"Do you realize what it would take to make you the kind of star you should be?"
Reflecting on Diahann Carroll and Black Actors
I’ve been diving into Diahann Carroll lately and watching her interviews. Her interviews are quite hilarious and she always drops pearls of wisdom. If you’re unfamiliar with her, she was an actor and singer extraordinaire. She was the first Black woman to win a Tony award, the first Black woman to be nominated for an Emmy award, the first Black woman to win a Golden Globe award, and was considered the first Black woman to star in a television series in a non-stereotypical role.
I haven’t watched all of her works, but she’s the star of one of my favorite movies, Claudine, for which she was nominated for an Oscar. She is one of the actresses Halle Berry thanked during her historic Oscar win. It saddens me that Diahann Carroll is such a trailblazer, but few today recognize her name. Those over a certain age are quite familiar, of course, but her name should be as iconic as Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, or Audrey Hepburn.
I, myself, only found out about her maybe 6ish years ago. I love the fabulousness of old Hollywood glamor (and gifted actresses) and Diahann Carroll is that through and through. In an interview circa 2006 that I happened to watch recently, she told a story about a conversation she had with a big-time agent on an airplane. This was after her Best Actress Oscar nomination for Claudine, and Diahann Carroll mentioned she wanted to “talk business” with this agent once they were back in Los Angeles.
The agent repped many big stars at the time, like Paul Newman, and in response to Diahann Carroll proposing possibly working together, she replied “I don’t wanna work that hard, Diahann. Do you realize what it would take to make you the kind of star you should be?” It wasn’t a knock on her talent, she said she was a wonderful talent, but she was speaking to the truth of racism in the entertainment industry and the country, for that matter. Diahann Carroll goes on to say she broke her heart and gave her a big hug at the same time because this agent told her the truth.
It’s something I’ve felt for a long time, but to hear those words and to hear Diahann Carroll tell that story…it’s heartbreaking and angering. Diahann Carroll should’ve been a huge star, but many Black women aren’t given the support to achieve such success. I feel this way about many Black artists. While there has been progress, it can be frustrating when mediocrity is accepted, and often celebrated, by their white artist counterparts while Black actors can be among the greats yet still offered scraps.
This is part of the reason why I like to go back to the past and study Black artists. I feel like cultural gatekeepers have kept me (and many) in the dark about the influence and greatness of our ancestors’ work. I’m almost seeking out the truth in a sense. Whenever I hear something referenced, I take a mental note and like to research. In the current state of the world where people keep attempting to erase and bury our past, I cling to the words of those who came before me.
Funnily enough, I’ve been watching The Bernie Mac Show, and in a season one episode, Bernie says the password for their new security system will be Claudine because it’s his favorite movie. The kids ask what that is. In shock, Bernie says it’s the movie starring Diahann Carroll. The kids have no idea who that is and Bernie becomes further frustrated. It was quite funny but also reminded me we must share and talk about things if we want them to last and for people to remember!
Side note…
Speaking of things we want people to remember—The Bernie Mac Show is also great. I’m really enjoying it. I didn’t watch it growing up, but watching it now, I feel like it influenced the way single cam comedies were told. At a time when multi-cams were popular on network TV, this feels like it was making way for the single cam comedies that would pop off in the mid 2000s. Black shows never get credit for their influence. Rest in Peace to the great Bernie Mac. I haven’t finished the series, but I stand by my hypothesis above. Larry Wilmore created The Bernie Mac Show and really is that guy. Quinta Brusnon references him a lot, too, when it comes to mastering network TV. Perhaps he’s someone I’ll study more closely next.
Back to the topic at hand…
It’s crazy that even after having a Tony award, a Golden Globe award, and an Emmy and Oscar nomination under her belt, Diahann Carroll still struggled in the industry. It’s sadder that this is a phenomenon that continues today.
At the time of writing this, Halle Berry is still the only Black actress to have won Best Actress at the Academy Awards. That was in 2002. Ten have won Best Supporting Actress, but only one for the leading lady award. Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress just in 2023. It takes me back to Diahann Carroll’s story. “Do you realize what it would take to make you the kind of star you should be?”
Why does it take so much for non-white actors? I know why…but I still ask because the answer is stupid…I think that kind of support has been put behind the career of Zendaya, but there should be support for more.
It’s not only about the award, it’s about the work. Viola Davis has spoken many times about how her phone was not ringing after her Oscar nomination for Doubt. Even after her second Oscar nomination for The Help, there was still not a lot of activity. People were shocked she turned to TV with HTGAWM. Not only was the character complex and interesting, but she wasn’t getting movie offers like that.
