Urylee Leonardos
{{Short description|American actress}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Urylee Leonardos
| image = UryleeLeonardos1949.png
| imagesize =
| alt = A light-skinned woman with coiffed curly dark hair and glamor makeup, wearing pearls
| caption = Urylee Leonardos, from a 1949 newsmagazine
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1910|5|14|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Charleston, South Carolina, United States
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1986|4|25|1910|5|14}}
| death_place = New York City, United States
| occupation = singer, actor
| spouse = Kenneth Bacon
| yearsactive = 1939–1976
| awards =
}}
Urylee Leonardos (May 14, 1910 – April 25, 1986) was an American vocalist and actress who appeared frequently on Broadway. She has the distinction of being the first black performer to understudy and go on for a Latina in a Broadway production. She filled in for Yma Sumac in the role of Princess Najla in the 1951 production of Flahooley.{{cite journal |editor1-first=John H. |editor1-last=Johnson |date=September 25, 1952 |title=Broadway's most-jinxed performer |journal=Jet |volume=2 |issue=22 |pages=58–61 |publisher=Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. |location=Chicago, Illinois }}
Biography
Leonardos appeared in Mike Todd's Gay New Orleans revue at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City. Later that year, she had a small role on Broadway in The Male Animal.
Her big break came in 1943, when she was cast in the musical Carmen Jones. Initially cast in a small role, Leonardo took over the lead in the 1946 revival of the production.
Leonardos filled in for Yma Sumac as Princess Najla in the 1951 production, Flahooley. It was the first time that a black performer stepped into a role played by a Latina on Broadway. She also played the female lead in the 1953 revival of Porgy and Bess.
{{cite web
|url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2223
|title= Porgy and Bess
|publisher=Internet Broadway Database
|location= New York City
|accessdate=July 11, 2011
}}
Selected credits
=Theatre=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Production ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role(s) ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Theatre(s) ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |
| 1956
|Bells Are RingingOpening night playbill{{better source needed|date=December 2022}} |Ensemble |Sam S. Shubert Theatre | |
| 1953
|Bess |Ziegfeld Theatre |Revival. Alternated role with Leontyne Price |
| 1952
{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2327 |title= Shuffle Along |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York City |accessdate=July 11, 2011 }} |Laura Popham |Broadway Theatre |Revival of the 1920s musical, but set in Northern Italy and New York City in 1945 |
| 1951
{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=1947 |title= Flahooley |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York City |accessdate=July 11, 2011 }} |Switchboard Operator, Singer, Najla (understudy) |Broadhurst Theatre | |
| 1948
{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2034 |title= Set My People Free |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York City |accessdate=July 11, 2011 }} |Blanche |Hudson Theatre |Staged by Martin Ritt |
| 1946
{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=472549 |title= Carmen Jones |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York City |accessdate=July 11, 2011 }} |Carmen |City Center |Revival of 1943 production |
| 1943
{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=1365 |title= Carmen Jones |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |location= New York City |accessdate=July 11, 2011 }} |Card Player, Ensemble |Broadway Theatre | |
=Motion Pictures=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Distributor ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |
| 1950
|No Sad Songs for Me |Flora, the Maid |Columbia | |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{IMDb name|name=Urylee Leonardos|0502844}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonardos, Urylee}}
Category:Actresses from Charleston, South Carolina
Category:American television actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:20th-century African-American actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Musicians from Charleston, South Carolina
Category:20th-century African-American women singers
Category:20th-century American women singers
Category:20th-century American singers
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