Pearl Bailey
(1918-1990)

woman, singer, and actor

Died aged 72

Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968. In 1986, she won a Daytime Emmy award for her performance as a fairy godmother in the ABC Afterschool Special Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale. Her rendition of "Takes Two to Tango" hit the top ten in 1952. In 1976, she became the first African-American to receive the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on October 17, 1988.

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Commemorated on 1 plaque

Pearl Bailey (1919-1990). Bailey, who lived here as a youth, became one of America's most prominent entertainers. She sang with the big bands during the 1940s and gained her greatest fame in the 1967 Broadway production of "Hello, Dolly!"

1946 N 23rd St., Philadelphia, PA, United States where they lived