Lady Sings the Blues
The story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.
- Director: Sidney J. Furie
- Genre:Biography / Drama / Music
- Runtime:144 minutes
Cast
Diana Ross : Billie HolidayBilly Dee Williams: Louis McKayRichard Pryor : Piano Man James T. Callahan: Reg Hanley (as James Callahan) Paul Hampton : Harry
The film opens in 1936, New York City, where Billie Holiday (Diana Ross) is being placed under arrest. After being finger-printed and placed into a straight jacket, Billie is locked in a jail cell.
The film then flashes back to 1928. Billie has an encounter with a rapist (Harry Caesar). She is rescued by a madame (Isabel Sanford). After returning to her Aunt Ida’s (Lynn Hamilton) house, Billie accidentally leaves the door open, puts on a record, giving the rapist the chance to slip inside. Billie is raped.
Followed by the incident, Billie runs away to her mother (Virginia Capers), eventually being escorted to the house by a police officer. Mama Holiday feeds Billie and sets up a job to clean at a brothel in the Harlem section of New York City. The brothel itself is run by an arrogant, selfish owner named Ms. Edson (Paulene Myers), who pays Billie very little money.
One night, Billie sneaks into a nightclub/bar with black showgirls, owned by Jerry (Sid Melton). Jerry tries to get rid of Billie, who claims that she knows every single song out to date. She sees Louis McKay (Billy Dee Williams), he smiles at her, then a guard comes, picks Billie up and kicks her out of the nightclub. Eventually, Billie tires of scrubbing floors at the brothel and becomes a prostitute.
After impulsively quitting prostitution, Billie heads to the club she was once kicked out of, and auditions with the showgirls. Jerry tells her to leave when she does not quite catch up with the girls’ dancing moves. Billie then speaks to a man, who becomes her best friend; Piano Man (Richard Pryor), who plays the song “All of Me”. Jerry then witnesses her talent for singing, and books her for a show, beginning Billie’s career as a singer. Read more
