| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Basketball Fan
Franchise Player
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 24763
|
 Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:31 pm Post subject: RIP Della Reese |
|
|
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/della-reese-touched-by-an-angel-star-dead-at-86/
| Quote: |
Della Reese, star of "Touched by an Angel," is dead at 86
LOS ANGELES — Della Reese, best known for her work on "Touched by an Angel," has died at age 86. The actress and gospel-influenced singer found her greatest fame as Tess, the wise angel in the long-running television drama, when she was in her 60s.
Reese's co-star on the series, Roma Downey, said in a statement that the actress died peacefully Sunday evening in her home in the Los Angeles area.
Reese's representative, Lynda Bensky, said in a statement to CBS News, "The world has lost a huge talent. A successful actor, singer, writer and more for decades. She was also a trailblazer ... Her cup was never half empt y … and it wasn't half full … it was overflowing with goodness and love for everyone. She was the most consistently positive and optimistic person I have known."
Bensky added that Reese touched so many people with her positivity. "That was the gift she gave you when you were in her company," she wrote. "She truly personified being 'Touched By An Angel.'"
Before "Touched by an Angel" debuted in 1994, Reese was mainly known as a singer, although she had costarred on "Chico and the Man," ″Charlie and Company" and "The Royal Family" and hosted her own talk show, "Della."
Notable deaths in 2017
131 PHOTOS
Notable deaths in 2017
"Touched by an Angel" was a gamble for CBS from the start. The story of an apprentice angel (Roma Downey) and her supervisor (Reese) being sent to Earth to solve people's problems appeared to have little chance in a TV world dominated by sitcoms and police dramas.
The first season brought mediocre ratings, but slowly the show's audience grew until it became one of television's highest rated dramas. It lasted until 2003.
"Through her life and work she touched and inspired the lives of millions of people. She was a mother to me and I had the privilege of working with her side by side for so many years on 'Touched By An Angel,'" Roma Downey wrote in a statement. "I know heaven has a brand new angel this day."
She had been ordained by the Chicago-based Universal Foundation for Better Living, and when co-star Downey got married, Reese performed the ceremony.
Reese's singing career also began in church, when she joined the junior gospel choir at the Olivet Baptist Church in her hometown of Detroit. Soon she was singing at other churches, at civic events and on the radio.
When Mahalia Jackson, known as The Queen of Gospel Music, came to Detroit, she needed a singer to replace a member of her troupe. She turned to Reese, who was only 13.
Jackson was so impressed by the teenager's voice that she enlisted her for a summer tour, and Reese went on to tour with her for five summers. In later years she would remark that she would never forget what she learned from the legendary gospel singer, including "how to communicate with people through song."
Reese is survived by her husband, Franklin Lett, and three children. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
ChefLinda
Moderator
Joined: 20 Sep 2006
Posts: 24166
Location: Boston
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:51 pm Post subject: |
|
|
RIP.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ChickenStu
Retired Number
Joined: 25 Apr 2015
Posts: 31919
Location: Anaheim, CA
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Her performance in "Harlem Nights" makes me laugh out loud every single time I see it. She is just uproariously funny in that movie. I can't say that I saw much of "Touched By An Angel", and I know that she had a long, versatile career, but I'll miss her a lot just for "Harlem Nights" alone.
RIP. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Basketball Fan
Franchise Player
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 24763
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:03 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| ChickenStu wrote: | Her performance in "Harlem Nights" makes me laugh out loud every single time I see it. She is just uproariously funny in that movie. I can't say that I saw much of "Touched By An Angel", and I know that she had a long, versatile career, but I'll miss her a lot just for "Harlem Nights" alone.
RIP. |
She was the best part of the movie but I have to admit for such a stylish movie with that cast I expected so much more and it was kind of meh |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ChickenStu
Retired Number
Joined: 25 Apr 2015
Posts: 31919
Location: Anaheim, CA
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:08 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Basketball Fan wrote: | | ChickenStu wrote: | Her performance in "Harlem Nights" makes me laugh out loud every single time I see it. She is just uproariously funny in that movie. I can't say that I saw much of "Touched By An Angel", and I know that she had a long, versatile career, but I'll miss her a lot just for "Harlem Nights" alone.
RIP. |
She was the best part of the movie but I have to admit for such a stylish movie with that cast I expected so much more and it was kind of meh |
Della Reese, Redd Foxx, and the Italian dude (Richie) who gets seduced by "Sunshine" are the best parts of the movie, for me. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jodeke
Retired Number
Joined: 17 Nov 2007
Posts: 67702
Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Loved her in Harlem Nights. RIP LOVELY LADY
_________________
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ContagiousInspiration
Franchise Player
Joined: 07 May 2014
Posts: 13823
Location: Boulder ;)
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:41 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I just watched an old episode a couple months ago
Great show to grow up with along with Highway To Heaven and Little House on the Prairie Threes Company Laverne and Shirley 
Thank you for sharing your light with us all and bringing us Peace
RIP |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
22
Franchise Player
Joined: 05 Apr 2013
Posts: 17063
|
| Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 10:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
| ContagiousInspiration wrote: | I just watched an old episode a couple months ago
Great show to grow up with along with Highway To Heaven and Little House on the Prairie Threes Company Laverne and Shirley
Thank you for sharing your light with us all and bringing us Peace
RIP |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
