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233 “her husband, Eddie Matthews”: Jay Gould, “Race Track Gossip,” Chicago Defender, February 16, 1935, 17.
234 “What she wanted”: Rob Roy, “Cash No Longer Yardstick in Stars’ Romance, Marriage,” Chicago Defender, May 29, 1954, 19.
235 “Negroes sit in the”: Chappy Gardner, “Negroes Jim-Crowed in the Theaters in Atlantic City, N.J.,” Pittsburg Courier, July 11, 1931, A8.
236 “I learned from good”: Chappy Gardner, “Chappy Gardner—Says,” Pittsburgh Courier, August 22, 1931, A9.
237 “as one of the”: “Ethel Waters Tells of Race’s Contribution to Art and Stage,” Chicago Defender, May 28, 1932, 3.
238 “the cream of sepia”: Edward Jablonsky, Harold Arlen: Happy with the Blues (New York: Da Capo Press, 1986), 54.
239 “There were brutes”: Ibid., 53.
240 “The chief ingredient was”: Ibid., 55.
241 “the Negro-est white man”: John Lahr, “Come Rain or Come Shine,” The New Yorker, September 19, 2005, 89.
242 “I’ll work on it”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 220.
243 “is the greatest of”: “Ethel Waters Says Duke Is Best of All,” Chicago Defender, July 1, 1933, 5.
244 “My dear, she wrote”: Gail Lumet Buckley, The Hornes: An American Family (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986), 165.
245 “That song was the perfect”: Waters, “The Men in My Life,” Ebony, January 1952, 34.
246 “the biggest song hit”: A. H. Lawrence, Duke Ellington and His World (New York: Routledge, 2001), 191.
247 “Did you ever hear”: Laurence Bergreen, As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin (New York: Viking Press, 1990), 316.
248 “I’ve never missed a”: Ibid., 318.
249 “part vitriol and part”: Steven Bach, Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001), 108.
250 “I’ll show them bitches”: Author interview with Joan Croomes.
251 “the most unusual song”: Bach, Dazzler, 110.
252 “I couldn’t sleep”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 221.
253 “Thought you’d like to”: Pearl White, Note, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
254 “Her attitude to her”: Marvel Cooke, “Ethel Waters Does Best amid Turmoil,” Amsterdam News, July 6, 1935, 7.
255 “with a dash of”: Wilson, “V: Ethel Waters—Torch Singer to Dramatic Actress,” New York Post, December 6, 1940, np.
256 “You might just as”: Al Monroe, “Swinging the News,” Chicago Defender, March 18, 1944, 8.
257 “I’m the kind of”: Wilson, “V: Ethel Waters—Torch Singer to Dramatic Actress.”
258 “She was very religious”: Author interview with Maude Russell.
259 “The song is a”: Russell Lee Lawrence, “I’m Not Afraid to Die, Honey . . . I Know the Lord Has His Arms Around This Big Fat Sparrow,” Philadelphia Bulletin, October 21, 1973, 14.
260 “It’s your show”: Bach, Dazzler, 110.
261 “There’s nothing I like”: Ibid., 108.
262 “If one song can”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 222.
263 “moved slowly down to”: Helen Dundar, “On the Road with Carol Channing,” New York Post, November 11, 1969, np.
264 “a superb panorama of”: Brooks Atkinson, “The Play,” New York Times, October 2, 1933, 22.
265 “Once the show got”: Cooke, “Ethel Waters Does Best amid Turmoil,” Amsterdam News, July 6, 1935, 7.
266 “For several weeks, Ethel”: “Ethel Waters Gets Contract,” Chicago Defender, September 23, 1933, 5.
267 “If there was the”: George Wein and Nate Chinen, Myself Among Others (New York: Da Capo Press, 2004), 95.
268 “quality of their”: Frank Driggs, liner notes, Ethel Waters’ Greatest Years, Columbia Records, 1973.
269 “When you hear Ethel”: Bruce Kellner, Radio Stars. Reprinted in Looking at the Stars by Ralph Matthews, Baltimore Afro-American, December 16, 1937, CF.
270 “Lovely Jewels and Clothes”: “Lovely Jewels and Clothes Have Not ‘Made’ the Great Ethel, but They Have Glorified Her,” Pittsburgh Courier, December 12, 1933, 8.
271 “Rumors are going the”: “South Hits Ethel Waters’ Air Contract,” Pittsburgh Courier, January 20, 1934, A6.
272 “Ethel Waters’ Sponsors Cut”: Pittsburgh Courier, February 17, 1934, CF.
273 “South Demands Ethel Waters”: Chicago Defender, February 17, 1934, 5.
274 “knew all the time”: “Ethel Waters and Hubby O.K. Apart,” Chicago Defender, June 9, 1934, 9.
275 “sumptuous seven room apartment”: Moten, “ ‘Trust in God’ Is Secret of Ethel Waters’ Stage Success,” Washington Tribune, August 11, 1936, np.
