Lola Falana born Loletha Elayne Falana is an American singer, dancer, model and actress. She now tours the country with a message of hope and spirituality. When not on tour, she lives a quiet life in Las Vegas working on the apostolate she founded, The Lambs of God Ministry. The ministry is focused on helping children who have been orphaned in Sub-Saharan Africa and works closely with the group Save Sub-Saharan Orphans.
Lola Falana Age
Loletha Falana was born in Camden, New Jersey, U.S. on 11 September 1942 (77 years) as of 2019. Her nationality is American and is of Afro-American ethnicity.
Lola Falana Family
Falana was born in Camden, New Jersey, to Bennett, a welder, and Cleo Falana, a seamstress (born 1921 to 2010). By the age of three Falana was dancing, and by age five she was singing in the church choir. In 1952, her family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By then, she was in junior high school, she was already dancing in nightclubs to which she was escorted by her mother. Pursuing a musical career became so important to her that, against her parents’ wishes, she dropped out of Germantown High School, a few months before graduation and moved to New York City. She has five siblings.
Lola Falana Husband
Falana was married to Feliciano “Butch” Tavares Jr., one of five brothers of the popular R&B/soul vocal band Tavares in 1970 and later divorced in 1975. before her marriage to Feliciano, during 1965–1968, she had an affair with her then–mentor Sammy Davis Jr. which became publicly known after Davis’ confessed it to his then-wife May Britt, which led to their divorce in 1968.
There is no information about her having any children.
Her Illness
In 1987, she suffered a severe relapse of multiple sclerosis. Her left side was paralyzed, she became partially blind, and her voice and hearing were impaired. Her recovery lasted a year and a half, during which she spent most of her time praying. She attributes her recovery to a spiritual experience which she described as “Being able to feel the presence of the Lord.” In 1988, she converted to Roman Catholicism and worked her newly found spirituality into her daily life. Though she performed again in Las Vegas shows in 1987, her practice of religion and faith became the center of her life.
Lola Falana Career
In 1958, she had her first dancing gig at the age of sixteen during a Dinah Washington nightclub appearance in Philadelphia in which Washington gave her the opening act slot to perform. While dancing in a chorus line in Atlantic City, New Jersey, she was discovered by Sammy Davis Jr., who gave her a featured role in his 1964 Broadway musical Golden Boy. Still in 1964, after the musical, she launched her music career, her first single, “My Baby”, was recorded and released for Mercury Records in 1965. Later in her career, Falana recorded under Frank Sinatra’s record label. In the late 1960s, Falana was mentored by Davis.
In 1966, Davis cast her, along with himself, Ossie Davis, and Cicely Tyson, in her first film role, in A Man Called Adam. She became a major star of Italian cinema beginning in 1967. In Italy she learned to speak fluent Italian while starring in three movies, she was known as the “Black Venus”. During this time she was busy touring with Davis as a singer and dancer, making films in Italy, and reprising her role in Golden Boy during its revival in London.
In 1969, she ended her close working relationship with Sammy Davis Jr., though the two remained friends. In 1970, she made her American film debut in The Liberation of L.B. Jones and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year – Actress for her performance. That same year she posed for Playboy magazine. She was the first black woman to model for the Faberge “Tigress” perfume ads.
She also starred in a few movies considered to be of the blaxploitation genre. She appeared at the Val Air Ballroom sponsored by Black Pride, Inc., in 1978.
In the early 1970s. She often appeared on the Joey Bishop Show and The Hollywood Palace, displaying her talent for music, dance, and light comedy. She was the first supporting player hired by Bill Cosby for his much-anticipated variety hour, The New Bill Cosby Show, which made its debut on September 11, 1972 (her 30th birthday) on CBS. Throughout the mid-1970s, she made guest appearances on many popular TV shows, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Muppet Show, Laugh-In and The Flip Wilson Show.
In 1975, Falana’s disco record There’s A Man Out There Somewhere reached #67 on the Billboard R&B chart. That same year, she returned to Broadway as the lead in the musical Doctor Jazz. Although the production closed after just five performances, she was nominated for a Tony Award and won the 1975 Theater World Award.
With help from Sammy Davis, Jr., she brought her act to Las Vegas and became a top draw there. she was considered the “Queen of Las Vegas” by the late 70s. She played to sold-out crowds at The Sands, The Riviera, and the MGM Grand hotels. Later The Aladdin offered her $100,000 a week to perform. At the time, she was the highest-paid female performer in Las Vegas. Her show ran twenty weeks a year and became a major tourist attraction. She joined the cast of a short-lived CBS soap opera, Capitol, as Charity Blake, a wealthy entertainment mogul, while still playing to sold-out crowds. In 1983, she was appearing at Bally’s hotel and casino in Atlantic City and, while playing baccarat, she won a minority stake in the New York Mets, a stake she held until she sold it in 1988 for 14 million dollars to Frank Cashen.
In 1995, she recorded the song “Don’t Cry, Mary” with Catholic artist Joseph Lee Hooker. Her last known musical performance was in 1997, at Wayne Newton’s theater in Branson, Missouri.
Lola Falana Filmography
Filmography:
- A Man Called Adam (1966)
- I’ll Try Tonight (1967)
- Lola Colt (1967)
- When I Say That I Love You (1967)
- The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)
- The Klansman (1974)
- Lady Cocoa (1975)
- Mad About You (1990)
- Mary’s Land (2013)
TV Shows:
- Sabato sera (1967) – Italy
- The Flip Wilson Show, Season 1, Episode 8 (1970)
- Teatro Dieci (1971) – Italy
- The New Bill Cosby Show (1972–1973)
- Hai visto mai? (1973) – Italy
- The Streets of San Francisco, episode “A String of Puppets” (February 7, 1974)
- Ben Vereen… Comin’ at Ya (1975)
- Lola (1975)
- The Lola Falana Show (1976)
- Liberace: Valentine’s Day Special (1979)
- The Muppet Show, Season 4, Episode 11, 1979
- Fantasy Island, “Spending Spree”, Season 2, Episode 19 (1979)
- Lola, Lola y Lollo (1982)
- Made in Italy (1982) – Italy
- Capitol (cast member 1984–1986)
Lola Falana Now
She now tours the country with a message of hope and spirituality. When not on tour, she lives a quiet life in Las Vegas working on the apostolate she founded, The Lambs of God Ministry. The ministry is focused on helping children who have been orphaned in Sub-Saharan Africa and works closely with the group Save Sub-Saharan Orphans.
Lola Falana Net Worth
Born in 1942 in Camden, New Jersey, Falana is an American actress, singer, and dancer who has a net worth of $10 million dollars. Her singing and dancing is her primary source of income and wealth.
Lola Falana Death|Is Lola Falana Still Alive
About speculations about her death, Lola is alive and kicking, in good shape and is currently 76 years old.
