Pearl Bailey

She was married to jazz drummer Louie Bellson. Eleanor Boardman has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard. She was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom on October 17, 1988. She died in Santa Barbara, California. During the 1970s she had her own television show, and she also provided voices for animations such as Tubby the Tuba (1976) and Disney's The Fox and the Hound (1981). She returned to the screen only once, as an interview subject for the documentary series Hollywood in 1980. In 1959, she played the role of Maria in the film version of Porgy and Bess starring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge. Unable to make the transition from silent to talking pictures, Boardman retired in 1935, and retreated from Hollywood.

In 1954, she took the role of Frankie in the film version of Carmen Jones, and her rendition of "Beat Me That Rhythm on the Drum" is one of the highlights of the film. Boardman was married to the film director King Vidor from 1926 until 1931. She won a Tony Award for the title role in Hello, Dolly! in 1970. Her rendition of “Takes Two to Tango” hit the top ten in 1952. She appeared in less than forty films during her career, and achieved her greatest success in The Crowd in 1928. Louis Woman in 1946. Her growing popularity was reflected by inclusion on the list of WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923. She made her Broadway debut in St. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Boardman entered films in 1922 and quickly began to attract audiences.