Overview
Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.
Details
- Director
- Sidney J. Furie
- Writer
- Terence McCloy
- Original Language
- English
- Budget
- $2,000,000
Cast
Billy Dee Williams
Diana Ross
Isabel Sanford
James T. Callahan
Paul Hampton
Richard Pryor
Sid Melton
Tracee Lyles
Virginia Capers
Yvonne Fair
Keywords
1930s
1940s
addiction
based on memoir or autobiography
billie holiday
biography
black singer
black woman
blues music
brothel
carnegie hall
cautionary
cultural icon
death of a musician
deep south racism
desperate
disheartening
drug overdose
dying young
following one's dream
former prostitute
harlem
new york city
heroin addict
jazz singer or musician
kkk rally
lynching
mental breakdown
music history
music tour
new york city
nightclub singer
period drama
period film
powerful
racism
rape victim
rise to fame
somber
straight jacket
tour bus
wayward girl
withdrawal
woman musician
woman's story
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