by Donald Bogle
360 “Everyone had to like”: Ibid., 146.
361 “She was suspicious of”: Author interview with Fredi Washington.
362 “I was a teenager”: Julie Harris interview in Rick McKay’s Broadway: The Golden Age: One Filmmaker’s Search for a Broadway That Was Lost, and the 100 Legends That He Found, DADA Films, DVD.
363 “Seldom have I seen”: Van Vechten, “Mamba’s Daughters: A Review,” CF.
364 “I’ll never forget that”: Taylor with Cook, Alberta Hunter: A Celebration in Blues, 143.
365 “the greatest actress of”: New York Sun News, May 18, 1941, CF.
366 “howling for her”: Arnold, “ ‘I’m No Actress’—Ethel Waters Collapses After Ovation,” New York World Telegram, January 21, 1939, CF.
367 “I just bawled”: Mabel Green, “Ethel Waters Gets Her Wish,” January 2, 1939, CF.
368 “I get choked and”: Arnold, “ ‘I’m No Actress’—Ethel Waters Collapses After Ovation,” New York World Telegram, January 21, 1939, CF.
369 “A performance such as”: Amsterdam News, February 25, 1939, 17.
370 “the Negro’s progress in”: Van Vechten, “Mamba’s Daughters: A Review,” CF.
371 “limp, plodding style, which”: Brooks Atkinson, “The Play,” New York Times, CF.
372 “The undersigned feel that”: New York Times, January 6, 1939, 28.
373 “Dear Fania and Carl”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
374 “Perhaps it was the”: Brooks Atkinson, “Concerning Mamba’s Daughters,” New York Times, January 15, 1939, CF.
375 “They said such fine”: Arnold, “ ‘I’m No Actress’—Ethel Waters Collapses After Ovation,” New York World Telegram, January 21, 1939, CF.
376 “The emotion of the”: “Ethel Waters Gets Her Wish,” June 2, 1939, CF. No publication listed.
377 “There were Haig and Haig”: Thelma Berlack-Boozer, “Lorde Churchill Has Party-of-the-Week,” Amsterdam News, January 21, 1939, 8.
378 “required her to sit”: Doris Kearns Goodwin, No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (New York: Touchstone, 1995), 163.
379 “Mrs. Roosevelt, please hug”: Nahum Daniel Brascher, “Random Thoughts,” Chicago Defender, March 18, 1939, 17.
380 “Ethel Waters really achieved”: Eleanor Roosevelt, “My Day,” New York World Telegram, CF.
381 “Stay till the last”: Johnson, Black Manhattan, 207.
382 “Being Hagar softened me”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 249.
383 “Later she wrote me”: Taylor with Cook, Alberta Hunter: A Celebration of the Blues, 147.
384 “It was obvious that”: Author interview with Ossie Davis.
385 “Every night is an”: “Ethel Waters Recalls Being Stranded in 1931,” Chicago Defender, December 2, 1939, 15.
386 “40 suits with shirts”: Tommy Berry, “Eddie Mallory, America’s Best Dressed Bronze Actor,” Chicago Defender, January 1, 1938, 18.
387 “a big slice of”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 240.
388 “When in New York”: Pittsburgh Courier, May11, 1940, np.
389 “Mamba’s Daughters was the”: Helen Ormsbee, “A Mirror, and Her Simplicity, Only School for Ethel Waters,” New York Herald Tribune, November 10, 1940, CF.
390 “Miss Waters’ performance was”: “Television Reviews,” Variety, June 21, 1939, CF.
391 “had been approached—separately”: “New Show Will Star Miss Ethel Waters,” Chicago Defender, June 3, 1939, 20.
392 “shopping for a serious”: “Busy Man Bojangles,” Amsterdam News, March 25, 1939, 20.
393 “Ethel Waters was doing”: “Ashton Stevens,” Chicago Herald American, October 3, 1939, CF.
394 “I had to overcome”: “Ethel Waters Tells Sorors ‘Power of Prayer,’ ” Pittsburgh Courier, November 25, 1939, 10.
395 “For what was the”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 251.
396 “I tried to be”: Ibid., 252.
397 “Your telegram addressed to”: “Fight Theatre Bar in Capital,” Pittsburgh Courier, January 27, 1940, 1.
398 “I couldn’t do the”: Ormsbee, “A Mirror, and Her Simplicity, Only School for Ethel Waters,” New York Herald Tribune, November 10, 1940, CF.
399 “something prevents me”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 241.
400 “after having lived prosperously”: Bernard Taper, Balanchine: A Biography (New York: Times Books, 1984), 195.
