WSTalk Fall Winter 2023 - Flipbook - Page 10
T
he journey of Melba’s
career took her meteorically from there to
the lead of “PURLIE,”
a musical adaptation of
a play written by acting
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husband and wife pioneers Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. That
role and its musical soundtrack would earn Moore a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist in 1971 and a Tony Award
for Best Featured Actress.
The power of her presence on Broadway got Melba noticed and she became a virtual sensation. Without social
media or email, word of mouth about her colossal talent
got her on every daytime and late night talk show, placing
her in millions of households at a time when you didn’t go
viral, but you could become famous. Melba Moore became
so well known that network television o昀昀ered her a summer variety series. Starring Melba and actor/singer Clifton
Davis, who was starring on Broadway in another show, the