Black History Month: Daily Updates

Lola Falana (1942 - ) Singer

In junior high, Lola Falana was already performing as a dancer at nightclubs (escorted by her mother, of course) in Philadelphia.  Over a career as a performer that would span four decades, she would display her talent as an actor, singer, and dancer adapting herself to fit a wide range of genres and styles.

As a dancer, Lola Falana received her first big break when she was just sixteen.  Dinah Washington, while performing at a nightclub in Philadelphia, hired Lola to open for her act.  While she was performing as a chorus girl in Atlantic City, Sammy Davis Jr. took notice of her and in 1964 cast her in a role in his Broadway show Golden Boy.  In the 1960s, she would also find success as a singer with her first hit, "My Baby".

Lola Falana followed her success on stage with success on the big and small screens.  She made her debut in A Man Called Adam where she acted alongside such jazz greats as Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong.  She also saw early success as a TV and film actress in Italy.  While learning to speak Italian fluently, she made a number of films, including a Spaghetti Western, and was a regular on Italian television.

In the 1970s, Lola Falana's fame on the big screen reached a U.S. audience.  She won a golden globe for her role in The Liberation of L.B. Jones and had a leading role in the blaxploitation era movie Lady Cocoa.  With her star on the rise, she was also a regular on U.S. television appearing on shows such as The Joey Bishop Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Hollywood Palace, The New Bill Cosby Show, The Flip Wilson Show, Laugh In and The Muppet Show.  Her popularity put her on the cover of Jet, Playboy, and  Ebony as well as earning her a position as the spokesmodel for a Faberge perfume.

In the mid-1970s, Lola Falana returned to Broadway as the lead in the show Doctor Jazz.  Throughout the late 70s, she starred in a series of stage shows in Las Vegas, eventually landing at The Aladdin where she became the highest-paid female performer on the strip in her own hit show.

Lola Falana's career as a star performer was ended in the late 1980s by multiple sclerosis.  Her career had already spanned the jazz and disco eras and her acting had been featured from Hollywood to Broadway.  For nearly the last three decades, she has devoted her efforts to charity work.

WATCH: Sammy Chit Chats with Lola - The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show (9 min)

LISTEN: The World's Most Famous Show Girl: Lola Falana - Vixen Podcast (18 min)

BONUS: Lola Falana - He's the Greatest Dancer - The Muppet Show