Suzette Charles
Suzette Charles | |
|---|---|
 Charles as Miss America | |
| Born | Suzette DeGaetano |
| Education | Temple University (BFA) Fordham University Masters Degree ( in the process) |
| Occupation(s) | singer, actress, activist |
| Awards | presidential Scholar, Miss America |
Suzette Charles (born Suzette DeGaetano) is an American singer, songwriter, performer and actress.
Early life
[edit]Suzette DeGaetano “Charles” was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is an only child to her American mother who was a school teacher and Italian father who was a salesman.[1] She attended The Performing Arts School and as a high school graduate was awarded in 1981 a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. President Ronald Reagan awarded her and 141 others the Presidential medallion. Charles graduated Temple University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts and went on to being named Miss America 1984.[2][1]
Miss America 1984
[edit]As Miss New Jersey, she competed in the Miss America 1984 pageant held in Atlantic City on September 17, 1983. Earlier in the week, she had won a Preliminary Talent Award for her performance of "Kiss Me in the Rain" by Barbra Streisand[3][4] While she originally placed as first runner-up,[4][5] after the reigning Miss America Vanessa Williams was forced to resign, Suzette replaced her as the new Miss America.[6][7]
Career
[edit]_1985.jpg)
Charles worked from a young age in singing, modelling and acting on stage and television. She appears on the original soundtrack of film adaptation of the musical 'Hair'. Charles was cast in the role of Crissy singing the song 'Frank Mills' but was ultimately cut from the film production.[8] She acted on the ABC soap opera Loving, CBS television series Frank's Place and performed on This Morning, a British talk show.[9][10] She hosted a show on Bravo, Arts-Break. She narrated the motion picture Beyond The Dream.[11] She has appeared on stage singing with Stevie Wonder, Alan King, Joel Grey, Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Cosby and Frank Sinatra.[12][13]
In 1993, Charles was signed to RCA Records and recorded with top British songwriters & producers Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, releasing her debut single, "Free To Love Again", in August of that year. The single peaked at number 58 on the UK Singles Chart.[14][15] She recorded five more songs with Stock and Waterman that went unreleased at the time, these included; "After You're Gone", "Don't Stop (All The Love You Can Give)", "Every Time We Touch", "What The Eye Don't See" and "Just For A Minute".[16] Her producers have included Mike Stock, Pete Waterman and David Foster who also signed her on his 143 Records Label. In the late 1980s, Barry Manilow and his management company Stiletto Management represented her on Capitol Records.[17][18]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "VILLAGE VIEW: Miss America 1984 is Temple Made". 5 September 2018.
- ^ "A Temple degree 39 years in the making". 26 May 2020.
- ^ Toscano, Louis (September 16, 1983). "Miss New Jersey, Suzette Charles, won the second of..." United Press International. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
- ^ a b Watson, Elwood (28 May 2010). "Charles, Suzette (1963- )". blackpast.org. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
- ^ "Former Miss New Jerseys". MissNewJersey.net. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
- ^ Koff, Rochelle (February 15, 1985). "The Short Reign Of Suzette Charles Suzette Charles Was Miss America For Only A Few Months But She's Taking That Brief Reign and Turning It Into a Successful Career". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 17, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ "Miss America | People & Events". American Experience. WGBH. Retrieved September 22, 2013 – via PBS.org.
- ^ "Hair (1979) - Trivia - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ "Suzette Charles | Actress". IMDb.
- ^ "Suzette Charles - "After You're Gone" (Interview)". YouTube. 9 November 2010.
- ^ "Beyond the Dream". IMDb.
- ^ "Miss New Jersey, Suzette Charles, won the second of... - UPI Archives".
- ^ "Former Miss America Suzette Charles Readies for 'Phase 2' of Career - Front Runner New Jersey". 4 December 2019.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 101. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Suzette Charles - Free to Love Again".
- ^ "Suzette Charles".
- ^ https://pdaspeakers.com/speakers/suzette-charles/
- ^ "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman".
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1963 births
- Living people
- American people of West Indian descent
- American people of Italian descent
- American women singers
- Singers from New Jersey
- Miss America 1980s delegates
- Miss America winners
- People from Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey
- Miss America Preliminary Talent winners
- 21st-century American women
- Beauty pageant contestants from New Jersey
- Actors from Atlantic County, New Jersey