*This past Monday night (05-07-18) something special happened at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills where longtime entertainers and sisters Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad were honored at Monday night’s “A Tale of Two Sisters.”
The evening featured musical performances by such veterans as Jennifer Holliday, Maurice Hines, Gladys Knight, and Arturo Sandoval. The sisters and theater patrons also heard speches from Halle Berry, Shonda Rhimes, Common, Norman Lear, Nigel Lythgoe, Raven-Symoné, and Alfre Woodard.
“This night is about our legacy — the work that we have done over so many decades,” Allen told Variety the evening of the event. “We’re still so active doing what we do, we don’t stop to think about all that we have done.”
Variety reported that Berry, Common, Lear, Rhimes, and others for the most part focused on Rashad’s beloved performance as Clair Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” highlighting its influential and positive representation that Berry called “what a powerful black woman, mother, and head of the household can look like.” Well, we know what you’re thinking, but the ceremony largely excluded mentions of Rashad’s TV husband, Bill Cosby.
Rashad’s former co-star on the series was recently charged on multiple counts of sexual assault, resulting in the rescinding of many of the comedy legend’s accumulated accolades. Cosby’s presence was reduced to brief video clips spotlighting Rashad’s performances on the show. However, Lear did note during his speech that, to his disappointment, Rashad’s wide-reaching impact as Clair “tends to get overlooked in the hubbub surrounding the show.”
Both Allen and Rashad have each received many honors over the course of their careers, including a collective 22 Emmy nominations and wins, a Golden Globe, and four Tony nominations, one of which Rashad won for her performance in “A Raisin in the Sun” — making her the first black woman to receive the honor in a dramatic leading role. Allen also became the first black woman to nab a Golden Globe for best actress in a TV musical or comedy in 1983 for “Fame.”
Being accorded awards is nothing new for sisters Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad. Between the two, they share 22 Emmy nominations and wins, a Golden Globe, and four Tony nominations, one of which Rashad won for her performance in “A Raisin in the Sun.” However, for Allen, the Wallis Annenberg honor was particularly special because it is the first the sisters have been able to share.
“It means everything because that doesn’t happen — it’s always one or the other,” Allen said. “We’re always there for each other, but it’s so nice to be here together.”
You can read/learn MORE about this story at Variety.
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