Lola Film 1970

[Janne Desir]

WhenI first heard \u201CLola\u201D back in 1970 I knew it would be one of my favorite songs forever, and provide my beloved Kinks with a much-needed comeback on the radio. This followed two years where they had declined so badly in U.S. sales, despite producing two classic albums, Village Green and Arthur, that their record company had resorted to promos offering the records for free or one penny in a \u201CGod Save the Kinks\u201D campaign.

The song, despite (or because) being wedded to controversy\u2014trans or not trans?\u2014did become a hit and it paved the way for a nice commercial run for the boys that lasted more than a decade. It even survived threatened legal action by Coke which forced the lyric change from \u201CCoca-Cola\u201D to \u201Ccherry cola.\u201D Maybe that turned the Kinks into Dr. Pepper\u2019s Lonely Hearts Club Band?

I finally saw the group live that year, and then in April 1971 Kinks\u2019 leader Ray Davies became my first big-time rock interview after I revived Crawdaddy. He was wonderful and also (as rumored) a bit mad. I told the story earlier right here. Excerpt:

As for the future, he just wanted to enjoy \u201Cthe little things,\u201D such as Muhammad Ali \u201Cbeating the shit\u201D out of Joe Frazier in a rematch with \u201CAmazing Grace\u201D playing in the background\u2014a fantasy, as an Ali fan, that I instantly embraced. He also looked forward to the release of a film called Percy, the English word for penis. In fact, it was a movie about a penis transplant. The producers wanted him to write a funny song for it but instead he had written \\\"God's Children,\\\" a protest tune. \u201CI couldn\u2019t bring myself to actually write a funny song about a penis transplant,\u201D he explained, displaying his trademark lopsided grin. The refrain: Don't want this world to change me / I want to go back / to the way the good Lord made me.

I hailed the current Kinks surge that was strong enough, after all, to land them in Philharmonic Hall. Ray would have none of it. \u201CI tried to stab my brother Dave last month,\u201D he whispered. \u201CWe were having something to eat after a gig and he took one of my chips. Got him right under the ribs. It was horrible.\u201D The pair had famously fought, sometimes physically, for years. But he added: \u201CWhen I\u2019m onstage it\u2019s the only relaxing time for me. Although sometimes I get too emotional.\u201D

That very night, when an apparently inebriated Ray stumbled backwards towards a bank of amps, brother Dave stepped aside and let his bro crash into them and fall, with the top amp poised to topple over him\u2026even as Ray kept singing\u2026.\u201DI\u2019m an apeman, an ape ape man.\u201D

Lola Falana was crowned the First Lady/Queen of Las Vegas, getting paid a whopping $100,000 a week for her shows there during the 1970s, making her the highest-paid woman (some sources say highest-paid entertainer) in Vegas at the time. She starred in several films and television shows, including her very own, The Lola Falana Show. And she did so glittering in epic style with a stage presence that commanded that you be mesmerized by her.

V. Alexandra de F. Szoenyi is a Colombian-American writer on Latinx pop culture history. Her work has been in a number of publications including the San Francisco Examiner, Refinery29, HipLatina, Bob Cut Mag, 7x7, BoldLatina, and The Bold Italic. She is also a published poet, with work in The Minison Project, BoldLatina, and The Baram House, and is currently working on her first book. Check out more of her writing and bookish endeavors.

Lola Falana is an American actress, singer, and dancer who has a net worth of $10 million. Lola Falana began her professional career with a featured role in the 1964 Broadway musical "Golden Boy." She went on to have a successful career as a singer, and became a popular presence on both Italian and American television programs. She made her big screen debut in "A Man Called Adam" alongside Sammy Davis Jr. and Cicely Tyson.

She earned her first Golden Globe nomination for 1970's "The Liberation of L.B. Jones" and posed for "Playboy" later that year. Falana appeared on "The New Bill Cosby Show", "The Muppet Show", "The Flip Wilson Show", and "The Hollywood Palace".

She received a Tony Award nod for "Doctor Jazz" and soon took her performances to Vegas, where she performed in front of dozens of sold-out crowds. Falana became Vegas's top-paid female performer during the late '70s.

Lola Falana was born as Loletha Falana on September 11, 1942 in Camden, New Jersey as the third of six children of seamstress Cleo and welder Bennett. Earlier, her father had emigrated from Cuba to serve in the US Marine Corps. Falana demonstrated her aptitude for the performing arts at an early age. When she was three, she was already dancing, and at the age of five, she was singing in her church choir. In 1952, Falana moved with her family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she later attended Germantown High School. Going against the wishes of her parents, she dropped out just months before her graduation to pursue a music career in New York City.

