Maria Cole
Maria Cole | |
---|---|
Cole with her husband Nat, 1951 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Maria Antoinette Hawkins |
Born | (1922-08-01)August 1, 1922 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | July 10, 2012(2012-07-10) (aged 89) Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. |
Genres | Jazz |
Occupations | Singer |
Years active | 1936–1955 |
Labels | Capitol |
Spouse(s) | Spurgeon Ellington Nat King Cole Gary DeVore |
Children: 5, including Natalie Cole |
Maria Cole[1] (née Hawkins; August 1, 1922 – July 10, 2012) was an American jazz singer and the wife of singer Nat King Cole; mother of the singer Natalie Cole.[2][3]
Early life
Cole was born in Boston and was the niece of Charlotte Hawkins Brown.[4][5] Her father Mingo Hawkins was a letter carrier. Her mother Carol died while giving birth to her sister.[6][7][8]
In 1943 she married Spurgeon Ellington, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the all-black unit of the Army Air Corps in World War II. He died during a training flight.
On March 28, 1948 (Easter Sunday), Maria married Nat King Cole. The Coles were married in Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church by Adam Clayton Powell Jr. They had five children: Natalie (1950–2015), who had a successful career as a singer; an adopted daughter, Carole (1944–2009, the daughter of Maria's sister), who died of lung cancer at the age of 64; an adopted son, Nat Kelly Cole (1959–1995), who died at the age of 36; and twin daughters, Casey and Timolin (born September 26, 1961), whose birth was announced in the "Milestones" column of Time magazine on October 6, 1961.
Maria supported Nat during his final illness and stayed with him until his death. Five years after the death of Nat King Cole, Maria Cole bought a house in Tyringham, Massachusetts, known as South House, where she raised her five children, including singer Natalie Cole.[9]
Maria was married to screenwriter Gary DeVore from 1969 until their divorce in 1978.
Career
She was a jazz singer who worked with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, under the name Marie Ellington. She met Nat "King" Cole while they were both singing at the Zanzibar club.[2][3]
She was co-host of a talk show, "Tempo," that aired on KHJ television in Los Angeles in the 1960s.
Death
Cole died in a nursing home in Boca Raton, Florida on July 10, 2012, at the age of 89, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer.[2]
Discography
- A Girl They Call Maria (Kapp, 1954)
- Maria Cole (Dot, 1960)
- Love Is a Special Feeling (Capitol, 1966)
References
- ^ "Nat "King" Cole's Widow Maria Cole Visits Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum". Archived from the original on July 10, 2012.
- ^ a b c Associated Press (July 11, 2012). "Widow of Nat 'King' Cole dies of cancer at 89". Yahoo! News. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
- ^ a b Gene Lees, Nat Hentoff (2004). You Can't Steal a Gift: Dizzy, Clark, Milt, and Nat. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 227–35.
- ^ "Nat "King" Cole's Widow Maria Cole Visits Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum". North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. June 11, 2008. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
- ^ Henry Louis Gates, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (2004). African American Lives. Oxford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-19-516024-6.
- ^ Notable Black American Women. VNR AG. 1992. p. 115. ISBN 9780810347496. Retrieved July 13, 2012 – via Internet Archive.
Maria Hawkins Ellington Boston.
- ^ "Nat "King" Cole's Widow Maria Cole Visits Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum". News.ncdcr.gov. February 25, 1965. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- ^ Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood. One World Ballantine Books. 2005. p. 327. ISBN 9780345454188. Retrieved July 13, 2012 – via Internet Archive.
Caro MINGO HAWKINS COLE.
- ^ Rozhon, Tracie (July 24, 1994). "Habitats/Echoes of Nat (King) Cole; A Berkshire Estate with a Special Beat". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
External links
- Maria Cole at IMDb
- Maria Cole at Find a Grave
- v
- t
- e
- The King Cole Trio
- Nat King Cole at the Piano
- King Cole for Kids
- Penthouse Serenade
- Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love
- The Piano Style of Nat King Cole
- After Midnight
- Just One of Those Things
- Love Is the Thing
- Cole Español
- St. Louis Blues
- The Very Thought of You
- To Whom It May Concern
- Welcome to the Club
- A Mis Amigos
- Tell Me All About Yourself
- Every Time I Feel the Spirit
- Wild Is Love
- The Magic of Christmas
- The Nat King Cole Story
- The Touch of Your Lips
- Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays
- Ramblin' Rose
- Dear Lonely Hearts
- More Cole Español
- Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer
- Where Did Everyone Go?
- Nat King Cole Sings My Fair Lady
- Let's Face the Music!
- I Don't Want to Be Hurt Anymore
- L-O-V-E
- Harvest of Hits
- Top Pops
- Unforgettable
- 10th Anniversary Album
- Ballads of the Day
- This Is Nat King Cole
- The Beautiful Ballads
- 20 Golden Greats
- For Sentimental Reasons
- Love Songs
- All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio
- Dear Mr. Cole
- Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole
- The Nat King Cole Songbook
- P.S. Mr. Cole
- A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole
- With Respect to Nat
- You're Lookin' at Me (A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs)
- Nat King Cole & Me
- "That Ain't Right
- "All for You"
- "Straighten Up and Fly Right"
- "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You"
- "It's Only a Paper Moon"
- "The Frim-Fram Sauce"
- "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66"
- "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons"
- "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)"
- "What'll I Do"
- "Nature Boy"
- "Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon, and Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea"
- "Don't Blame Me"
- "For You My Love"
- "I Almost Lost My Mind"
- "Mona Lisa"
- "Orange Colored Sky"
- "Frosty the Snowman"
- "Too Young"
- "Red Sails in the Sunset"
- "Unforgettable"
- "Somewhere Along the Way"
- "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"
- "Because You're Mine"
- "Pretend"
- "I Am in Love"
- "Lover, Come Back to Me"
- "Answer Me, My Love"
- "Tenderly"
- "Smile"
- "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup"
- "A Blossom Fell"
- "That's All There Is to That"
- "Night Lights"
- "To the Ends of the Earth"
- "Ballerina"
- "When I Fall in Love"
- "Stardust"
- "Send for Me"
- "Looking Back"
- "Acércate Más (Come Closer to Me)"
- "Non Dimenticar"
- "You Made Me Love You"
- "Just as Much as Ever"
- "Let There Be Love"
- "Ramblin' Rose"
- "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer"
- "That Sunday, That Summer"
- "People"
- "L-O-V-E"
- "Let's Face the Music and Dance"
- Maria Cole (wife)
- Carole Cole (daughter)
- Natalie Cole (daughter)
- Eddie Cole (brother)
- Ike Cole (brother)
- Freddy Cole (brother)
- Lionel Cole (nephew)