Della Reese

Performer

"People need something to help them with their lives. In 'Touched by an Angel,' we didn't tell you what to do. If you were distraught and at a place where you felt there was nothing else to do, we would make a suggestion: "Did you ever think about it like this? It doesn't have to be that way. You can change your mind and change your life." It gave people at home, in the privacy of their homes, a chance to know that they too, could change their minds and change their life."

About This Interview

Della Reese was interviewed for two hours plus in Los Angeles, CA. Reese spoke about her start as a singer at age thirteen touring with gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. She talked about the struggles in her early career (and such highlights as touring with Nat King Cole). She touched upon her first appearances on television, notably on The Ed Sullivan Show, for which she appeared 17 times. She talked about her appearances on The Merv Griffin Show and The Mike Douglas Show, and how both hosts broke barriers for African-Americans in television. She spoke in great detail about her own talk/variety series The Della Reese Show, commenting on markets the show played in and listing memorable guests. She described her roles on the sitcoms Chico and the Man and Welcome Back, Kotter, joining both series mid-run. She recounted the time when, in October 1980 during a taping of the Tonight Show, she suffered a brain aneurysm. She described her work as a regular on the series The Royal Family and related the story of the tragic demise of series star Redd Foxx, after a collapse on the set. Lastly, she discussed the series for which she is most identified, Touched By An Angel, elaborating on the spiritual nature of the show, identifying memorable guest stars, and commenting on how CBS viewed the show. The interview was conducted by Beth Cochran on June 13, 2008.