Taraji P. Henson has shared similar sentiments. She was nominated for an Oscar for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but again, she wasn’t offered work (nor pay) like that, and didn’t become quite as “big” of a name until Empire. There are countless stories like this.
It makes me grow tiresome at times. I mourn for Black actors of the past that deserved better. It’s why I continue to acknowledge the past. These people were special. I want to see and acknowledge them. I’m thankful for them.
I relate to the sentiment on a much smaller scale. I’ve been told many times how talented I am, but it rarely translates into ways that get me paid. All this talk about DEI yet it’s still hard as fuck to get any kind of foot in the door. It’s exhausting.
Now, there are talks about networks and corporations removing all their DEI interests as they bend to the president's will. But I refuse to live in fear. I will continue to create and do it fabulously, like the work of actors I admire, like Diahann Carroll.
Diahann Carroll also touched on something in this particular interview that stood out to me. In her groundbreaking role on the sitcom Julia, while it was successful and praised, it also got a lot of flack. She mentioned “if there are Black people involved in a show, very often, the perception of the show is that it should have a documentary quality…I was just doing a sitcom!” Julia wasn’t “real” enough for some people.
I was surprised to hear her say this, as it is a sentiment that still prevails today. There’s an expectation that everything Black people make has to be real. It’s almost as if we don’t believe Black people can be actors, they have to be that thing in real life. Or that if Black people are in a show, movie, etc, then that experience must exist in reality, and it better be a reality everyone recognizes. No one can suspend their disbelief and remember that they’re watching a work of fiction. I reject this idea. White actors or creators are never beholden to this. They get to just create.
Keke Palmer brought up this idea in her podcast interview with Issa Rae not too long ago—That we often expect actors to be like the characters they portray, and she wondered if reality TV was the cause of this. But, in hearing Diahann Carroll’s words, I see it has been a long time struggle. Diahann Carroll has mentioned that her character Julia was criticized on both sides. Some people didn’t believe a Black single mother could be a nurse and live a middle class life. To that she responded, you don’t know enough Black people.
Living up to “types” and “realism” was something she’d face many times in her career. She faced it again in Claudine as people thought she couldn’t realistically portray a single mother on welfare. I’m paraphrasing, but Diahann Carroll has mentioned that she only wanted the opportunity to act, to show her chops, it didn’t matter what the role required. She grew up with people like Claudine, she knew she could play her.
Black women don’t get opportunities to act to transform as frequently. We get stuck in what’s “real” or not. If it’s your personal experience or not. Do you think Nicole Kidman, who has played a courtesan, a Fox News anchor, a witch, a grieving mother, etc, has ever been asked such things? Nor should she! Actors should be allowed to do just that—act!
Even for Diahann Carroll’s iconic role as Dominique Deveraux on Dynasty, the writers were worried about how to portray this character, given it would be the first major role for a Black actress on a primetime soap opera. Ms. Carroll told the writers to write Dominique Deveraux as a white man, don’t think of her as a Black woman. Diahann Carroll would bring the “Blackness” to the character by being a Black woman herself, but the character needed the audacity of a white man. That’s how we got, in her words, the “first Black bitch” on primetime!
I admire that even in a time of segregation and struggle, Diahann Carroll fought for good work and to have her needs met. That in a time when Black women were especially asked to settle for less, she wouldn’t. Her career began in 1954 and continued until 2016. She passed away in 2019. She was a woman who completed so many “firsts” and was with us up until a few years ago. We must acknowledge the legacy we stand on and not let it be forgotten.
We can’t stop talking about art. We can’t stop talking about the past. There’s so much to be learned and mined from it. Art from diverse perspectives opens up your world and your mind to what storytelling can be. “Do you realize what it would take to make you the kind of star you should be?” Well, maybe we should start putting that work in.
Diahann Carroll’s daughter, Suzanne Kay, has a documentary in the works about her mother’s life and I can’t wait to watch it. Have you heard of Diahann Carroll? What’s your favorite role of hers? If not, have I convinced you to check her out? I know I’m excited to watch the rest of her work.
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This post wasn’t quite as funny today, but I was in a rather somber mood. My line of work can be frustrating and that’s how I felt last week. Even still, I find inspiration in the greats like Diahann Carroll. We will prevail.
Cheers,
Paige Elson