What are some of Ethel Waters' accomplishments?

Answer 1

Ethel Waters was an African-American entertainer; she was a popular blues and jazz vocalist, who also performed in Broadway musicals in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and made recordings with star bandleaders like Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson. She had her own radio program in the mid-1930s (one of the few black women to do so), and among her hit songs were "Heat Wave," "Dinah, and "Stormy Weather." Her popularity on the Broadway stage earned her a much higher salary than many other performers of that time. In 1933, she became the first black woman to appear in an otherwise all white Broadway revue, "As Thousands Cheer." She was well-received by both black and white audiences wherever she performed.

By the late 1930s, she was appearing in movies and continued to do so in the 1940s and early 1950s. During her acting career, she was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Pinky" in 1949, and in 1950, won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for her work in "Member of the Wedding." And during the 1950s, she made some television appearances. In a long career, she made use of every kind of mass medium available: she began in the era before radio, become successful on the Broadway stage and in phonograph records, then in radio, movies, and finally, TV. She also wrote her autobiography, in 1950.