Hazel Scott

[Edie Antoinette]

She was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on June 11, 1920 and raised in New York City from the age of four. She performed extensively on piano as a child, then trained at the Juilliard School. She appeared in the production Priorities of 1942 and performed numerous times at the famed Carnegie Hall. Her motion picture career included the films Something To Shout About, I Dood It, Broadway Rhythm, The Heat's On, and Rhapsody in Blue.

She was known for improvising on classical themes and also played boogie-woogie, blues, and ballads. She was the first woman of color to have her own television show, The Hazel Scott Show, which premiered on the DuMont Television Network on 3 July 1950. However, she publicly opposed McCarthyism and racial segregation, and the show was canceled in 1950 when she was accused of being a Communist sympathizer. The last broadcast was 29 September 1950.

Her album Relaxed Piano Moodson the Debut Record label with Charles Mingus and Max Roach, is the album most highly regarded by critics today.

She was married to U.S. Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. from 1945 to 1956, by whom she had one child before their divorce, Adam Clayton Powell III.

She died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 61 on October 2, 1981 at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

The Hazel Scott Show was a 15-minute-long musical program hosted by pianist and singer Hazel Scott, who would perform show tunes and other numbers live on the show. Scott was no stranger to performing before she began appearing on the program: she had appeared in nightclubs, on radio and television programs, on Broadway, and in five feature films. The program, produced and distributed by the DuMont network, aired Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:45 to 8 PM on most DuMont affiliates.

Trinidad-born Hazel Scott was described as a "novelty on the entertainment scene", and the series was well-received by critics; Variety wrote: "Hazel Scott has a neat little show in this modest package. [The] most engaging element is the Scott personality, which is dignified, yet relaxed, and versatile."

Despite critical acclaim and decent Hooper Ratings, the series was cancelled after just a few months. On June 22, 1950, Scott's name had appeared in Red Channels, an anti-Communist publication which named supposed Communist sympathizers. Although Scott appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee on September 22 and vehemently denied the charges, The Hazel Scott Show found itself without a sponsor.

The DuMont network cancelled the series just one week later. The final network telecast was on September 29, 1950. The network replaced the series with The Susan Raye Show.