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Page AlO-The Chronicle, Thursday. February 23,
Spotlight ?
Melha lVlnnrp1
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to your daydrea
Melba Moore was in the midst of teaching schr>ol?
when she decided to put het shyness aside and embark
on a career in entertainment. Little did the
world, or Melba for that matter, know what a string
of successes awaited her.
Having been bom to musical parents w ho enrolled
her in piano and dance lessons at the impressionable
age of nine, Melba went on to attend Art and Music
High School. After teaching music in public school
for a year, she left to pursue a singing career b> appearing
in nightclubs and piano bais. This soon led
to recording work singing background vocals.
According to Melba, "1 think it's very important
that people decide what makes them happy and take
a step to proceed in that direction, regardless of what
?other peopie's^jpirriuTTs may berSomeitmes y ou just
have to follow your own instincts." *'
That determined philosophy has given Melba the
"I'm not a workaholic, but I do like to ?
throw myself into my wdrk and I //A*? ///?
people I'm working with to do the same.... "
? Melba Moore
confidence to expand her talents in myriad directions.
Beginning with a minor part in the controversial
Broadway musical''Hair," Melba remained with
the show a year-and-a-half, eventually landing the
female lead, a coup that merited an announcement
on the front page of The Sew York Tunes. Melba
smiles, "I was the first black girl to take over a lead
role from a white girl. I guess it could have only hap
pened in 'Hair *
This auspicious beginning proved to be a good
omen as Melba went on to win a Tony Award, New
York Drama Critics Award, Theatre World Award
and Drama Desk Award for her starring role in the
Braodway musical smash hit, "Purlie." From there,
Melba began a long and successfulxecording career,
committing her four-octave vocals to such classic
vinvl 5*^ "Pparh Mplha " ""TV-?ic lc It"
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J 't W y . I
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Keep On Trekkin'
Most of them will reunite at least one moretjnie_tl
in "Star Trek III: In Search of Spock, who, for tf
Ask Yolonda
Wife 's willing to
By YOLONDA GAYLES
Syndicated Columnist
TV?a. r>i u_i_ ? ..
luiuiimi. ricd>c ncip me wiin inis situation.
I've been married for seven years, and five of those
years have been the most brutal of my life. My problem
is my husband and his drinking. When he's
sober, I'm married to the kindest, sweetest man in
the world. N
But when he's been drinking, he's a completely different
person. He wants to fight me for no reason at
all. One time he even beat me with a belt, and the
time, I was pregnant with my second son.
I've tried everything from fighting him back to
calling the police. The police, of course, treat our
situation as if it's a lovci's quai icl. The oik lime that
\
1984
Wee\
ft
Pay attention
ms, music lovers
"The Other Side Of The Rainbow."'Tm
not a workaholic," Melba says, her demure
frame blying the energy and stamina within, "but I
do like to throw myself into m> work and 1 like the
people I'm working with to do the same. So 1 have
really like the project I'm working on since 1 know
I'm going to make a full-time commitment." Judging
from her accomplishments to date, Melba's decisions
have obviously been wise ones made from the
heart.
In 1972, she expanded her achievements once
again,, undertaking a series of successful dramatic
roles in both television and feature films, including
appearances on the popular TV series "Love Boat"
(in which Melba recently sang and danced in ajvvohour
special), the NBC Movie-of-the-week "Flamingo
Road," an ABC special "The American
Woman: Portraits of Courage." and "Cotton
Comes To Harlem."
Melba's recording career continued to escalate as
well with the Top 20 dance chart hit, "You Stepped
Into My Life," the Top 10 UK hit, "Pick Me Up, I'll
Dance," and the Top 1$ R&B single "Take M>
Love." In 1981, she signed with LMl-Ameriea and
released "What A Woman Needs," co-writing main
of the tunes.
"The Other Side Of The Rainbow," which
features Melba sustaining a single, climaxing not for
43.seconds on the title track, was released on Capitol
last year. Of the lyrics to that song, which Melba cowrote,
she says: "When 1 sing that song, I'm pouring
out my inner feelings. That's the real me. I'm always
encouraging people to pay attention to theii
daydreams."
Melba?continues?ro?realize her own precious
daydreams with her second and most current Capitol
LP, "Never Say Never." Once again, Melba reveals
her inner self, displaying her omnipresent vitality and
positive spirit. Prefaced by the release of a 12-inch
version of the R&B tune "Keepin' My Lovei
Satisfied," "Never Say Never," also showcased the
Van McCoy-penned classic "Lean On Me" and Paul
I Lawrence Jones Ill's "Love Me Right."
