Debbie Allen Cast Member of the Month Part 1

""In places around the world where we do not speak the same language, or even understand that we pray to the same God, we dance to the same beat, that is "the one".

Debbie Allen was born Deborah Kaye Allen on 16th January 1950, making her star sign Capricorn. Capricorns have been described as hard working, persistent, creative and possess a strong willpower.

Born in Houston , Texas Debbie is the daughter of orthodontist Andrew Arthur Allen and Pulitzer Prize  nominated poet, artist and scholar Vivian Elizabeth (Ayers) Allen. Debbie has 2 brothers: Andrew Jnr (Tex) and Hugh and older sister Phylicia Rashad, who is also an actress and performer. 

Debbie was raised in Texas, although when her parents divorced, when she was 10, for a brief period her mother took the family to live in Mexico so that they could live without being subjected to the chronic racism and segregation that existed in Texas in the 1950s. This resulted in Debbie becoming fluent in Spanish.

Back in Houston Debbie graduated from the Jack Yates Senior High School in 1967 and then attended Howard University, from where she graduated in 1971 with a B.A. in Greek literature, Speech and Theatre. She later studied acting at the non profit HB Studios in New York City.

Whilst growing up Debbie had been interested in dance since the age of 3 and aged 5 her parents enrolled her in dance classes.

At the age of 12 she had auditioned for the Houston Ballet Academy. When she was 16 she auditioned for the North Carolina School of the Arts and although the latter had her demonstrate technique to others who were auditing, neither school admitted her due to the colour of her skin. The North Carolina school told her that her body was not suited for ballet. This experience became the inspiration for the season 2 episode of "Fame" titled "Beginnings".  

The rejection led to Debbie putting her dancing on hold and concentrated on her academics. Whilst at Howard University she met Mike Malone who was a choreographer and dancer. He became Debbie's mentor and inspired her to continue with the dancing. Mike would also work as choreographer on "Fame" in 11 episodes from seasons 3 and 4.

After college, Debbie went to New York City and tried out for various shows on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in the chorus of "Purlie" and later created the role of Beneartha in the Tony Winning musical "Raisin" in 1973. During that show she met her first Husband Win Wilford who was also part of the cast and the 2 were married in 1975.

In 1976 Debbie made her first appearance on  TV in a 2 part episode of the sitcom "Good Times" where she played JJ's drug addicted girlfriend. 

In 1977 she became one of the leads in the short lived variety show "3 Girls 3".

In 1979 she appeared in "Roots The Next Generation" and made her feature film debut in a supporting role in the movie: "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh", which also featured Valerie Landsburg. Also that year she was cast in the original "Fame" movie. The original idea was that Debbie played a senior student who helped with auditions for the new students and would become a rival for Coco and a love interest for Leroy. She was due to be part of a big production number but Alan Parker had filmed so much footage that he had to make cuts and sadly Debbie's part was one of them and she ended up with only a brief scene in the movie.

In 1980, Debbie received critical attention for her performance as Anita in the Broadway revival of "West Side Story" which earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and won her a Drama Desk Award. Also in 1980 she was involved in the pilot for the TV show "Fame", where she would play dance teacher Lydia Grant.

Debbie was a creative driving force on the TV series. During the 6 year run Debbie would choreograph, stage, produce and direct as well as act, sing and dance on the show. Debbie featured in 104 episodes and the work load was immense but Debbie lapped it up. She would also lead the cast and dancers during the the Worldwide concert tours. 

Having moved to Los Angeles to do "Fame" the workload took a toll on her marriage to Win Wilford who was working in New York and this led to the couple divorcing in 1983. However, Debbie soon became involved with basketball star Norm Nixon and the 2 married in 1984, with whom she has 2 children Vivian and Norm Jnr (Thump).

Debbie won a number of awards and nominations for "Fame". Winning 2 Emmy's for choreography and winning a Golden Globe for best Actress in a musical or comedy in 1983. Debbie became the first African American woman to win the best actress award in this category.  Debbie was nominated for 4 consecutive years for the Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama series during her time on "Fame" she didn't win but this was significant as it was the first time a black woman had ever been nominated. It would take until 2015 for an African American Woman to win the award.  

During "Fame's" final season in 1986 Debbie would star in the Broadway revival of "Sweet Charity" for which she was nominated for a Tony award. Still loyal to "Fame" she filmed scenes for the first half of the season during the day on location in New York.

To be Continued Next Month.