Florence Mills, born Florence Winfrey (January 25, 1896 - November 1, 1927), known as the "Queen of Happiness," was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian known for her effervescent stage presence, delicate voice, and winsome, wide-eyed beauty. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring Comedy, Song, Dance, and Theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue &mdash a Restaurant A daughter of former slaves Nellie (Simon) and John Winfrey, she was born Florence Winfrey in Washington, D.C., on January 25, 1896. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D
Featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair and photographed by Bassano and Edward Steichen, she was best known for her renditions of "I'm a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird" and "I'm Cravin' for that Kind of Love. Vogue is a Fashion and lifestyle Magazine published in eighteen countries by Condé Nast Publications. Vanity Fair is an American magazine of Culture, Fashion, and Politics published by Condé Nast Publications. Edward Steichen (March 27 1879 – March 25 1973 was an American photographer, painter, and Art gallery and Museum curator born " She starred in Shuffle Along at Daly's 63rd Street Theatre (barely on Broadway), one of the events credited with beginning the Harlem Renaissance, as well acclaimed reviews in London, Paris, Ostend, Liverpool, and other European venues. Shuffle Along was the first major African American hit musical. She became an international superstar starring in the hit show Blackbirds.
From 1921 until her death in 1927, she was married to Ulysses "Slow Kid" Thompson (1888-1990), whom she met in 1917 as the dancing conductor of a black jazz band known as the Tennessee Ten.
Exhausted from more than 250 performances of the hit show Blackbirds in London in 1926, she became ill with tuberculosis. Her condition further weakened her and she died of infection following an operation in New York City, New York on November 1, 1927.
After her death, Duke Ellington memorialized Mills in his song "Black Beauty. Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29 1899 &ndash May 24 1974 was an American Composer, Pianist, and Bandleader. "
See also
External links
- "Florence Mills Harlem Jazz Queen" (ISBN 0-8108-5007-9)
- http://www.FlorenceMills.com
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