Falana had her first dancing gig in 1958. That year, she was invited to perform in the opening act of a nightclub appearance by Dinah Washington in Philadelphia. Washington ended up being hugely influential in cultivating Falana's incipient career. Falana went on to dance in a chorus line in Atlantic City, where she was spotted by another influential icon, Sammy Davis Jr. The star subsequently gave Falana a featured role in his Broadway musical "Golden Boy," which premiered in 1964. Following this, Falana began her career as a recording artist; she released her debut single, "My Baby," in 1965 through Mercury Records.

Thanks to her professional relationship with Sammy Davis Jr., Falana landed her first film role in 1966's "A Man Called Adam," starring Davis Jr., Cicely Tyson, and Ossie Davis. Soon after, she became a star of Italian film and television, starring in "I'll Try Tonight" and the Spaghetti Western "Lola Colt." Falana returned to the US to star in the 1970 crime film "The Liberation of L.B. Jones," the final work of legendary American director William Wyler. Four years later, she appeared alongside Lee Marvin, Richard Burton, O. J. Simpson, and Cameron Mitchell in the literary adaptation "The Klansman." In 1975, Falana starred as the titular character in the blaxploitation film "Lady Cocoa." She didn't return to the big screen until 1990 with "Mad About You"; after that, she wasn't in another film until 2013's "Mary's Land."

On the small screen, Falana was a major star in Italy in the late 60s and early 70s. Becoming fluent in Italian, she appeared as a showgirl nicknamed Black Venus on the Saturday night program "Sabato Sera." Falana was also on the Italian shows "Teatro Dieci" and "Hai Visto Mai?" Meanwhile, in the United States, she made frequent appearances on "The Joey Bishop Show," "The Hollywood Palace," and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." From 1972 to 1973, Falana starred on the CBS variety series "The New Bill Cosby Show." Throughout the 70s, she also appeared in episodes of "The Streets of San Francisco," "The Love Boat," "The Muppet Show," and "Fantasy Island," and had her own variety specials on ABC. Falana's final television role was on the CBS soap opera "Capitol," on which she played entertainment mogul Charity Blake from 1984 to 1986.

As a model, Falana memorably posed for Playboy magazine in 1970. She also modeled for the Faberge Tigress perfume ads, becoming the first black woman to do so. In 1975, Falana returned to Broadway to play the leading role in the musical "Doctor Jazz." Despite the show closing after five performances, she received a Tony Award nomination and won a Theater World Award. Among her other notable appearances, Falana was a top draw in Las Vegas in the 70s, playing to sold-out crowds at various hotels. The highest-paid female performer in town, she held her show 20 weeks a year.

After quitting from performing in the late 90s, Falana began touring the nation spreading her spiritual beliefs. She founded an apostolate called the Lambs of God Ministry, which helps orphaned children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In the 60s, Falana had an affair with her mentor Sammy Davis Jr., who was married at the time to May Britt. This led to Davis and Britt's divorce in 1968. In 1970, Falana married R&B artist Feliciano Tavares Jr.; they eventually divorced in 1975.

Falana has multiple sclerosis. In 1987, she suffered a major relapse that caused paralysis in the left side of her face, impairing her vision, voice, and hearing. Falana eventually recovered, attributing her healing to her Christian faith.

In junior high, Lola Falana was already performing as a dancer at nightclubs (escorted by her mother, of course) in Philadelphia. Over a career as a performer that would span four decades, she would display her talent as an actor, singer, and dancer adapting herself to fit a wide range of genres and styles.

As a dancer, Lola Falana received her first big break when she was just sixteen. Dinah Washington, while performing at a nightclub in Philadelphia, hired Lola to open for her act. While she was performing as a chorus girl in Atlantic City, Sammy Davis Jr. took notice of her and in 1964 cast her in a role in his Broadway show Golden Boy. In the 1960s, she would also find success as a singer with her first hit, "My Baby".

Lola Falana followed her success on stage with success on the big and small screens. She made her debut in A Man Called Adam where she acted alongside such jazz greats as Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong. She also saw early success as a TV and film actress in Italy. While learning to speak Italian fluently, she made a number of films, including a Spaghetti Western, and was a regular on Italian television.

In the 1970s, Lola Falana's fame on the big screen reached a U.S. audience. She won a golden globe for her role in The Liberation of L.B. Jones and had a leading role in the blaxploitation era movie Lady Cocoa. With her star on the rise, she was also a regular on U.S. television appearing on shows such as The Joey Bishop Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Hollywood Palace, The New Bill Cosby Show, The Flip Wilson Show, Laugh In and The Muppet Show. Her popularity put her on the cover of Jet, Playboy, and Ebony as well as earning her a position as the spokesmodel for a Faberge perfume.

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