Della Reese

Della Reese Headshot

Singer • Actress • Minister

Birth Date: July 6, 1931

Death Date: November 19, 2017

Birth Place: Detroit, Michigan

With a startlingly long career that encompassed jazz, pop, film, and television, Della Reese was a multi-media phenomenon. And as an African-American artist working before and during the civil rights era, her achievements were doubly significant. Delloreese Patricia Early was born on July 6, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan to a black father and Cherokee mother. She started out in gospel music, singing with Mahalia Jackson when she was just 13 years old, and subsequently with The Meditation Singers in the late '40s.

By the early '50s, Reese had made the shift towards a jazz/pop style, and in 1954 she released her first solo single, "Yes Indeed." She plugged away for the next few years, releasing several singles on the Jubilee label, and in 1957 she had her big breakthrough with the song "And That Reminds Me," which became a huge success and earned her national attention for her big, lustrous vocal style. Two years later she made a move to RCA, and scored her biggest success ever with "Don't You Know?" that same year, hitting No. 2 Pop and No. 1 R&B and earning Reese a Grammy nomination.

Her 1960 LP Della hit big too, and gave her another Grammy nomination. By the late '60s, though she continued to record, Reese began to develop her career as an actor. She started out with one-off appearances on TV shows like "The Mod Squad" (ABC 1968-73) and then TV movies. In the mid '70s she had a recurring role in hit series "Chico and the Man" (NBC 1974-78). In 1989 she appeared in the Eddie Murphy/Richard Pryor film "Harlem Nights" (1989) and two years later co-starred with Redd Foxx in the short-lived TV series "The Royal Family" (CBS 1991-92).

But her biggest acting role came with a starring part in the series "Touched By An Angel" (CBS 1994-2003), which ran for nine seasons and earned Reese multiple awards. Reese continued acting into the 2010s and passed away on November 19, 2017 in Los Angeles at the age of 86.

Credits

Della Reese: Blue Skies

Music Performer
Show
2021

Della Reese: You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You

Music Performer
Show
2020

Signed, Sealed, DeliveredStream

Guest Star
Franchise
2014

Dear Secret Santa

Actor
Linda
Movie
2013

Christmas Angel

Actor
Elsie
Movie
2012

Meant to Be

Actor
Mave
Movie
2012

Me Again

Actor
Muriel
Movie
2011

Detroit 1-8-7Stream

Guest Star
Series
2010
81%

The Huckabee Show

Guest
Show
2010

Expecting Mary

Actor
Doris Dorkus
Movie
2010

Life Below the Line: The World Poverty Crisis

Guest
Show
2007

Testimonies of Faith: Humble Journey's

Actor
Show
2007

Testimonies of Faith: Humble Journey's

Actor
Movie
2007

If I Had Known I Was a Genius

Actor
Nana
Movie
2007

Beauty ShopStream

Actor
Mrs. Towner
Movie
2005
38%

An Evening With Della Reese

Guest
Show
2004

Tavis Smiley

Guest
Talk
2004

DinosaurStream

Voice
Eema
Movie
2000
65%

The Moving of Sophia Myles

Actor
Sophia Myles
Movie
2000

Journey to a Hate Free Millennium

Narrator
Movie
1999

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years

Actor
Martha Logan
Movie
1999

Anya's Bell

Actor
Anya Herpick
Movie
1999

The Secret Path

Actor
Honey
Movie
1999

Mama Flora's FamilyStream

Actor
Miniseries
1998

True Stories From Touched by an Angel

Host
Show
1998

Emma's Wish

Actor
Mona Washburn
Movie
1998

A Match Made in Heaven

Actor
Katie Beale
Movie
1997

Miracle in the Woods

Actor
Lilly Cooper
Movie
1997

Promised Land

Guest Star
Series
1996

A Thin Line Between Love and HateStream

Actor
Ma Wright
Movie
1996
15%

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every ChildStream

Voice
Series
1995

Touched by an AngelStream

Actor
Tess
Series
1994

The Royal Family

Actor
Victoria Royal
Show
1991

The Kid Who Loved Christmas

Actor
Alicia Slater
Movie
1990

Harlem NightsStream

Actor
Vera
Movie
1989
26%

Designing WomenStream

Guest Star
Series
1986

MacGyverStream

Guest Star
Series
1985

227Stream

Guest Star
Series
1985

The A-TeamStream

Guest Star
Mrs. Baracus
Series
1983

Password PlusStream

Guest
Game Show
1979

Nightmare in Badham County

Actor
Sarah
Movie
1976

Welcome Back, KotterStream

Guest Star
Series
1975

Cop on the Beat

Actor
Claudine
Movie
1975

The Return of Joe Forrester

Actor
Claudine
Movie
1975

Chico and the ManStream

Actor
Series
1974

Chico and the ManStream

Guest Star
Series
1974

Police Woman

Guest Star
Tina Thompson
Series
1974

Petrocelli

Guest Star
Series
1974

Twice in a Lifetime

Actor
Flo
Movie
1974

The RookiesStream

Guest Star
Series
1972

Sanford & SonStream

Guest Star
Series
1972

The Voyage of the Yes

Actor
Opal Parker
Movie
1972

Getting Together

Guest Star
Show
1971

McCloud

Guest Star
Sgt. Gladys Harris
Series
1970

The Rosey Grier Show

Self
Show
1969

And Beautiful

Host
Show
1969

Della

Actor
Show
1969

Mod Squad

Guest Star
Paula
Series
1968

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-InStream

Guest
Variety Show
1968

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
Game Show
1950

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