Drama / Music /

Score: 69.1%( 68 votes )

Overview: Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.

Cast:

Diana Ross
Billie Holiday

Billy Dee Williams
Louis McKay

Richard Pryor
Piano Man

James T. Callahan
Reg Hanley

Paul Hampton
Harry

Sid Melton
Jerry

Virginia Capers
Mama Holiday

Yvonne Fair
Yvonne

Isabel Sanford
The Madame

Tracee Lyles
The Prostitute

Ned Glass
The Agent

Milton Selzer
The Doctor

Norman Bartold
The Detective #1

Clay Tanner
The Detective #2

Jester Hairston
The Butler

Bert Kramer
The Policeman

Paul Micale
The Maitre d'

Michele Aller
The Singer

Byron Kane
The Announcer

Barbara Minkus
Radio Actress

Kay Lewis
Angela DeMarco

Helen Lewis
Debbie McGee

George Wyner
The M.C.

Shirley Melline
The Policewoman

Toby Russ
The Jail Guard

Larry Duran
Hood #1

Ernest Robinson
Hood #2

Don McGovern
Reporter #1

Dick Poston
Reporter #2

Charles Woolf
Reporter #3

Denise Denise
Denise

Lynn Hamilton
Aunt Ida

Victor Morosco
Vic

Robert L. Gordy
The Hawk

Harry Caesar
The Rapist

Paulene Myers
Mrs. Edson

Scatman Crothers
Big Ben