Sheila Guyse the Sepia Cinderella! Race films unforgotten starlet!

you deserve a break too Barbara oh don't worry about me well I don't expect anything it takes a woman for that hot interest stuff hey friend welcome to my channel Karine Alourde where we Deep dive and break down the most iconic stars in history if you're not yet subscribed please be sure to do so and turn your notifications on so you never miss an upload now let's get into this video I discovered who Sheila was just watching old black and white movies and there is a genre called race films or race movies where it was made for black people of the 1940s era 19 you know 50s era where they weren't playing like mammies and all of that it was like glamor girls she played the daughter of this wealthy investor in them and they weren't as popular as the movies from the 1940s era you know they weren't as popular as the movies of like Grace Kelly or Marilyn Monroe but they were so entertaining and these people just bounce off screen and the beauty the class the glamor and Sheila just stole my heart I just thought she was just so gorgeous I became kind of obsessed with her and watch all her movies in January for the New Year in 2023 I will be doing movie breakdowns again on this channel so be sure to comment below old glamor movies I want to start with the golden era of Hollywood those glamor movies and stuff and do breakdowns for them and see what lessons Etc but please add some race films in there also because they're very entertaining and it's not race focused all it means is that it was just made for black people at the time because there was they were Independent films because Hollywood didn't really support those films much but a lot of people don't talk about Sheila much and it's so unfortunate so Sheila guys was popular in the 1940s and 1950s and Grace many covers of Publications such as jet Ebony and arm world she also was known to Grace the cover of a magazine called Hugh Sheila guys was a very attractive lady and to fall in love with her was easy because of her baby face beauty and endearing personality she had such a soft face she sang beautifully and had great vocal ability she did to your hearing exactly what she did to your eyes and in appearance and sound she was just overall a delightful woman Cinderella look into your mirror don't you see a lovely Vision day why must you style your pretty eyes Far Cry she loves singing voice for me at least is unparalleled in her era if there was ever a bird with a beautiful voice it was her her voice is incredible it was clear and eloquent like honey she might have Lena horn with the voice okay she's saying every note as if it were her last with all her heart soul gospel Jazz and the blues all Blended seamlessly into her voice she's always put her own Chic easy listening Soulful Jazzy and mellow spin on popular and traditional songs alike as only she would do it her voice if you heard with your eyes closed might transport you to a Fantastical realm Sheila does that for me I love her singing voice and I'm I am a little bit particular with singing voice also I love a soothing calming relaxing voice and I just found it very Fantastical she was commonly confused with Dorothy Dandridge which I did a breakdown for her also which was the black sex goddess if you haven't seen that check it out also and it's been suggested that some critics thought Sheila was a stronger actress to the more well-known Dandridge and you know y'all know I love me some Dandridge so I'm not going to do the comparisons but this is from articles from the 1940s and I got most of the information in the 1950s for this video and they did a lot of comparison with her and Dorothy saying that the only Advantage Dorothy Dandridge had on Sheila was a head start and unfortunately in the film industry there was only one black woman that could make it out of time with like the glamor sensual appeal that y'all that have others but it couldn't be two of them but they were very similar in range and I must say watching all of the Dorothy Dandridge films and Sheila films also I love them both equally so I'm not going to compare but there were some who argued that Sheila would have presented a stronger competition for the more seasoned actress if given the chance to make an impression in Hollywood Cinema Sheila was initially referred to as another Lena horn which I did a breakdown for to a Lena horn I don't know I just love these glamor actresses so much it was just something about that era but however Sheila soon established a new style and Persona and after proving her prowess no one referred to her as anything other than Sheila guys as a result the title of the next Lena Horne didn't last very long for her she built her own identity so legendary Miles Davis said he never understood why Sheila guys isn't a legend or more known and I agree he considered her a great singer just as Billie Holiday Ella Fitzgerald Sarah Vaughan and Miles Davis heard and knew them all but Sheila was at the top of his list and was his favorite Sheila came across as both seductive and endearing in her performance in the eyes of the public she was either the girl next door or a sensual symbol and she could do no wrong in either role for the duration of the 40s and 50s she was the most talked about female singer in the world among the best singers in her group people who saw her perform adored her so what happened you guys are like you're raving about her what happened why isn't she as well known well her life was truly unsung she was at the Pinnacle of her career when she felt ill and her illness put an end to it all she married a trash collector after two failed marriages and he persuaded her to become a Jehovah's Witness she ended up becoming a housewife and passed away from Alzheimer's disease and we're gonna get into all of that more but before I get into the dark nitty-gritty of it all Sheila was young stylish glamorous vibrant and was bursting with talent to sprinkle in all audiences Sheila guys entered this world on a hot and humid day in July 14th of 1925 in Forest Mississippi and after relocating to New York City with her family in 1945 she found work at a Dime Store on 125th Street not far from the Apollo Theater her daughter said she lived for a time in a harlem rooming house with Billy holiday like many other African-American performers at the time Sheila got her start in the entertainment industry by appearing in amateur Productions and in 1945 she made her debut in Detroit nightclub called Club zombie Sheila had a sultry Girl Next Door appeal which she showcased in three independent all black films so-called race films of the late 1940s boy what a girl was released in 1947 and I love that movie that's where she played the wealthy daughter the daughter of a wealthy investor like I can't wait to do a breakdown for those for you in 2023 also sepia Cinderella which is an amazing film which I will also be doing a breakdown for and miracle in Harlem which was released in 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 the Indie black films she was a part of are some of the best ever made Sheila's acting with effortless and pleasant she also had the ability to convey strong