hollywood: Leslie Uggams

Sunday, 1 July 2012

Leslie Uggams

She is also a board member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and TADA, a children's musical theatre.Among her most recent concerts are the Pittsburgh Symphony, Rhode Island Symphony, and The Memorial Day Concert on the Washington Mall, in front of 300,000 people, televised live by PBS. Uggams started in show business as a child in 1950, playing the niece of Ethel Waters on Beulah. Uggams made her singing debut on the Lawrence Welk Show and was a regular on Sing Along with Mitch, starring record producer-conductor Mitch Miller.^[1]In 1960, she sang, off-screen, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" in the film Inherit the Wind. Uggams came to be recognized by TV audiences as an upcoming teen talent in 1954 on the NBC/CBS hit musical quiz show series "Name That Tune" (1953-9) along with child hitmaker Eddie Hodges.