276 “the premiere singing actress”: “Ethel Waters Is Honored Guest; Harlem Celebrities,” Chicago Defender, May 12, 1934, 8.
277 “The response of the”: “Fashionable ‘400’ in Tears as Ethel Waters Croons Campaign Theme Song,” Pittsburgh Courier, June 2, 1934, 8.
278 “a seemingly endless troop”: Lois Taylor, “Backstage at the Benefit,” Pittsburgh Courier, June 23, 1934, A7.
279 “the subtle implication in”: Ralph Matthews, “An Open Letter to Miss Ethel Waters,” Baltimore Afro-American, April 5, 1934, np.
280 “infrequent interviews”: “Ethel Waters Craves for Serious Roles,” Pittsburgh Courier, October 6, 1934, 8.
281 “guest in fashionable white”: Pittsburgh Courier, November 17, 1934, CF.
282 “Happiness was heavy in”: Fred W. Cousins, “Songs of Own Dire Need Bring Ethel Riches, Joy,” Detroit News, October 9, 1934, CF.
283 “Miss Waters was attractively”: “Fete Ethel Waters in Motor City,” Pittsburgh Courier, October 27, 1934, 8.
284 “While she was singing”: Conrad Clark, “Twas ‘Stormy Weather’ When Ethel Met Him,” Baltimore Afro-American, February 26, 1938, 10.
285 “Queen of Waitresses”: Cephus Jones, “Chicago Waitresses Do Charity Bit,” Chicago Defender, December 1, 1934, 8.
286 “One of the most”: Ethel Waters, “Ethel Waters Thinks ‘Stevedore’ Is Fine Play,” Chicago Defender, December 15, 1934, 8.
287 “She was a unique”: Elia Kazan, A Life (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988), 374.
288 “of the white actors”: “ ‘As Thousands Cheer’ Revamped for Dixie,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 16, 1935, A9.
289 “Ridiculous”: “Race Is Barred from ‘As Thousands Cheer’ in Tenn.,” Chicago Defender, March 23, 1935, 1.
290 “introduced them to the”: Moten, “ ‘Trust in God’ Is Secret Ethel of Waters’ Stage Success,” Washington Tribune, August 11, 1936, CF.
291 “Nobody else in this”: Ashton Stevens review in Chicago American, reprinted in “Chicago Turns Out to Greet Ethel Waters,” Chicago Defender, June 15, 1935, 7.
292 “whistling, wise-cracking, gun-snapping, foot-stamping”: Cooke, “Ethel Waters Does Best amid Turmoil,” Amsterdam News, July 6, 1935, 7.
293 “The Shuberts had started”: Vincente Minnelli with Hector Acre, I Remember It Well (New York: Doubleday, 1974), 68.
294 “I would also have”: Ibid., 69.
295 “The concept was to”: Ibid., 70.
296 “We started rehearsing in”: Ibid.
297 “She was a huge”: Ibid., 72.
298 “Miss Waters can do”: Variety, September 25, 1936, np.
299 “After the cyclonic career”: Brooks Atkinson, “The Play,” New York Times, January 31, 1936, 17.
300 “In sex appeal to”: “The Theatre,” Time, February 10, 1936, np.
301 “I still felt like”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 238.
302 “There was no ‘I’m’ ”: Ibid., 238.
303 “But this is very”: Ibid.
304 “I nearly dropped dead”: Mabel Green, “Ethel Waters Gets Her Wish,” June 2, 1939, CF.
305 “I explained that Mamba’s”: Waters with Samuels, Hi
s Eye Is on the Sparrow, 238.
306 “I told her I”: Green, “Ethel Waters Gets Her Wish,” June 2, 1939, CF.
307 “Would you some day”: “Daughter of Mamba,” New York Times, January 1, 1939, CF.
308 “Well, when she said”: Green, “Ethel Waters Gets Her Wish,” June 2, 1939, CF.
309 “Ethel Waters rakes in”: Jay Gould, “Race Track Gossip,” Chicago Defender, September 7, 1935, 14.
310 “had influenced other members”: Earl T. Morris, “Names of Ethel Waters, ‘Jo’ Baker on Tongues of Broadway, Harlem,” Pittsburgh Courier, February 15, 1936, 7.
311 “I couldn’t hog her”: “Now, What’s the Rub in the Broadway Snub?” Amsterdam News, February 15, 1936, 8.
312 “This article alleged that”: Chicago Defender, February 15, 1936, 9
313 “My dear Ethel”: Morris, “Names of Ethel Waters, ‘Jo’ Baker on Tongues of Broadway, Harlem,” Pittsburgh Courier, February 15, 1936, 7.
314 “The real tiff was”: “Now, What’s the Rub in the Broadway Snub?” Amsterdam News, February 15, 1936.
315 “how much pleasure”: Jean-Claude Baker and Chris Chase, Josephine: The Hungry Heart (New York: Random House, 1993), 193.
316 “Talk the way yo’ ”: Lynn Haney, Naked at the Feast: A Biography of Josephine Baker (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1981), 201.