emotions and serious situations on screen and regardless of the role she portrayed she had an endearing magnetic quality that made audiences watch her on screen a movie might be carried by Sheila alone in my opinion even though Sheila lacked both training and experience she was a born performer and it came to her naturally in 1945 she made her Broadway debut in the show Memphis bound she was playing bilbojangles Robinson's Leading Lady and after 36 performances which is a lot okay the show was canceled she also had recurring roles and two critically acclaimed long-running Broadway shows lost in the stars and Finian's Rainbow and Outer Circle critics award was given to lost and stars and Sheila was a part of the cast albums for these shows now let's get into our relationships there were three marriages for Sheila she had a daughter Sheila Crystal Miller with her ex-husband Shelby Irving Miller whom she married and later divorced however Sheila's marriages to her second husband Kenneth Davis received the most attention an article titled negro woman with white husband appeared in the February 1952 issue of jet featuring the happy couple and at that time a lot of people were not too happy about black women dating it interracially or having interracial relationships because you gotta remember Josephine Baker doing that Arrow was married to a white man Lena Horne Dorothy Dandridge was out here having affairs with white men eventually married one like they all Pearl Bailey was married to one so it just and I did breakdowns for all of those women and it was always a problem each and every single time that they did but keep in mind black men were also dating interracially also but there wasn't as much backlash for the men and even for the white actresses they wouldn't they did backlash but it wouldn't be as Extreme as like you know like for the white men who married black women they got the least backlash they they you know they they kind of ruled it was like okay good for you but white women dating black men kind of went through it too you know they they went through a lot to date interracially at that time so the black men had to literally be it had to make sense and they had to have money they had to you know be have status have Fame but you know she got a lot and so that's what she was mostly remembered for and reduced to as that era just having a white husband and this is a direct quote from the magazine interview which I felt she handled with Grace and she answered each question with class and I like this quote from her she said I don't go about looking for difficulties it took me a long time to decide to marry Ken but I'm glad I did we've been very happy intelligence and understanding are needed to make a marriage like ours succeed it takes more than love you have to have a mind of your own and be able to ignore what the world is saying and then thinking about you end quote Davis who is a dancer at the time and Sheila crossed paths on the set of Finian's Rainbow they tied the knot in Philadelphia but they made their home in the Bronx for the majority of their marriage and when Ken Davis and Sheila decided to divorce in 1954 there was just too much pressure on their marriage and it just was not working out anymore they made the announcement public and of course a lot of people was overjoyed that didn't want them to be together in the first place so Sheila married New York City Sanitation worker Joseph Jackson in 1958 and the couple eventually had two children Deidra Jean and Michael Sheila's husband did not want her to have a career according to her daughter Miss Devin so Sheila met Joseph Jackson the sanitation worker while struggling as a single mother after her first two marriages had ended in divorce and he was so fascinated by her beauty that he would follow her around in his garbage truck oh this is a direct quote from her daughter she said it wasn't easy to be a glamorous movie star of people following you for your autograph and now you're making your home making pancakes she did it but I don't think it was easy end quote and that must have been hard like you know a complete downgrade of your life but since Sheila was married to Jackson she eventually converted to being a Jehovah's Witness they stayed together as a married couple until he died in 2012. when it came to our work as an actress and singer she loved us physical well-being was very crucial throughout her career she battled health issues that led her to decline several roles and even temporarily leave the entertainment industry she was diagnosed with stomach ulcers the day after accepting a role in the 1953 Broadway play Mile High and Sheila who had surgery for bleeding ulcers in the mid 1950s continued to have health problems Miss Devin her daughter recalled once finding her collapsed in her bedroom bleeding from her mouth in 1958 she made a comeback to show business by releasing her lone album in a studio titled this is Sheila she attempted a career comeback but found it difficult to secure employment again an article was written on her from that time and the article said and I quote Sheila is a singer who has had to overcome serious illness marriage failures Financial pressures and professional disappointments and her long campaign to create a career in Show Business the article quoted Miss Sheila as saying I was discouraged and depressed for a while but now life looks a lot better to me and mentioned a five-year recording contract but unfortunately that comeback never happened and on December 28 2013 at the age of 88 she passed away from complications brought on by Alzheimer's disease so this is just very very unfortunate I just feel like we should bring a Revival to these old actresses that just was forgotten that contributed so much to the culture and paved the way for so many people that we just don't know much about them but we know much about everybody else and this is why I love doing breakdowns for the old glamor starlets of Hollywood the most because it's just like looking in the past like wow these people endured so much for all the laws that are passed now all the changes and making things a little bit easier for the people of this day I love Sheila she is definitely in my top three singers but if you like the music you're listening to the link is in the description support my brother I love you guys so much thank you for tuning in comment below what movies you guys would like me to do breakdown for for 2023 and other starlets that you guys will like breakdown for I love you guys so much thank you have a good day

Channel: Karine Alourde Biographies 🇭🇹

Views: 196,857

Keywords: african american women, billy daniels, black history, black hollywood film stars, black hollywood starlets, black women, black women matter, classic tv show, classic tv shows, ebony magazine, golden age of hollywood, guyse, i'm glad there is you, jet magazine, karine alourde, most beautiful black stars, old hollywood, race film, sepia, sepia cinderella, sepia cinderella 1947, sepia cinderella full movie, sepia cinderella movie, sheila, sheila guyse, the sepia cinderella

Id: Ok55Qef_f7Y

Length: 14min 18sec (858 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 31 2022