Jeanne Parnell, the veteran radio personality who spent more than two decades on the airways interviewing a cross-section of intoxicating personalities, from choreographer Carmen De Lavallade to Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Bob Law, Reverend Al Sharpton, and former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, died on March 16 at Manhattan’s Memorial Sloan Kettering. She was 89.
Her son Richard Parnell Habersham, Jr. confirmed her death on social media. A cause of death was not given.
Parnell’s radio career wasn’t a long-awaited dream; it just happened. Her friend Sanford Moore invited her into the world of radio to host a talk show on WWRL-AM (1970–73). She called her new show “Interesting People.” She was such an intriguing host that her friends Leslie Burns, advertising director, and Jill Ferguson asked her to the premiere Black sister stations WLIB/WBLS-FM.
“I was in heaven working alongside radio personalities Frankie Crocker, Eddie O’Jay, Rocky G., and Vy Higginsen,” said Parnell during an interview with this writer for the AmNews in 2020. She called this show “The Jean Parnell Revue,” and interviewed such guests as Altovise Davis and Little Anthony of the Imperials (her friends from the Fort Greene Projects). She was at the station for eight years. “I cried when I lost that show. I never wanted to leave radio,” she said.
Her radio career was rejuvenated by the award-winning news radio producer Joe Brown, station manager at WHCR-FM 90.3 (Harlem radio), who offered her a talk show on the station. She held that rein as one of New York’s most popular radio hosts for more than 15 years, past her youthful age of 84. A few years later, health issues commanded her retirement.
The veteran of talk covered all avenues, from the arts, film, and TV to special events and Harlem community happenings. Some of her guests included Congressmember Charles Rangel, Audrey Smaltz, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, Lana Turner, and Coreen Simpson. “Every interview is so important to me. It’s a learning experience — each one is so individual,” said Parnell in 2020.
On my maiden voyage into covering music, Jeanne was one of the first media people I met. She was very warm, with a reservoir of information that she often shared with me. In later years, she invited me on her show to talk about jazz and any upcoming events. Her sincerity and willingness to share reflects the legendary radio pioneer Hal Jackson’s motto: “It’s nice to be important, but more important to be nice.” That was Jeanne — a giving person never asking in return. Like so many, I am eternally grateful for her friendship and guidance.
Jeanne Parnell was born on May 20, 1936, in Harlem to Ethel Kollack Parnell and Paul Parnell. The family moved to Brooklyn while Jeanne was still a toddler, finding residence in the Fort Greene Housing Projects. When Jeanne was 7, her mother enrolled her at the Mary Bruce Dance Studio in Harlem. “I loved dancing school,” said Parnell. “It was where I learned [that] I wanted to be seen and heard.”
Her early dancing instruction cemented her acceptance into the prestigious High School for the Performing Arts (now relocated and renamed the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts). A few of the Black students in attendance included Arthur Mitchell, who became the founder and artistic director of the Dance Theater of Harlem, and actress Diana Sands.
“Jeanne was an influencer long before the term was coined. Through her journalism and radio careers, she championed Harlem in its glory,” said Harriet Michel. “She was a lover of all performing arts, especially jazz, and impacted so many lives. I was blessed to call her my friend.”
After her 1954 graduation, Parnell received a scholarship to the then-fledgling Juilliard School of Dance. Ironically, Parnell was not interested; as she explained to her father, “I don’t want to attend another school with all white kids again. He mentioned something about Howard University, but I wasn’t listening.”
Parnell took off to Atlantic City and landed a chorus line job with the Larry Steele Dancers at the famous Club Harlem. She experienced the celebrity glitter for a mere week before her aunt Rosa arrived from New York and took her directly to Howard University as demanded by her father. She stayed and graduated with a fine arts degree in 1958.
After graduation, Parnell returned to New York and attended Columbia Teachers College for graduate school. With degree in hand, she became a teacher for the NYC Board of Education. Shortly afterward, she accepted an assignment at the Hillary Street office in Brooklyn, working on Channel 25 (education television station). There she became the voice and later writer for the series “Images in Black” and hosted the program “Getting Started,” which focused on the negatives and positives of teaching.
She eventually returned to the classroom, teaching in the gifted student program at P.S. 116 in midtown Manhattan. One of her young students included Alicia Keys, who went on to become a multi-Grammy Award winner. “I turned young people into theater people, introducing them to singing and dancing,” said Parnell.
While still taking on special assignments and teaching full-time during the 1960s, Parnell married her second husband, club owner Richard “Dickie” Habersham (they grew up together in the Fort Greene Projects). He owned five bars in Brooklyn; his flagship and most notable was the Blue Coronet jazz club (during the 1960s through ’70s). Her husband introduced her to such legends as Miles Davis, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, and Randy Weston.
When the married couple moved to Harlem, Habersham purchased Count Basie’s club, which became another hotspot for jazz. He played a major role in helping jazz flourish in Harlem and Brooklyn.
Parnell continued working at the Board of Education and happened to land a job at the AmNews as a columnist under the byline “Dear J” with her photo. People wrote in asking for advice (the column became syndicated in Black newspapers throughout the country). She noted that Nelson George, a film critic at the paper, opened the door for her. “I worked at the Amsterdam News for eight years and loved every minute,” Parnell said in an interview with the AmNews.
“Though small in stature, her personality was immense, with an open and loving heart. We will deeply miss Jeanne’s beautiful smile, her keen humor, and wisdom beyond words,” said her good friend Ruth Hunt.
During her tenure at the Board of Education, Parnell earned the position of director of Impact II (an innovative teaching program), supervising the program in the five boroughs at the board’s main office in Brooklyn. She retired in 1995.
“I lived a wonderful life, coming from the projects, attending NYC public schools. I’ve had multiple careers in education, dance, writing, radio, and television,” said Parnell. “I got my real start from the Amsterdam News — that column with my photo validated me for everything I did. They were always there for me.”
Parnell is survived by her son, grandson Richard Habersham III, and daughter-in-law Gretchen Habersham.