BLACK ENTERTAINERS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUTE

BLACK ENTERTAINERS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUTE

BLACK ENTERTAINERS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUTEtta Drucille Guyse (rhymes with “nice”), known as Sheila Guyse, (July 14, 1925 – December 28, 2013) was a popular African-American singer, actress, and recording artist, performing on stage and screen during the 1940s and 1950s, in the Dorothy Dandridge film era. She followed her father, Wilbert, to New York when she was a teenager and, her daughter said, lived for a time in a Harlem rooming house with Billie Holiday.
After winning an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater, Ms. Guyse had a small role on Broadway in the musical “Memphis Bound!” and had a sultry “girl-next-door” appeal which she showcased in films of the late 1940s: Boy! What a Girl! (1947), Sepia Cinderella (1947, co-starring with Billy Daniels), and Miracle In Harlem (1948) giving impressive performances in all of them. She also appeared in the “Harlem Follies of 1949” and in a 1957 television adaptation of the play The Green Pastures.

Guyse was a natural talent. She appeared in many Broadway stage productions such as Lost in the Stars and Finian’s Rainbow. Her singing voice was said to be as beautiful as she was; divine, sweet, easy on the ears whether singing jazz, pop, or gospel.

Sheila Guyse was popular in the 1940s and 1950s, and graced many covers of publications such as Jet, Ebony, and Our World. She also was known to grace the cover of a magazine called Hue.

Shelia Guyse”s health played a very important role in her career as a performer and entertainer. She struggled with her heath many times throughout her career which caused her to turn down various roles and even take time away from the entertainment industry. In 1953, she was diagnosed with stomach ulcers a day after she had accepted a role in the Broadway stage production Mile High. She later came back to the entertainment industry in 1958 to record her only studio album, This is Sheila.

Although she attempted to make a career comeback she struggled to get back into industry. She died of complications due to Alzheimer”s disease on December 28, 2013, at the age of 88.