Hazel Dorothy (Scott) Powell (1920 - 1981)

Born 11 Jun 1920 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies

Wife of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. — married 1945 (to 1960) in Connecticut, USA

Died 2 Oct 1981 at age 61 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

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Biography

Hazel (Scott) Powell is Notable.

Hazel Dorothy Scott was a Trinidadian-born jazz and classical pianist and singer; she also performed as herself in several films.^[1]

Born in 1920 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Hazel Dorothy Scott was taken at the age of four by her mother to New York City.^[2][3] Recognized early as a musical prodigy, she was given scholarships from the age of eight to study at the Juilliard School. She began performing in a jazz band in her teens and was performing on radio at age 16.

She was prominent as a jazz singer throughout the 1930s and 1940s.^[4] In 1950, she became the first black woman to have a TV show, The Hazel Scott Show, featuring a variety of entertainment. Her career in America faltered after she testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee during the McCarthy era. Scott subsequently moved to Paris in the late 1950s and performed in France, not returning to the United States until 1967.

In 1945, Scott, who was a Catholic, married Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., a Baptist minister and U.S. Congressman, in Connecticut.^[5] They had one child, Adam Clayton Powell III, but divorced in 1960 after a separation. On January 19, 1961, she married Ezio Bedin, a Swiss-born comedian.

Hazel became a member of the Bahá’í Faith in 1968 after learning about it from her friend Dizzy Gillespie. In an interview, she said, "“All my life... people have said to me, ‘The way you talk, you sound like a Baha’i,’ and I never knew what a Baha’i was . . . I have always respected everyone’s religion. As I say, there is only one God . . . That is what is great about Baha’i; we believe in Progressive Revelation. We believe that whenever man has been ready to absorb more knowledge, God has revealed it."^[6]

On October 2, 1981, Hazel Scott died of cancer at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.^[7] She was 61 years old and survived by her son Adam Clayton Powell III. She was buried at Flushing Cemetery in Queens, New York, near other musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Johnny Hodges, and Dizzy Gillespie.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel_Scott
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4L3-H21 : accessed 30 July 2023), Hazel Scott in household of Margaret Tong, Manhattan (Districts 0751-1000), New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 905, sheet 19B, line 73, family 389, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1573; FHL microfilm 2,341,308.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1940", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQT2-1JX : Tue Jul 25 02:26:33 UTC 2023), Entry for Hazel Scott and Alma Scott, 1940.
4. ↑ "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XY3-69WM : Sun Jul 23 17:59:22 UTC 2023), Entry for Doris Brent, E.d. and Adam C Powell, Jr, 17 April 1950.
5. ↑ *"Brasil, Cartões de Imigração, 1900-1965," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K69K-C5V : 4 March 2021), Hazel Scott Powell in entry for Adam Clayton Powell, Immigration; citing 1955, Arquivo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (National Archives, Rio de Janeiro).
6. ↑ Engle, Susan. "Hazel Scott: Gifted Musician and Defender of Her People". Baha'i Blog, June 11, 2022. https://www.bahaiblog.net/articles/history-tributes/hazel-scott-gifted-musician-and-defender-of-her-people/
7. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VML2-8YX : 7 January 2021), Hazel Scott, Oct 1981; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6805014/hazel-scott: accessed 30 July 2023), memorial page for Hazel Scott (11 Jun 1920–2 Oct 1981), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6805014, citing Flushing Cemetery, Flushing, Queens County, New York, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.

See also:

• https://time.com/4507850/hazel-scott/
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/hazel-scotts-lifetime-of-high-notes-145939027/
• https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/03/obituaries/hazel-scott-61-jazz-pianist-acted-in-films-on-broadway.html
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1981/10/04/hazel-scott-jazz-pianist-singer-dies/a6a2da7e-afc2-424c-af56-dac992e729e0/
• https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/hazel-scott-plays-black-white-on-two-grand-pianos-1943
• Hazel Scott: A Famous Black Pianist, Singer, and Baha’i
• "Brasil, Cartões de Imigração, 1900-1965," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V13M-2X3 : 4 March 2021), Hazel Scott Powell, Immigration; citing 1957, Arquivo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (National Archives, Rio de Janeiro).