Bertice Reading

Bertice Reading (July 22, 1933 – June 8, 1991) was an American-born actress, singer, and revue artiste who spent much of her career based in England. A native of Chester, Pennsylvania, she began performing at the age of three, when she was talent-spotted by dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

Reading's early professional work took her to Europe, where she appeared in the all-black revue The Jazz Train in Paris in the spring of 1955 and subsequently at the Piccadilly Theatre in London. Within that production she earned particular recognition for her portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith. Her range extended across gospel, blues, and musical comedy, and she was also noted for her striking appearance and sense of humor. In 1956 she recorded the track "Rock" in Paris with Art Simmons, released on Quartet BAM Records (LD 321), with that recording serving as the opening track on the French ten-inch LP Bertice Reading Jazz Singer. In 1958 she released "Rock Baby Rock" backed with "It's a Boy" on Parlophone in the United Kingdom, a recording made at Abbey Road Studio in London with Geoff Love and His Orchestra.

Her straight-acting work brought her to Broadway in 1959, when she appeared in William Faulkner's play Requiem for a Nun, a production in which she played a nurse. The role earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Reading had first performed in the production in 1957 before it transferred to Broadway. She also appeared in the 1958 musical Valmouth, adapted from a novel by Ronald Firbank, and returned to that Sandy Wilson musical in 1982 at the Chichester Festival Theatre, where she played Mrs. Yajñavalkya. That same year she married Thomas R.V. Blake in a ceremony held in Chichester.

The years following her Broadway appearance included extensive work in cabaret abroad and two marriages. In 1979 she appeared at the Roundhouse in London in Only in America, a tribute to songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Throughout the 1980s she presented numerous one-woman shows, frequently premiering them at the Kings Head Theatre Club in Islington, London. Her 1985 solo show Every Inch a Lady featured a sequence in which she wore a pink satin tutu and danced to a version of The Sugar Plum Fairy choreographed by dancer Wayne Sleep.

Reading appeared in the 1986 film version of Little Shop of Horrors as the "Downtown" older woman, performing the opening words of the song "Skid Row (Downtown)." During the summer of that year she recorded a disco album with producer Ian Levine and appeared on TV-AM's Good Morning Britain to promote it. In 1987 she played Bloody Mary in South Pacific in Bournemouth and at the Bristol Hippodrome. She also appeared, without singing, in a 1981 music video by UK soul and funk band Linx for the title track of their album Intuition.

Reading died in London on June 8, 1991, following a stroke, at the age of 57.