Everything That Led to Aunt Esther’s Sad Life & Ultimate DEMISE

my sister had class our whole fam's got class are you prepared for Jehovah's return because if you're not I have a pday well you Who you calling a witch witch you might remember leanda pagee portraying the affable anest on sford and Son but her iconic performance might never have been possible if not for some very serendipitous encounters so how did leanda go from a struggling exotic dancer to the Forefront of Comedy well the answer lies in Divine favor and a Little Help from an old friend me at her her behind is M red fox managed to single-handedly save her from the declining trajectory of her career by offering her a shot at stardom in Sanford and Son but despite the show's success things weren't all that good for leanda so what exactly happened to her behind the scenes that she turned her back on Hollywood let's find out leanda Page's birth name was Alberta Richmond and she was born on October 19th 1920 in Mississippi to EST Stella and Willie Richmond far from having a Serene childhood leanda and her mother moved to Cleveland Ohio after her mother left Willie Richmond in Cleveland her mother remarried Charles Murray and this was the point at which luanda's life began to take root Lea's early years in Ohio were marked by her passion for performing and recognizing her desire to be in front of an audience and focused her efforts on dancing by the age of seven she would gather four other little girls daily and together they would go to the local black downtown section lining up on the streets and dancing to folk songs this this routine garnered attention and when crowds gathered leanda would take the lead and stun audiences with performances like the Charleston Cakewalk and black bottom they became so skilled that they could collect as much as 20 to 25 cents a day after each performance this was considered substantial income especially for children around 6 or seven little leanda was not only making a decent income but she also developed a larger audience when she transitioned from street performances to showcasing her talents at a community center Miss Paige was making strides in her career at a young age but a significant change occurred when her family left Ohio and relocated to St Louis in this new environment leanda didn't immediately resume dancing on the streets due to her unfamiliarity with the community instead she shifted her Focus to her studies at Baner elementary school during her time in St Louis Lana encountered a mischievous boy at school who had a act for comedic storytelling this young boy turned out to be red fox and the two quickly became close friends despite their age difference they shared the same dream of making it in Show Business leanda aimed to achieve this through dancing while red fox pursued singing in comedy she had the nerve to call us witches and she was right you three ugly wi as they entered their teen years their paths diverged red fox left for Chicago while lwanda concentrated on Reviving her dormant dance career with Street dancing no longer a viable option and no professional dance schools available for young black teens in her area leanda practiced her dance moves at local parties and Gatherings her skill for performances attracted admirers including a guy named John Peele their romance was torrenti and in 1934 when leanda was just 14 they married however leanda soon discovered that Jon lacked Financial stability and aside from a few dates and meals he struggled to fulfill his promises to provide for her leanda had to resort to exotic dancing to support herself and her daughter who was born a year after the marriage despite facing tough competition from older performers she sought to distinguish herself by perfecting her act with patience and a lot of practice she transformed into a fire Dancer by the age of 18 performing under the stage name the Bronze Goddess as the years pressed on she kept afloat but faced the challenge of Aging in the exotic dancing industry an inevitable death sentence leanda returned to Los Angeles in 1952 and performed at The Brass Rail Club sometimes working as a waitress backstage after a performance the club owner overheard Lea's witty banter with comedians leading him to offer her a job doing standup comedy for $25 a week a lofty sum for the time leanda quickly found success in comedy and eventually joined the veteran comedy duo Skillet and Leroy performing with them for over 15 years during this time they recorded several runchy comedy albums in the early 1970s a white producer named Aaron Russo discovered Lea's Talent while watching her perform with Skillet and Leroy impressed by her sassiness he recommended her for a role in the show sford and Sun red fox who was part of the sford and sun cast in new lwanda from their childhood facilitated her audition and vouched for her although leanda didn't fit the original girlfriend role they had in mind red Fox's insistence led the producers to cast her as Aunt Esther a character with a different demeanor that suited her profile breaking onto the small screen marked a significant turning point in her career and one that would be extremely uncomfortable did you where was that l in St Louis