American actress and singer Pearl Baily was born in Southampton County, Virginia on this day in 1918. She grew up in Newport News, making her singing debute at the age of 15. She went on to vaudeville and then Broadway. In 1968 she won the Tony Award for the lead roll in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! 1986 she won a Daytime Emmy award for her portrayal of the fairy godmother in the ABC Afternoon Special: Cinder Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale.
As a Republican, Pearl Bailey was appointed by President Richard Nixon to be America’s “Ambassador of Love” in 1970. She campaigned for President Gerald Ford in 1976.
Pearl Baily died in Philadelphia on August 17, 1990. She was 72.
365 Things I Believe is a revisioning of a year long web project. I initially launched the blog 365 Things I Believe because I think there are important things I have to say. There are eternal truths that are non-debatable, although I realize they’re not universally accepted.
So for a year I did a daily post of one thing I believe to be an indisputable truth. I’m relaunching here at The Write Side of My Brain and will continue through the next year to re-post (mostly) from the original project.
This time graphics and commentary are included. You can buy today’s print here. And, by the end of a year, if not sooner, you’ll be able to purchase the entire series in ebook format.