Vivian Reed — Acting | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Vivian Reed (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and singer. She is most known for her performances in the Broadway productions of Bubbling Brown Sugar for which she won a Drama Desk Award and received her first Tony Award nomination and for "The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club" for which she received her second Tony Award nomination. Reed has also recorded several albums on the Epic Records and the United Artists Records labels.

Vivian Reed began formal voice training at the age of eight at the Pittsburgh Musical Institute, later continuing at New York's Juilliard School of Music, followed by years of extensive dance training. She became a polished performer under the guidance of Honi Coles and Bobby Schiffman of the Apollo Theater. In 1968, she had regionally popularized a Gerry Goffin and Carole King composed tune called "Yours Until Tomorrow", which achieved some success. She received critical acclaim for her work in Bubbling Brown Sugar on Broadway and Europe. She captured the attention of Pierre Cardin, who booked her into his theater and held her over for several weeks. Through Cardin she went to Japan for the first time and later made her first European television special. Later, she was invited by the Prince and Princess of Monaco to perform in Monte Carlo.

She has appeared on many television variety and talk shows, both nationally and internationally, including The Tonight Show, The Today Show and the ABC-TV daytime drama, One Life to Live. She has shared the bill with Bill Cosby, Patti LaBelle, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Audra McDonald, Elaine Stritch, Alan King, Sammy Davis Jr., Quincy Jones, Ashford & Simpson, Charles Aznavour and others. Her film credits include Headin' for Broadway, L'Africain with Catherine Deneuve and La Rumba, in which she portrayed Josephine Baker. She produced and starred in a short film, 'What Goes Around' written by Angela Gibbs. She has also done voiceover work and television commercials.

Reed has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Paris Match, People, Ebony, and the covers of Jet and Time magazines. She was named on Mr. Blackwell's Best Dressed Women List and selected by People magazine as one of the '25 Most Intriguing People of the Year.' She is a professional photographer and scarf designer. Her line is called VJR scarves. ...

Source: Article "Vivian Reed (actress, born 1947)" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.