ah and uh he says yeah I said leanda would be the one so red gets on the phone calls me up at 2:00 in the morning and I hadn't heard from Red you know in a long long time and um anyway he says come on out and read for Jane Murray and I said so I'm not going and read for Jane Murray I said I went read for her once before and B Richard's got the part he says come on out and read says I know you're going to get it said cuz I know what you can do so I went out to next morning to the studio and I read for Jane I impressed her and she's a wonderful person very lovely person and uh then I read for Aaron again and next thing I knew I was down in rehearsal Hall three the next thing I knew I was in leanda pagee seemed to be on the right track as her career fell into place but there was a hiccup on the set of Sanford and Son she faced challenges following directions she often walked in the wrong direction faced the camera incorrectly and struggled with her lines this let the producer Aaron Russo to consider letting her go however red fox intervened and once again insisted on giving her a chance to improve red fox took this opportunity to work closely with leanda helping her get into character despite her initial struggles Fox recognized that she wasn't immersing herself in the role he urged her to bring her own personality and attitude into the role of an eser leanda took this advice to heart and when rehearsals resumed she transformed the character adding her unique flare did Red uh coach you or anything all yes we see at first uh my first week there I had never worked TV before I just worked nightclubs see I used to be a dancer and then I started doing comedy and uh I was a nervous the first week you know and uh I didn't know exactly what to do I thought you had to be an actress you know this is what I thought and I said gosh I'm no actress I never thought I was an actress you know I always just do what come naturally just like I do now on TV I whatever comes natural that's what I do you know and uh I hadn't seen red in quite some time since he had got to be a big star and I didn't know whether red you know felt the same way by me like he did years ago and I was nervous about that and then every day they changed the script and I didn't know that you know and I'd go home and I studyed so hard and the next day I go back some lines were changed you know and I didn't know that they did all this and so they were going to let me go and red says no you're not going to let leanda go because I know what leanda can do he says give me a week give me just one day with leanda said let her come over to my place you on the the change was remarkable and leanda Page's performance as ant Esther became a hit she infused the character with her signature sassiness using gesticulation and facial expressions to get emotions AC cross where words couldn't The Producers began giving her more screen time leanda quickly became one of the most popular characters on sford and Son enjoying the success that rivaled red fox and deand Wilson's but the set was never without Scandal and leanda had to confront rumors of being involved in the drug scene behind the scenes according to gossip she allegedly brought cocaine and weed backstage for the casting crew Dean Wilson did mention Lea's involvement with with drugs on camera these claims remain speculative and their authenticity is uncertain as the years progressed in the 1980s approached sord and Sun faced challenges leading to its end in 1977 although there were brief discussions about a spin-off for leanda nothing materialized she continued to make guest appearances in shows like Different Strokes where she played cousin Myrtle however despite the success of her early career finding permanent work Hollywood became difficult in the face of a drying up Show Business leanda returned to her roots in stage comedy but this too would not bring any substantial success despite not Landing major gigs she remained popular on the comedy circuit leanda faced the challenge of adapting to a rapidly changing entertainment landscape while also caring for her elderly mother in the latter part of the 80s leanda pige faced declining Health which impacted her performances despite small appearances such as in the movie Friday she largely stayed out of the public eye it is unclear if she continued with her comedy specials during this period but it was clear that her energy and strength dwindled as she aged her daughter Clara took on a more significant role in caring for her leanda pagee had a lifelong battle with diabetes and on September 14th 2002 at the age of 81 she reportedly passed away from a heart attack caused by the condition no matter her brief career on television she did manage to touch the hearts of the people who watched her charismatic performances and that is enough one thing's for sure she will always be remembered for this saying watch it sucker what are your thoughts on leanda Page's career what is your favorite line of on Esther and sord and Son comment down below

Channel: Soulful Screen TV

Views: 174,206

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Id: tsjA1kRCok4

Length: 11min 23sec (683 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 13 2024