LaDeva Davis
{{Short description|American television chef, dancer and educator (1944–2022)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = LaDeva Davis
| image = LaDeva Davis (cropped headshot).jpg
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = March 22, 1944{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}
| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and given age|2022|09|08|78}}
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| nationality =
| other_names =
| alma_mater = Philadelphia Musical Academy
| occupation = Cook, television presenter, teacher
| years_active =
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}}
LaDeva M. Davis (1944 – September 8, 2022) was an American television presenter and food educator who starred in the American public television series What's Cooking?{{Cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Shawn G.|date=March 26, 1976|title=Everyone's in the Kitchen With La Deva|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/26/archives/everyones-in-the-kitchen-with-la-deva.html|access-date=July 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} She was the first African-American woman to have her own nationally syndicated public TV cooking show in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service. She was awarded the Mary McLeod Bethune Award in 2015.
Education
Davis attended Germantown High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, alongside Lola Falana and Judith Jamison.{{Cite web|last=Roberts|first=Kimberly C.|title=LaDeva Davis to spotlight in July 4 parade|url=https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/ladeva-davis-to-spotlight-in-july-4-parade/article_554e6686-0828-511a-8491-b779b36e3343.html|access-date=July 20, 2021|website=The Philadelphia Tribune|date=June 30, 2014 |language=en}} She earned her bachelor's degree in music education at the Philadelphia Musical Academy (now the University of the Arts) while studying piano with Natalie Hinderas.
Teaching career
Davis first started teaching at Bartlett Junior High (now the Academy at Palumbo) in 1965.{{Cite web|last=Graham|first=Kristen|date=December 26, 2015|title=An 'old school' treasure celebrates 50 years in Philly classrooms|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/education/20151226_An__old_school__treasure_celebrates_50_years_in_Philly_classrooms.html|access-date=July 20, 2021|website=Inquirer.com|language=en}} She taught at Bartlett for 12 years before becoming a core faculty member of the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) since its opening in 1978.{{Cite web|last=Writer|first=Chanel Hill Tribune Staff|title=Students' love for the arts shines at CAPA|url=https://www.phillytrib.com/the_learning_key/students-love-for-the-arts-shines-at-capa/article_6653893e-3fcc-55ec-8e26-6c6eee60217b.html|access-date=July 21, 2021|website=The Philadelphia Tribune|date=November 21, 2017 |language=en}} As CAPA's dance director and choreographer, Davis helped write the dance curriculum at the school. Davis also planned "CAPA Kids" – an artistic showcase that is part of Philadelphia's annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. Among the students that she mentored at CAPA included the members of Boyz II Men.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/10/14/boyz-ii-men-return-to-philly-high-school-for-show/17283379/|title=Boyz II Men return to Philly high school for show|agency=Associated Press|work=USA Today|date=October 14, 2014|accessdate=September 9, 2022}}
Davis was also an associate in performance and dance instructor at Swarthmore College.{{Cite book|last=AWMA|first=Jonathon C. Leise CFP|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xD8XDAAAQBAJ&dq=ladeva+davis+show&pg=PT79|title=Plan to Live Forever: Get Better with Age, Live a Life You Love, and Leave a Lasting Legacy|date=April 26, 2016|publisher=WestBow Press|isbn=978-1-5127-3859-9|language=en}}{{Cite web |title=LaDeva Davis |url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/profile/ladeva-davis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908212444/https://www.swarthmore.edu/profile/ladeva-davis |archive-date=2022-09-08 |access-date=July 27, 2021 |website=www.swarthmore.edu |language=en}}
''What's Cooking?''
