{{Short description|American singer}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Bertice Reading | image = Bertice Redding 2 Allan Warren.jpg | caption = Bertice Reading by Allan Warren | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|7|22}} | birth_place = Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1991|6|8|1933|7|22}} | death_place = London, England | genre = Blues, jazz, musical theatre | occupation = Actress, singer | years_active = }} '''Bertice Reading''' (July 22, 1933 – June 8, 1991)<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues - A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger Publishers| location= Santa Barbara| pages=335 | isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref> was an American-born actress, singer and revue artiste, who was based in England for most of her career.
==Life and career== Reading was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. Her performing career started at the age of 3, when she was talent-spotted by Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldberg |first1=Marv |title=Bertice Reading |url=http://www.uncamarvy.com/BerticeReading/berticereading.html |website=www.uncamarvy.com |accessdate=20 May 2020}}</ref>
She appeared in the all-black revue ''The Jazz Train'', in Paris in the spring of 1955 and at the Piccadilly Theatre in London.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/shows/The-Jazz-Train-5298.html|title=The Jazz Train - 1955 West End Tickets, News, Info, Photos, Videos|website=Broadwayworld.com|accessdate=March 5, 2020}}</ref> In this show she had notable success playing the great blues singer Bessie Smith. Adept at a whole range of musical styles, from gospel to blues to musical comedy, in addition to her talent, Reading also had a striking appearance and a renowned sense of humour.
Her straight-acting performance as a nurse in William Faulkner's play ''Requiem for a Nun'' in 1957 earned her a nomination for a Tony Award when it transferred to Broadway.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/bertice-reading-101784#Awards|title = Bertice Reading – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB}}</ref> She also appeared in the 1958 musical ''Valmouth'', adapted from a Ronald Firbank novel of the same name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/play/aqf/valmouth/production/p5b|title=Production of Valmouth | Theatricalia}}</ref> The next years saw Reading spending time abroad in cabaret, as well as having two marriages.
In 1979 she appeared at the Roundhouse in London in ''Only In America'', a tribute show to the musical composers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. In the 1980s she presented many one-woman shows, usually debuting at the Kings Head Theatre Club in Islington, London.
Reading appeared but did not sing in a 1981 music video by UK soul/funk band Linx for their album's title track "Intuition".
In 1982, Reading she appeared in the Sandy Wilson musical ''Valmouth'' at the Chichester Festival Theatre playing Mrs Yajñavalkya. It was in 1982 that Reading married Thomas R.V. Blake with a ceremony held in Chichester.
In the 1985 solo show ''Every Inch a Lady'', Reading donned a pink satin tutu and danced to a version of The Sugar Plum Fairy, which had been choreographed by the dancer Wayne Sleep.
Reading appeared in the 1986 film version of ''Little Shop of Horrors'', as the "Downtown" older woman, who sings the beginning words to the song "Skid Row (Downtown)". In the summer of 1986 she recorded a disco album with producer Ian Levine, which she appeared on TV-AM's ''Good Morning Britain'' to promote.
She also appeared in ''South Pacific'' as Bloody Mary in Bournemouth in 1987 and at the Bristol Hippodrome.
==Record Release== In 1958, Reading released 'Rock Baby Rock'/'It's a Boy', in the U.K., on Parlophone45-R 4462. Reading had already recorded 'Rock', in Paris, with Art Simmons, (Quartet BAM Records LD 321), in 1956. In 1958, Geoff Love And His Orchestra recorded it in Abbey Road Studio, London. The first version was the opening track on the French 10" lp ' Bertice Reading Jazz Singer ', (BAM321), in 1956.
==Death== Reading died at the age of 57 in London, following a stroke, although her age was initially misreported as 54.<ref> [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/11/obituaries/bertice-reading-54-jazz-singer-actress-and-star-in-cabaret.html Bertice Reading, 54, Jazz Singer, Actress And Star in Cabaret] Obituary, ''The New York Times'', June 11, 1991</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== *''The Daily Telegraph Third Book of Obituaries (Entertainers)'', edited by Hugh Massingberd, Pan Macmillan, 1998. {{ISBN|978-0330367752}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100617052900/http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/cvvpw/gallery/reading2.html Biodata] *{{IMDb name|0713931|Bertice Reading}} *{{IBDB name|101784}} *[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mhvv Appearance on Desert Island Discs - 7 January 1984]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Reading, Bertice}} Category:1933 births Category:1991 deaths Category:Actors from Chester, Pennsylvania Category:Musicians from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Groove Records artists Category:20th-century African-American women singers Category:20th-century American women singers Category:20th-century American singers Category:Actresses from Delaware County, Pennsylvania