Ethel Waters
An image from Cabin in the Sky, one of the productions that also features Ethel Waters.
Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters

October 31, 1896 — Chester, Pennsylvania, USA

Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.

Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha", "Stormy Weather" "Hottentot Potentate", and "Cabin in the Sky", as well as her version of the spiritual, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow". Waters was the second African American to be nominated for an Academy Award.

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Pinky

Pinky

1949

Cabin in the Sky

Cabin in the Sky

1943

Tales of Manhattan

Tales of Manhattan

1942

The Member of the Wedding

The Member of the Wedding

1952

The Sound and the Fury

The Sound and the Fury

1959

Cairo

Cairo

1942

Bubbling Over

Bubbling Over

1934

The Beulah Show

1950