[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 7, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CELEBRATING THE MEMORY OF BARBARA McNAIR

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 7, 2007

  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, on Saturday, February 4, 2007, after a 
long battle with throat cancer, pioneering singer and actress Barbara 
McNair passed away. I rise today to remember and memorialize this 
important American.
  Born March 4, 1934, in Racine, Wisconsin, Ms. McNair began performing 
at an early age. Encouraged by a family that saw her potential, Barbara 
McNair began singing at 5 years old in the local churches. She would 
later go on to study at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago 
and thereafter attended the University of California, Los Angeles, 
before moving to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an 
entertainer.
  A 1957 engagement at New York's Village Vanguard earned her the 
notice which would eventually lead to her first Broadway performance in 
the play ``The Body Beautiful'' a year later. She went on to star in 
the Broadway musical ``No Strings'' in 1963. While Barbara McNair 
continued to gain a following as a nightclub singer throughout the 
early 1960s, her big break came with a win on Arthur Godfrey's 
television show, Talent Scouts. Her appearance on the show led to 
bookings at The Purple Onion and the Cocoanut Grove. Reviewing a 
nightclub appearance in late 1965, a New York Times writer commented 
that the ``strikingly beautiful'' McNair ``does not have to depend on 
looks alone. She is a highly knowledgeable performer who projects an 
aura of beauty, a warm personality and an appealing sense of fun.'' She 
soon became one of the country's most popular headliners and a guest on 
such television variety shows as The Steve Allen Show, Hullabaloo, The 
Bell Telephone Hour, and The Hollywood Palace, while recording for the 
Coral, Signature, and Motown labels.
  Towards the end of the 1960s, as opportunities were opening up for 
African-American women in film and television, Barbara McNair made her 
Hollywood acting debut in 1968 in the film, ``If He Hollers, Let Him 
Go.'' The following year she starred with Elvis Presley in his 1969 
film ``Change of Habit'' and as Sidney Poitier's wife in the 1970 film 
``They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!'' As she told the Washington Post in 1969, 
she found movie acting ``a more rewarding kind of work than singing. 
When I'm working in a club, I must go from one song to another rapidly 
and I don't have much time to express myself emotionally. In a movie, 
you can concentrate on one scene at a time.''
  In 1969, Barbara McNair expanded her love of performing onscreen by 
becoming the host of her own syndicated variety series, The Barbara 
McNair Show. While the show was on the air for only two seasons, as one 
of the few television shows of the period to have a black host, it 
marked a tremendous step forward for African-Americans in general and 
African-American women in specific.
  Barbara McNair retained a devoted following and continued to perform 
until shortly before her passing. While Ms. McNair is no longer with 
us, her music and contributions to breaking down the race and gender 
barriers on television live on.

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