by Rev. Johnnie Colemon, a close friend of Rev. Reese-Lett. In her ministerial work, she was known as the Rev. Dr. Della Reese Lett.

In 1979, during taping for a guest spot on The Tonight Show, Reese suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm, but made a full recovery after two surgeries by neurosurgeon Charles Drake at University Hospital in London, Ontario. In 2016, shortly after her 85th birthday, Reese was said to be in poor health, and had undergone multiple surgeries. She stated that she had neglected her health for years, which had contributed to her developing type 2 diabetes. After her last appearance in Signed, Sealed, Delivered, she retired from acting. While Reese sometimes used a wheelchair, she avoided using one often, out of concern it would make her condition worse.

Reese died at her home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles on November 19, 2017, at the age of 86.

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Musical career

Mahalia Jackson, a gospel singer, won a competition, giving her a week to perform at Detroit's well-known Flame Show Bar. Reese was on the site for eight weeks. Although her roots were in gospel music, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Billie Holiday now was being exposed to and inspired by such jazz musicians as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Billie Holiday. She signed a recording deal with Jubilee Records in 1953, for which she released six albums. She joined the Hawkins Orchestra later that year. "In the Thrill of the Night" (originally released in 1937), "I Have My Love to Keep Me Warm"), and "Time After Time" (1947). The songs were later released on the album And That Reminds Me (1959).

"And That Reminds Me" was Reese's first single in 1957. She achieved a following with this song after years of performing. It was a Top Twenty pop hit and a million-seller record. Billboard, Cashbox, and various other publications named Reese as the "Most Promising Artist" this year. Reese moved to RCA Records in 1959 and released her first RCA single, "Don't You Know?" "This was based on Giacomo Puccini's music for La Bohème, specifically the aria "Quando m'en vo" (Musetta's Waltz). It was her biggest hit to date, with a debut on the pop charts and top the R&B charts (then referred to as the "Hot R&B Sides) this year. The RIAA gave it a gold disc and a one-million copies. The song came to be widely considered the signature song of her early career. "Not One Minute More" was the single that followed her success back in the United States (number 16). With "And Now," she remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (number 69). "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)" (number 56), Neal Hefti's first album outing, organized by Neal Hefti, who used some arrangement plans invented by Reese in 1960.

Reese appeared in advertisements in Ebony magazine for the newly introduced AMI Continental jukebox in November 1960. Reese appeared on television shows and several albums throughout the 1960s, releasing singles and several albums. The Classic Della (1962) and Waltz with Me, Della (1963), two of the most notable women, who widened her fan base worldwide, were two of the most influential. Della Reese Live (1966), On Strings of Blue (1967), and One of a Kind (1978). Live on the R&B charts, ranked 21. She has lived in Las Vegas for nine years as well as toured around the country. In 1970, she signed with Avco Embassy Records and released the soul-pop album Black is Beautiful, charting at number 44 on the R&B chart, charting at number 44.

Together with fellow singers O.C., Reese formed Brilliance in 1986. Smith, Mary Clayton, Vermettya Royster, and Eric Strom. Reese's album "You Gave Me Love" (1987) received a Grammy nomination in the gospel category. She later received another award for her album Live! My Soul Sounds Better Now (1998).

Martha Reeves, a Motown singer, cites Reese as a major influence, and she claims she and her group, the Vandellas, after Van Dyke Street in Detroit and Della Reese. Reese was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017.

Television and film career

Reese began to act in 1969, a career that would eventually lead to her highest fame. Della, her first attempt at television fame, was cancelled after 197 episodes (June 9, 1969 – March 13, 1970). Reese became the first black woman to host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1970. She appeared in several television shows and miniseries, was a regular on Chico and the Man, and played B.'s mother. In the A-Team episode "Lease with an Option to Die," A. Baracus appears. She appeared opposite her old friend Redd Foxx in 1991, but the series's completion was delayed for several months due to his death. Reese did voice-over for the late 1980s Hanna-Barbera animated film A Pup Named Scooby-Doo on ABC. In 1989, she appeared in the film Harlem Nights, alongside Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and Redd Foxx, in which she appeared alongside Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and Redd Foxx in which she appeared in a fight scene with Eddie Murphy. Reese appeared on several episodes of RuPaul's Match Game and Latrice Royale impersonated Reese, and Latrice Royale impersonated Reese in season 4 of "Snatch Game of Love," a Match Game and a Dating Game parody.

Starting with an episode of The Mod Squad, Reese performed a number of guest stars. This culminated in other roles in the Bold Ones, Getting Together, Police Woman, Joe Forrester, Everybody, The Rookies, McCloud, Sanford, and Son (with Redd Foxx), Insight, and Insight. She appeared in two episodes of The Love Boat, three episodes of Crazy Like a Fox, four episodes of Charlie & Co. (opposite Flip Wilson), 227 (with best friend Marla Gibbs), MacGyver, Dream On, Designing Women, Picket Fences, That's So Raven, and The Young and the Restless, two episodes. She appeared in It Takes Two with Richard Crenna and Patty Duke as well.

She was hesitant to portray an older female role in the inspirational television drama Touched by an Angel in 1991, but she went forward and auditioned for Tess. Martha Williamson, the network wanted to have a one-shot deal with CBS and producer Martha Williamson, but the network had to order more episodes. Reese was widely believed to be a major contributing factor in the show's success. Roma Downey, a lesser-known Irish actress who played the part of case worker Tess's angel/emplodee, Monica, was already on Touched by an Angel. Both Reese and Downey had an on- and off-screen chemistry in numerous interviews. Tess' character was an angelic boss who sent the other angels out on missions to help people and show them God's love, but she also had a sassy and a no-nonsense attitude at the same time. "I am an angel sent by God to tell you that He loves you" often appeared on the show. Reese's portrayal of Tess as down-to-earth, educated, and direct. Reese performed the show's theme song, "Walk with You," and was also included on the soundtrack album that was released in conjunction with the performance.

Many analysts were skeptical about the show's first season, after Highway to Heaven, being the second overtly religious prime-time fantasy series. The show got off to a rocky start, low ratings, and was cancelled 11 episodes into the first season. Nonetheless, with the support of a massive letter-writing program, the show was revived the following season and became a major ratings hit for the next seven seasons. Reese's initial appearance on the fourth season in 1997 threatened to leave the show because she was earning less than her co-stars; CBS ended up increasing her salary. When she collapsed on the set and was hospitalized in 2000, her health problems became acute. An Angel was cancelled in 2003, but the Angel continued to thrive in syndication and on Ion Television (formerly PAX-TV), The Hallmark Channel, Up), and later MeTV. Downey recalled her on- and off-screen friendship with Reese:

Downey also said:

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