401 “Do you think I’d”: Ormsbee, “A Mirror, and Her Simplicity, Only School for Ethel Waters,” New York Herald Tribune, November 10, 1940, CF.
402 “Her performance with her”: John Lee Martin, “The Dance: A Negro Art,” New York Times, February 25, 1940, 114.
403 “Anybody who could make”: Gail Lumet Buckley, The Hornes: An American Family, 164.
404 “Oh, everybody knew Archie”: Author interview with Lennie Bluett.
405 “We gave a preview”: Ormsbee, “A Mirror, and Her Simplicity, Only School for Ethel Waters,” New York Herald Tribune, November 10, 1940, CF.
406 “Exciting up to the”: Richard Watts, New York Herald Tribune, CF.
407 “Ethel Waters has never”: Brooks Atkinson, “The Play,” New York Times, October 26, 1940, 19, CF.
408 “light and amusing”: Eleanor Roosevelt, “My Day,” New York World Telegram, November 11, 1940, CF.
409 “The Venetian blinds were”: Sidney Shallett, “Harlem’s Ethel Waters,” New York Times, November 10, 1940, 149.
410 “I used to have”: Earl Wilson, “V: Ethel Waters—Torch Singer to Dramatic Actress,” New York Post, December 6, 1940, CF.
411 “Again and again was”: Edwin Schallert, “ ‘Cabin in Sky’ Unique Event of Operetta Season,” Los Angeles Times, June 10, 1941, 15.
412 “Everyone of importance with”: Fay M. Jackson, “Todd Duncan Ill on Coast,” Amsterdam News, July 19, 1941, 21.
413 “Words aren’t sufficient to”: John C. Scott, “Ethel Waters Hit in Biltmore Drama,” Los Angeles Times, September 11, 1941, A10.
414 “got on the phone”: “Dan Burley’s Back Door Stuff,” Amsterdam News, September 13, 1941, 15
415 “Everyone was impressed because”: Author interview with Lennie Bluett. Other comments by Bluett in this chapter are from the same interview.
416 “I didn’t have that”: “Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood,” Los Angeles Times, November 27, 1941, 17.
417 “Yes, I’ve at last”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
418 “She had the most”: Donald Bogle, Dorothy Dandridge: A Biography (New York: Amistad Press, 1997), 96.
419 “This is where I’m”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
420 “She is gay and”: Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road, 201.
421 “the affair is on”: Ibid., 200.
422 “One day I sat”: Ibid., 201.
423 “At this writing I’m”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
424 “My studio wanted Ethel”: “Hollywood Liked Everything About Miss Ethel Waters but the Price on Her Work,” Chicago Defender, April 11, 1942, 23.
425 “It’s because of the”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
426 “At last I’m throwing”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
427 “shows a gain of”: “Rowe’s Note Book,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 14, 1942, 20.
428 “Because of picture work”: Savage, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
429 “ganged up afterward and”: “Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood,” Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1942, A8.
430 “a difficult piece”: Savage, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
431 “And a lot of”: “Dan Burley’s Back Door Stuff,” Amsterdam News, June
20, 1942, 16.
432 “They seem to be”: Savage, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
433 “stunk and at this”: Savage, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
434 “I think it’s O.K.”: Savage, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
435 “To this day Negroes”: Hugh Fordin, The World of Entertainment: Hollywood’s Greatest Musicals (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1975), 74.
436 “discourage the making of”: Lawrence F. LaMar, “Coast Citizens Picket House Using Film ‘Tales of Manhattan,’ ” Chicago Defender, August 28, 1942.
437 “leaves much to be”: Marian Freeman, “Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters Let Us Down,” Amsterdam News, August 15, 1942, 15.
438 “only after he had”: “Robeson Replies to Critics of Role in ‘Tales of Manhattan,’ ” Pittsburgh Courier, September 5, 1943, 21.
439 “The criticism being leveled”: “Robeson Agrees His Role in Tales of Manhattan Was Insulting to Race,” Amsterdam News, September 5, 1942, 14.
440 “If they picket the”: “Robeson Replies to Critics of Role in ‘Tales of Manhattan,’ ” Pittsburgh Courier, September 5, 1943, 21.
441 “We made the picture”: Fordin, The World of Entertainment: Hollywood’s Greatest Musicals, 76.
442 “If there were any”: Minnelli with Acre, I Remember It Well, 121.
443 “You are to be”: Fordin, The World of Entertainment: Hollywood’s Greatest Musicals, 74.
444 “because Woody Van Dyke”: “Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood,” Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1942, 22.
445 “Wise, astute Harold Gumm”: Albert Anderson, “Lena Horne Mum on Marriage to Young Arranger,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 32, 1946, 1.
