For this week’s column, there was no need for contemplation — it came immediately with the notice that actress Olga James had died. She died on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles in an assisted living facility. She was 95. In effect, featuring her presents a twofer, a profile and an obituary. Not too long ago, I saw “Carmen Jones,” and aside from the starring roles of Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge, no scene is as indelible as James’ sorrow after being rejected by Belafonte’s Joe. Her role as a jilted Cindy Lou was her first and last in a film, but there was much more to her career, particularly as an operatic diva.
She was born on Feb. 16, 1929 in Washington, D.C. Lucille (Smith) James, her mother, was a singer and a dancer. Her father, Ralph, was a saxophonist. James was raised by her grandparents after her parents divorced. Later, she resumed living with her mother in Newark, N.J. James was a child when she began performing on local radio stations. Those appearances were obviously good enough to earn her an audition and a subsequent scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music in New York from which she graduated in 1952 with bachelor’s degree in voice. Through her musical training and development, her preference was German lieder and French chansons.
It was at Juilliard that she met and became friends with opera great Leontyne Price and later secured a role in Virgil Thomson’s opera “Four Saints in Three Acts.” An expression of her versatility was showcased in Larry Steele’s touring group, Smart Affairs, at Club Harlem in Atlantic City. As a result of this stint, she was recommended for an audition for Otto Preminger’s “Carmen Jones.” In 1955, she made her television debut during the halftime of a Harlem Globetrotters game.
After appearing with Belafonte and Dandridge — and it should be noted that unlike Belafonte and Dandridge, she did her own singing in the film — she also sang in “Sepia Revue” with them and in 1956 she had a role in “Raisin in the Sun,” in London. Six years later she married the renowned saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley. Their son died within hours of his birth. Her marriage with Adderley ended with his death in 1975. Folk singer Len Chandler, her second husband, died in 2023. A string of club dates and concert performances kept her busy for several years after her London performances, including the portrayal of a gift to the King of Siam during a tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I,” in 1963. Along with occasional roles in theater productions, she had a recurring role as Bill Cosby’s sister-in-law on “The Bill Cosby Show,” from 1969 to 1971.
Among her recording credits, she had several with her husband, Adderley, in 1972, and with his quintet. By this time, she was increasingly disappointed in the opportunities to perform, along with the relentless racism she encountered, and stepped away from the microphone and the stage to pursue training as a therapist. She was as professional in this endeavor as she was as an actress and singer, later earning a master’s degree in psychology from Antioch University in Los Angeles, and counseling a number of patients.
One of her last performances was voiceover work for the cartoon series, “Sealab 2020.”