Davis starred in What's Cooking?, a nationally syndicated PBS cooking show that was the first broadcast on January 21, 1975.{{Cite web|date=June 28, 2013|title=TV Chefs, 1946–2018|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/food/julia-childs-kitchen/tv-chefs-1946-2018|access-date=July 20, 2021|website=National Museum of American History|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vOdoAAAAIAAJ&q=ladeva+davis+show|title=Media Report to Women|date=1976|publisher=Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press|language=en}}{{Cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Andrew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOJMAgAAQBAJ&q=ladeva+davis+show|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America|last2=Kraig|first2=Bruce|date=January 31, 2013|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-973496-2|language=en}} Davis was not a professional chef before the show but was recruited for her charisma and humor.{{Cite book|last=Stewart|first=Claire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_hMMDgAAQBAJ&dq=ladeva+davis+show&pg=PA81|title=As Long As We Both Shall Eat: A History of Wedding Food and Feasts|date=April 1, 2017|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-5714-6|language=en}} What's Cooking? was produced by Lynn Lonker and featured low-cost, nutritional meals that could be made usually for no more than $2.25.{{Cite web|last=Bailey|first=Samaria|title=LaDeva Davis part of 'Food' exhibit at Smithsonian|url=https://www.phillytrib.com/news/state-and-region/ladeva-davis-part-of-food-exhibit-at-smithsonian/article_8e53584f-981c-53dc-b56f-72b2fb36db8f.html|access-date=July 20, 2021|website=The Philadelphia Tribune|date=July 6, 2014 |language=en}} On being the first African-American woman to have her own nationally syndicated public TV cooking show on PBS, Davis said, "There was no black woman cooking [on TV]. There were no black cooks period."{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Kathleen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWcLAQAAMAAJ&q=ladeva+davis+show|title=Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows|date=May 1, 2009|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=978-0-8264-2930-8|language=en}}
In 1976, she was a repeat guest on the American daytime talk show The Mike Douglas Show to demonstrate her cooking.{{Cite web|date=February 18, 1976|title=Sarasota Herald Tribune Archives, Feb 18, 1976, p. 18|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sarasota-herald-tribune-feb-18-1976-p-18/|access-date=July 28, 2021|via=NewspaperArchive.com|language=en}}{{Citation|title='The Mike Douglas Show' Episode #15.218 (TV Episode 1976) |publisher=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5527196/|language=en-US|access-date=July 28, 2021}}
Davis was featured in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History's exhibit "Food: Transforming the American Table 1950–2000" exhibit. Some of Davis' aprons are in the Smithsonian collections as well.{{Cite web|title=Collections Search Results|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search?return_all=1&edan_local=1&edan_q=LaDeva%20Davis&|access-date=July 21, 2021|publisher=National Museum of American History|language=en}}
Awards and recognition
In 2015, Davis was awarded the National Council of Negro Women's Mary McLeod Bethune Award for leadership, excellence, and achievement in education.{{Cite web|last=Clifford|first=Patricia|title=National Council of Negro Women holds luncheon|url=https://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/national-council-of-negro-women-holds-luncheon/article_3502cd7e-57a9-5fc5-be94-0eab53bdaa1d.html|access-date=July 20, 2021|website=The Philadelphia Tribune|date=December 29, 2015 |language=en}}
Death
Davis died on September 8, 2022, after having a stroke.{{cite web|url=https://www.phillytrib.com/noted-philadelphia-instructor-and-choreographer-ladeva-davis-dies/article_4fb32e86-bdf0-567b-ab0a-8d81f429ee02.html|title=Noted Philadelphia instructor and choreographer LaDeva Davis dies|work=The Philadelphia Tribune|date=September 8, 2022|accessdate=September 9, 2022}}{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=Kristen A. |title=LaDeva Davis, beloved Philadelphia dance teacher at CAPA, music producer and entertainer, has died at 78 |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/ladeva-davis-obituary-death-philadelphia-dance-20220909.html |access-date=September 9, 2022 |website=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=September 9, 2022 |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=nm7754583}}
- "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gpqDGvl8fg&ab_channel=NationalMuseumofAmericanHistory Wiki Focus: Black Women in Food History with LaDeva Davis]" at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, LaDeva}}
Category:University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni
Category:Television personalities from Philadelphia
Category:African-American television personalities
Category:American dance teachers
Category:Smithsonian Institution
Category:21st-century African-American educators