317 “But still certain professional”: “Now, What’s the Rub in the Broadway Snub?” Amsterdam News, February 15, 1936, 8.
318 “Every performance [for] a”: Lucius Beebe, “Stage Asides,” New York Herald Tribune, December 25, 1938, np.
319 “I just happened to”: “Now, What’s the Rub in the Broadway Snub?” Amsterdam News, February 15, 1936, 8.
320 “Bone structure like”: “English Authority Says Ethel Waters Is ‘Perfect Example of Modern Beauty,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 14, 1936, A6.
321 “I suppose you know”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
322 “an entire prepared radio”: Joe Richards, “Jo Baker Could Give Jesse Owens a Few Pointers, Boys,” Chicago Defender, September 12, 1936, 20.
323 “due to low wind”: “Harlem Airman and Youth Die in Crash,” Amsterdam News, July 18, 1936, 1.
324 “Mom thought she knew”: Billie Holiday with William Dufty, Lady Sings the Blues (New York: Lancer Books, 1969), 64. In Lady Sings the Blues, Billie Holiday wrote of her encounter with Ethel Waters at the Nixon Grand in Philadelphia, but she stated that Duke Ellington and the Brown Sisters were also on the bill. It appears, however, that Ellington was not a headliner at this engagement.
325 “Pearl was as mean”: Author interview with Bobby Short.
326 “Ethel Waters was an”: Wein and Chinen, Myself Among Others, 95.
327 “We got very fond”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 227.
328 “Darling Pal”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
329 “she would sing much”: “Talk of the Town,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 6, 1937, 9.
330 “the girl who came”: Jay Gould, “Race Track Gossip,” Chicago Defender, March 13, 1937, 16.
331 “Ethel Waters, awaiting a”: “Grand Town Editor Advises ‘Skip It . . . And Fo’get It,’ ” Pittsburgh Courier, March 6, 1937, 19.
332 “triumphed at the Paramount”: Philip K. Scheuer, “Stage Show High Light of New Bill,” Los Angeles Times, January 29, 1937, A16.
333 “I love my people”: “Kansas City People Stage ‘Sit at Home’ Strike Against Ethel Waters,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 6, 1937, 24.
334 “cried onstage because”: “Victim of Race Boycott,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 13, 1937, 19.
335 “The famous singer was”: “Kansas City People Stage ‘Sit at Home’ Strike Against Ethel Waters,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 6, 1937, 24.
336 “One of the advantages”: Theophilus Lewis, “The Theatre of Life,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 27, 1937, 18.
337 “While the show’s billing”: “Celebrities See Cotton Club’s New Show,” Chicago Defender, March 27, 1937, 20.
338 “Maybe it’s a gag”: Earl J. Morris, “Grand Town,” Pittsburgh Courier, October 2, 1937, 20.
339 “with all the necessary”: “Ethel Waters Buys 20-Family Apartment,” Chicago Defender, September 18, 1937, 3.
340 “she frequently goes to”: Wilson, “V: Ethel Waters—Torch Singer to Dramatic Actress,” New York Post, December 6, 1940, np.
341 “If you will accept”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
342 “He could play to”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 232.
343 “She thought that they”: Young, Oral History Transcripts, Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University.
344 “After all, it was”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 229.
345 “the foremost lady of”: “Public Mingles With Stars at Guild Ball,” Amsterdam News, March 5, 1938, 16.
346 “hasn’t been around since”: “Gossip of the Rialto,” New York Times, March 6, 1938, 149.
347 “I’m no has-been”: “ ‘I’m Not a Has Been’ Declares Ethel Waters Answering Critics,” Pittsburgh Courier, April 21, 1938, 16.
348 “Dear Ethel Waters”: Porter Roberts, “Praise and Criticism,” Pittsburgh Courier, May 21, 1938, 21.
349 “My approach would be”: Vincente Minnelli with Hector Acre, I Remember It Well (New York: Doubleday, 1974), 103.
350 “DuBose arranged an appointment”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 242.
351 “I nearly passed out”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
352 “He was tall and slender”: Author interview with Jim Malcolm.
353 “it was difficult to”: “Ethel Waters Sings,” New York Sun, November 12, 1938, np.
354 “Since Miss Waters is”: “Other Music in Review,” New York Times, November 21, 1938, 15.
355 “I just walked into”: Taylor with Cook, Alberta Hunter: A Celebration in Blues, 143.
356 “No, no, no”: “Jerome Kern Saved the Day with ‘Lonesome Walls,’ ” Journal-American, January 15, 1939, CF.
357 “I don’t plan”: McCarthy, “Star by Meditation, Says Ethel Waters,” New York Daily News, January 17, 1939, CF.
358 “I’ve got to rest”: Elliot Arnold, “ ‘I’m No Actress’—Ethel Waters Collapses After Ovation,” New York World Telegram, January 21, 1939, CF.
359 “She was the kind”: Taylor with Cook, Alberta Hunter: A Celebration in Blues, 147.