Etta Drucille Guyse, known as Sheila Guyse* (July 14,
1925 – December 28, 2013), was a beautiful multi-talented, popular and well-loved
figure on the stage and screen during the 1940s and 1950s. Some critics even
felt she was a better actress than Dandridge, some said if Sheila ever decided
to go to Hollywood, she would give her a run for her money.
Sheila Guyse was born on July 14, 1925, in Forest,
Mississippi. Shemoved with her parents in 1945 to Manhattan, New York City,
where she worked at a dime store on 125th Street, across from the Apollo Theatre.
Guyse first got her start in show business by performing in amateur shows, as
was common among black performers. She made nightclub debut in 1945 at Club
Zombie in Detroit.
Sheila had a sultry "girl-next-door" appeal
which she showcased in three independent all-Black films (so-called "race
films") of the late 1940s: Boy! What a Girl! (1947), Sepia Cinderella
(1947, co-starring with Billy Daniels), and Miracle in Harlem (1948), giving
impressive performances in all of them. She also appeared in the "Harlem
Follies of 1949" and in a 1957 television adaptation of the play The Green
Pastures. She was popular in the 1940s and 1950s, and graced many
covers of publications such as Jet, Ebony, and Our World. She also was known to
grace the cover of a magazine called Hue.
She was not an experienced or trained actress but she was
a natural talent. She made her Broadway debut in the stage production Memphis
Bound, which opened in 1945. She was selected to play the female lead opposite
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. The show closed after 36 performances. She
also appeared in the Broadway stage productions Lost in the Stars and Finian's
Rainbow, which were both long-running. Lost in the Stars won a Outer Circle
Critics Award. Guyse contributed to cast recordings for these productions.
Her
singing voice was as beautiful as she was; divine, sweet, easy on the ears
whether singing jazz, pop, or gospel.
Sheila Guyse was married three times. She married and
divorced Shelby Irving Miller, and their union produced one daughter, Sheila
Crystal Miller. Guyse's most publicized marriage, however, was to her second
husband, Kenneth Davis. Guyse and Davis met on the set of
Finian's Rainbow, where Davis was a dancer. They married in Philadelphia, but
spent the majority of their marriage in the Bronx, NY. In 1954 Ken Davis and
Sheila Guyse announced that they would end their marriage.
Shelia Guyse's health played a very important role in her
career as a performer and entertainer. She struggled with her heath many times
throughout her career which caused her to turn down various roles and even take
time away from the entertainment industry. In 1953, she was diagnosed with
stomach ulcers a day after she had accepted a role in the Broadway stage
production Mile High. She later came back to the entertainment industry in 1958
to record her only studio album, This is Sheila. Although she attempted to make
a career comeback she struggled to get back into industry.
As a struggling single mother she met Joseph Jackson, a
New York sanitation worker who was so enthralled by her that he would sometimes
follow her in his garbage truck. After they married, in 1958, Ms. Guyse stopped
performing and became increasingly involved with a Jehovah’s Witness hall in
Queens. The couple had two children and remained married until his death in
2012. Sheila died the following year in Honolulu
from complications due to Alzheimer's disease on December 28, 2013, at the age
of 88
Legendary Miles Davis said he never understood why Sheila
Guyse wasn’t a legend or more known. He considered her as great a singer as
Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Miles new them all but
Sheila was at the top of his list.
Here’s a clip of Billy Daniels & Sheila Guyse performing "Cinderella" (1947)
7 comments:
For “Sheila Guyse – This Is Sheila” go here;
https://www.mediafire.com/file/o4uw8oqxn0mnoxi/Sheila_Guyse.rar/file
1. Let There Be Love 1:40
2. I Cover The Waterfront 2:36
3. I Warm Up 2:15
4. Out Of This World 2:17
5. You Took Advantage Of Me 2:23
6. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To 1:45
7. Easy Does It 2:55
8. You Do Something To Me 2:01
9. Make Love To Me 2:16
10. You're Driving Me Crazy 2:37
11. I'm Glad There Is You 2:15
12. Easy To Love 2:05
(A big thank you to Audiotut for mp3's and discog for artwork)
Thanks for reposting this! very nice story.
Thanks for providing this wonderful collection!
Thanks for this rare lp and extensive bibliography.
Thank you. Nice talent.
Hello Promotions, Thanks for pointing out the mistake. Being my first encounter with Sheila I assumed the google image search was correct. Now replaced (I hope) with a correct image (although I got it from Google again!) Regards, Bob
What a gem find indeed.
This film was in a collection box in a Tyler Texas movie vault. Thankful for (restoration) to bring this forth. God given acting ,nice brilliant work of everyone in this motion picture!
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