Bravo's tribute to Black History Month includes a special two hour premiere on Monday, Feb. 19 of "Inside the Actors Studio: Diana Ross." This is a not-to-be-missed television event! (I'm SO gay). According to the press release, Miss Ross will be performing a compilation of hit songs including "Baby Love" and "Do You Know Where You're Going To?" I'm sure she will also be singing a few tunes from her super new CD "I Love You."
I will be quite interested to hear what Ross (pictured, right, in 1975's "Mahogany") has to say to that suck-up James Lipton about her acting career which, in my opinion, has been a tragic missed opportunity. While all the hype is on Jennifer Hudson's Oscar hopes for her movie debut in "Dreamgirls," it should be noted that in 1972, Ross made an even more stunning movie debut in "Lady Sings the Blues" as jazz singer Billie Holliday. She was nominated for an Academy Award for best actress and deserved to win. But Liza Minnelli took home the Oscar that year for "Cabaret."
After that, the movie career was never as good. "Mahogany" is in every Diana Ross fan's collection (shut up Ted!) as is 1978's "The Wiz." I love "The Wiz" and thought she was terrific - especially when she sings "Home" at the end. But it's failure at the box office may have put her off movies for awhile and at this time, her solo recording career was its absolute peak.
Ross has never again acted again in a feature film. I think a 1994 television movie by the name of "Out of Darkness" that featured her as a woman with schizophrenia, showed us what we had been missing on the screen - a real natural ability as an actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for that role and I had hoped it would result in more acting parts.
She followed that up a few years later with another television movie, "Double Platinum," co-starring Brandy, and it was a real treat to see her act AND sing. And yet, nearly another decade has passed and no more movies are on the horizon. I think that, like Cher who has also made very few movies despite an actual Oscar win, Ross prefers to sing most of all.
If she wanted to leave us wanting more, she has succeeded!