446 “appreciate what I have”: Savage, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
447 “When I had to work”: Lena Horne, PBS series Brown Sugar: Eighty Years of America’s Black Female Superstars.
448 “Because of her own”: Gail Lumet Buckley, The Hornes: An American Family, 164.
449 “Miss Waters did have”: Lena Horne and Richard Schickel, Lena (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965), 152.
450 “extreme distrust of the”: Ibid., 151.
451 “go off on a corner”: Author interview with Lennie Bluett. Other comments by Bluett in this chapter are from the same interview.
452 “Georgia, ain’t it time”: Author interview with Joan Croomes. Other comments by Croomes in this chapter are from the same interview.
453 “I was kind of”: Fordin, The World of Entertainment: Hollywood’s Greatest Musicals, 76.
454 “Ethel had put a hex”: Horne and Schickel, Lena, 153.
455 “Be real small”: Buckley, The Hornes: An American Family, 165.
456 “Miss Waters started to”: Horne and Schickel, Lena, 154.
457 “She flew into a”: Buckley, The Hornes: An American Family, 165.
458 “It was an all-encompassing”: Horne and Schickel, Lena, 154.
459 “You could hear a”: Buckley, The Hornes: An American Family, 165.
460 “We had to shut”: Horne and Schickel, Lena, 154.
461 “Ethel Waters is being”: Harry Levette, “Through Hollywood,” Chicago Defender, October 10, 1942, 20.
462 “Just a line from”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
463 “there was so much”: Waters with Charles Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 258.
464 “She had a very hard time”: Horne, PBS series Brown Sugar.
465 “I won all my”: Waters with Samuels, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 258.
466 “Dear Carlo”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
467 “I personally think that”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
468 “The finest testimonial to”: Philip Carter, “Accent on Youth Is Not Part of Ethel Waters’ Vocabulary,” Chicago Defender, January 23, 1943, 18.
469 “latest heart-beat”: Al Monroe, “Swinging the News,” Chicago Defender, July 3, 1943, 18.
470 “A musical honey!”: Wanda Hale, New York Mirror, May 28, 1943, CF.
471 “A bountiful entertainment!”: “The Screen,” New York Times, May 28, 1943, CF.
472 “The Negroes are apparently”: Time, April 12, 1943, CF.
473 “A slap in the”: Jack Saunders, “I Love a Parade,” Philadelphia Tribune, May 22, 1943, 11.
474 “Another Propaganda Rap Against”: “ ‘Cabin’ Film Seen as Another Propaganda Rap Against Negro,” Amsterdam News, May 17, 1943, CF.
475 “I love you, California”: Herman Hill, “Ethel Waters Returns from Eastern Tour,” Pittsburgh Courier, July 3, 1943, 20.
476 “Everybody thought because he”: Author interview with Lennie Bluett. Other comments by Bluett in this chapter are from the same interview.
477 “I called up over”: “Actress’ Quaintness Convulses Court,” CF. Unless otherwise indicated, other quotes are from this same article.
478 “God will take care”: Harry Levette, “Ethel Can Recoup Loss by Giving Up Car and Home to Secretary,” Baltimore Afro-American, September 4, 1943, CF.
479 “Well, I wouldn’t enter”: Helen Ormsbee, “Ethel Waters Tries to Make Song Feel ‘Like I Felt It in My Heart,’ ” September 19, 1943, CF.
480 “a bizarre relationship”: “Ethel Waters Story of ‘Missing $23,400 to Be Aired on Sept. 13,” Baltimore Afro-American, September 11, 1943, CF.
481 “Ethel Waters sang a”: Florabel Muir, “Ethel Waters Loses $23,000 out of Old Trunk in the Attic,” New York Daily News, August 24, 1943, CF.
482 “Perhaps a bit heavier”: “Actress’ Quaintness Convulses Court,” CF.
483 “Any theatrical season that”: Lewis Nichols, “The Play,” New York Times, September 9, 1943, 35.
484 “Audiences can’t seem to”: Virginia Wright, “Stage Review,” September 9, 1943, CF.
485 “Somebody that I trusted”: Ormsbee, “Ethel Waters Tries to Make Song Feel ‘Like I Felt It in My Heart,’ ” September 19, 1943, CF.
486 “popularity of a certain”: “New York’s Album by Constance Curtis,” Amsterdam News, January 1, 1944, 9.
487 “I’m $5000 in debt”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
488 “You should answer that”: “Jury Gets Waters Jewel Case Today,” Los Angeles Tribune, February 14, 1944, CF.
489 “About Gene Buffalo”: Waters, Letter, James Weldon Johnson Collection, Yale University.
