Portland actors feated
Actress and former Portlander, the
late Jeeaie Coles Grayson and actor Paul
Winfield, also a former Portlander, were
selected fcr special tribute in their old
home town recently by the Guild of the
Portland Urban League.
The occasion, observed at the Sheraton
Hotel, was marked at the May luncheon
meeting of the Portland Federation of
Womens Clubs. Annually, some fifty to
sixty clubs in the federation vie, under
their individual banners, for top hor ors in
portraying in their imaginative table
centerpieces the current decorative
theme chosen by the federated group.
Thia year's theme. “Hooray for Holly
wood." was borrowed directly from the
famous Portland Rose Festival Parade
scheduled to be again viewed by thou
sands of eager spectators in early June.
Representatives of the Royal Rosarians.
sponsors of the parade, came to the
luncheon resplendent in their royal re
galia to present their 1978 Festival queen
to the nearly 400 assembled guests.
The Urban League Guild did not win
one of the three coveted prizes but did
attract much favorable attention and
interest for their dramatic tib le center
piece which featured a few of the many
Black artists who have struggled for
recognition of their talents in the movie
capital. Spotlighted with tiny lights were
the two Portland personalities.
Jessie Coles Grayson began in 1927 her
seige to break through the walls of denial
and restriction standing against Blacks
who sought to develop their art on film in
this powerful media. Much in demand to
sing in l*ortland's music circles of church
and concert events. Mrs. Grayson had
been a member of Bethel A .M .E . Church
since about 1910. She possessed a rich
contra alto voice with admirable range
which afforded her considerable advant
age when the "talkies" came in. Mrs.
Grayson was awarded substantial speak
ing and singing roles in films with Bette
Davis, Spencer Tracy and others before
her death in Los Angeles in the fifties.
Of a younger generation of Black
actors, Paul W infield, also spotlighted by
the Urban League Guild, is currently
busy building his successful career in
Hollywood. He enjoys the movies but
keeps ever mindful of his early love for
the stage and for the Shakespearean
theatre. W infield came to Portland as a
child, attending elementary and secon
dary schools here, and was graduated
from the University of Portland.
Mrs. Ozella Canada is president of the
75 member Portland Urban League
Guild.
Paul W infield, the celebrated actor. Is a
fanner Portland resident - a graduate of
the U niversity of Portland. | Photo: Cour
tesy of University of Portland)
Jessie Coles Grayson, one ef the first
Black screen actresses, was much in
demand in Portland as a soloist before
her Hollywood success. (Photo: Courtesy
of Bancroft Library, University of Cali
fornia)
The late Jessie Coles Grayson as seen
in her movie roll. (Photo: Courtesy of
Bancroft L ib rary, University of Califor
nia)
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I J ‘ d I
on M ay 27th in Dick Clark's
in his tw enty-tw o years of beading the
Donna Summer visits Bandstand
For the first tim e since Dick Clark took
over as host of “American Bandstand"
some 22 y e a n ago. he will not appear on
the program as its host on May 27th.
Taking his place for Bandstand's hour
long tribute to disco music will be the
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Queen of Disco herself Donna Summer.
Among other things she will be p ro
moling her first motion picture, “Thank
God It's Friday."
Both the movie and her "American
Bandstand” hosting chore should go a
long way to convincing the public that
there is a lot more to Donna than just the
sex-goddess image she acquired while
moaning and heavy-breathing through
her monster hit. “Love To Love You
Baby."
Not that Donna objects to the publi
city.
As she says, "You have to get people's
attention some kind of way. But I'm not
just sex. sex, sex. I would never want to
be a one-dimensional person like that.
“It's like if you have a coat that's red,
yellow and white. You don’t call it a red
coat, or a yellow one, or a white one, you
call it a multi-color coat.
“Same w ith me. I can sing songs like
'Love To Love You Baby,’ but I can also
sing ballads, light opera, things from
musical comedy, church hymns all kinds
of songs. Plus, I can w rite, act and think.
Like the multi-color coat, I'm multi
dimensional, and I don't want to be
known for just one thing.”
Meanwhile she is stepping into another
pair c i big shoes when she hosts "Am eri
can Bandstand," May 27th, with Dick
Clark executive producing from the
wings, rather than standing in the center-
stage host s spot he has occupied for more
than 20 years.
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