Remembering Diahann Carroll

The groundbreaking actress, model, and singer Diahann Carroll died last Friday, October 4, 2019, at age 84.

Here is a report: Diahann Carroll, Actress Who Broke Barriers With ‘Julia,’ Dies at 84.

Born July 17, 1935, in Bronx, New York, Carroll’s parents were a subway conductor and a nurse. She was married four times, perhaps most famously to the late singer Vic Damone.

Diahann Carroll has been described as pioneering and trailblazing, especially when you read the reports on the career of the actress and her life. She was not only the first black actress but also the overall first black actor to reach completion of receiving lead-acting nominations for the Tony (winning in 1962 for Best Actress in a Musical for No Strings); the Emmy (a 1963 nomination for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for ABC’s Naked City; a 1969 nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for NBC’s Julia); and the Oscar (a 1974 nomination for Best Actress in Claudine).

I came across some interesting clip interviews of Carroll; ones in which Carroll spoke at length, and with clarity and insight, of her experiences at different points in her career and her life. Although there are plenty more clips than I will post, the ones appearing below are worth sharing and viewing.



In the first clip, published to YouTube in 2011, Diahann Carroll speaks of the 1954 Otto Preminger film Carmen Jones (for which leading lady Dorothy Dandridge became the first black actress Oscar nominated for Best Actress). Carroll touches on how some actors are treated as being no better than just being actors.

In this second clip, published to YouTube in 2012, Diahann Carroll speaks of her 1963 Emmy nomination for Naked City and, as one who was reluctant to move from New York to California, of her general distrust of Hollywood.

In this third clip, published to YouTube in 2011, Diahann Carroll speaks of the controversy—and a lot of pain—with her NBC series Julia (1968–1971).

In this fourth clip, published to YouTube in 2009, Diahann Carroll speaks of the John Berry film Claudine; having replaced the actress originally cast, her Tony- and Emmy-nominated friend Diana Sands (the original Beneathea in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun who died from cancer at age 39 in 1973); and why she was surprised she received a 1974 Oscar nomination for Best Actress.