? ? i M.
HBDjl
\JB k*.v.
lis summer who've been vacationing on the pi;
lose of you died in "Star Trek II."
forgive* but h?L hi
t/ " ^ ' '
they took him in he was Wp.
back home the next
as
was wrong to
him back in my home
again, but can't finan- v jal
cially support my family
without his help. I Sfc
know his problem is
emotional, but I can't
get him to see a psychi?
atrist. He thinks he's all Yolonda
right.
I know my husband's problem has something to do
with the wav he was broucht un. In his sober
s
kend
I
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Mmm
Mm
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Melba Moore: A little lady with a big voice and a
4 *? *
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H Broadway Is
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By JOEY SASSO
Syndicated Columnist
Observations in covering t
Superstar Michael J
everything money can buy
magnificent mock tudor
California and a menagerie t
boa constrictor called Mu
recorded with ex-Beatle Pat
and has duets lined up with 1
I sand and Kreddi Mercury o
And to cap it all, he has
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best seller, "Thriller." He
Ross his closest friend an(
and if she's not available t
I Brooke Shields and Jane I
back on.
But in spite of all the si
and adulation that have sui
I since he was a tiny tot of e
I seems perilously close to
point. His mother and h
^^rrorted affcr~35 > fjTi
I he's feuding with his father,
as well as businessmen Ron
Freddy Demann.
Michael is a devout Jeho
who studies the Bible e\
met Vulcan, apparently refuses to eat meat, drinK
touch drugs. He rejects evi
salt to flour and will eat i
i
is band's brutality
moments, I learned that his father used to beat his
mother. I tried to talk to his mother about it, but all I
get from her is that I must be doing something to instigate
his violence.
I need help, but where do 1 begin? I'm afraid that
one day someone will get killed.
Aileen, In Portsmouth
Dear Aileen: Clearly, if you think your husband
learned his violent actions from his parents' relationship,
perhaps you need to think of what your marriage
teaches your children.
Over the years, I've visited several shelter homes
for women ir> your situation. The message I heat
counselors sharp is fhaf-vnn'vp ont tr? h*r?r?w?? roi
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My Beat
hael near edge?
food restaurants in Los Angeles. He attends
religious services three times a week
and fasts on Sundays - when he allows
he night beat: himself the special treat of a frenzied
ackson has dance session that drives his slender frame
, including a to exhaustion.
mansion in He sees himself as Peter Pan. "I totalis
hat includes a identify with him" he says. "There are
seles. he has pictures of him all over my room. And
j| McCartney I've read everything the author, J.M. Barftarbara
Strei- rie, ever wrote." Michael may even play
f Queen. Peter Pan if Steven Spielberg -- who
won a record made "ET" -- gets his way. "ET" is
r his runaway Michael's favorite movie. He's seen it six
> calls Diana times. Micheal lives in glorious isolated
1 confidante, splendor in the family mansion in Caiiforhere's
always nia, surrounded by the burly bodyguards
;onda to fall be calls "my people." He is painfully shy.
Even his mother Kathleen says: "He's
quieter off stage then he's ever been. He
jccess, uxur> toj^ me sornetjmes feejs |j^e a cagecj
rrounded him anjma| ,.
l' ac son Singer-songwriter Lionel Richie has
e tea ing agreed - a year advance -- to serve again
tan? Awards" ABC-TV special. Last month,
oe ac son, Rjchie became the first sole host of the
eisnet an 11-year-old special. The result was the
most-watched musical-awards show in TV
vah's Witness history with 55 million viewers, according
ery day and to ABC. Immediately after the broadcast
c alchohol or ? and presumably after the ratings came
crything from in - Dick Clark, the show's executive pro
n onl> health ducer, asked Richie to repeat in 1985....
ii
persists |
V
\u
sile for your own health and safety. I suggest that you
call your local police department again, but this time
ask for the names of either a shelter home or a famil> I?
counseling center in your area. A counselor there can ?
help you realize your alternatives. $
V
i
She Wants Free Ride ?
*
Dear Yolonda: A co-worker and I have been J
fiiends for many years. We work the same shift, and ? N
because I have car, I've been trying to be a good bud- i
dy, and give this peison a ride home once a week f
after our usual Wednesday night meetings (free of ?
charge, I might add). ?
The last month I've been leaving early, so my co- 3
Dlaaoo coo mno AH