Leslie Uggams

about

Leslie Uggams (born May 25, 1943, New York City) is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her Tony Award-winning work in Hallelujah, Baby! Uggams first started in show business as a child in 1950, playing the niece of Ethel Waters on the television series Beulah. She was a regular on Sing Along with Mitch, starring record producer/conductor Mitch Miller. In 1960 she sang "Give Me That Old Time Religion" in the film Inherit the Wind. She had auditioned for the lead role in the film Cleopatra, but lost out eventually to Elizabeth Taylor. (Actress Dorothy Dandridge had also been in the running, while Rouben Mamoulian was slated to direct, but lost her part when Mamoulian was taken off the project.) The Leslie Uggams Show, a television variety show, added to her list of credits and a lead role in the TV saga Roots, as Kizzy. Uggams also starred in the 1975 film Poor Pretty Eddy (also called Poor Pretty Eddie, Black Vengeance and Redneck County), in which she played a popular singer who, upon being stranded in the deep South, is abused and humiliated by the perverse denizens of a backwoods town. Uggams appeared on TV gameshow Hollywood Squares. After being asked if Roman legend says that God made the people of the world in a large oven, fellow contestant Paul Lynde looked at her and remarked "Looks like you were overcooked". Uggams guest-starred on The Muppet Show during its third season. During the 1980s she appeared in Blues in the Night, Jerry's Girls, and

top songs

albums

▥

Northern Soul - 75 Original Classic Tracks

On My Way to You

After Hours The Collection: Northern Soul Masters

▥

After Hours 2

The Very Best Of

Leslie

▥

Masters Of Jazz & Swing

So in Love!

Northern Soul: The Collection

▥

Hallelujah, Baby! (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

▥

Jule Styne In Hollywood

Northern Soul - The Collection

similar artists