Lady Sings the Blues ( film ) - wikipedia Lady Sings the Blues ( film ) Lady Sings the Blues Theatrical release poster Directed by Sidney J. Furie Produced by Brad Dexter Berry Gordy Jay Weston James S. White Screenplay by Suzanne de Passe Chris Clark Terence McCloy Based on Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday William Dufty Starring Diana Ross Billy Dee Williams Richard Pryor Music by Gil Askey Michel Legrand Cinematography John A. Alonzo Edited by Argyle Nelson Production company Motown Productions Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date October 12, 1972 ( 1972 - 10 - 12 ) Running time 144 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $14 million Box office $19,726,490 Lady Sings the Blues is a 1972 American biographical drama film directed by Sidney J. Furie about jazz singer Billie Holiday, loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from one of Holiday 's most popular songs. It was produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures. Diana Ross portrayed Holiday, alongside a cast including Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, and Scatman Crothers. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Box office 4 Awards and honors 5 Soundtrack 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Plot In 1945 New York City, Billie Holiday is arrested on a drugs charge. In a flashback to 1928, Billie is working as a housekeeper in a brothel in Baltimore where she is raped. She runs away to her mother, who sets up a job cleaning for another brothel in the Harlem section of New York. The brothel is run by an arrogant, selfish owner who pays Billie very little money. Eventually, Billie tires of scrubbing floors and becomes a prostitute, but later quits and returns to a nightclub to unsuccessfully audition to become a showgirl. After `` Piano Man '' accompanies Billie when she sings `` All of Me '', club owner Jerry books her as a singer in the show. Billie 's debut begins unsuccessfully until Louis McKay arrives and gives her a fifty dollar tip. Billie takes the money and sings `` Them There Eyes ''. Billie takes a liking to Louis and begins a relationship with him. Eventually she is discovered by Harry and Reg Hanley, who sign her as a soloist for their southern tour in hopes of landing a radio network gig. During the tour, Billie witnesses the aftermath of the lynching of an African - American man, which presses her to record the controversial song `` Strange Fruit ''. The harsh experiences on the tour result in Billie taking drugs which Harry supplies. One night when Billie is performing, Louis comes to see Billie. She collapses on stage. In her dressing room, Louis notices her needle marks, knows that she is doing drugs, and tells her she is going home with him. Billie promises to stay off the drugs if Louis stays with her. In New York, Reg and Louis arrange Billie 's radio debut, but the station does not call her to sing ; the radio sponsors, a soap company, object to her race. The group heads to Cafe Manhattan to drown their sorrows. Billie has too much to drink and asks Harry for drugs, saying that she does not want her family to know that the radio show upset her. He refuses and she throws her drink in his face. She is ready to leave, but Louis has arranged for her to sing at the Cafe, a club where she once aspired to sing. She obliges with one song but refuses an encore, leaving the club in urgent need of a fix. Louis, suspicious that Billie has broken her promise, takes her back to his home but refuses to allow her access to the bathroom or her kit. She fights Louis for it, pulling a razor on him. Louis leaves her to shoot up, telling her he does not want her there when he returns. Billie returns to the Harlem nightclub, where her drug use intensifies until she hears of the death of her mother. Billie checks herself into a drug clinic, but because she can not afford her treatment the hospital secretly calls Louis, who comes to see her and agrees to pay her bills without her knowledge. Impressed with the initiative she has taken to straighten herself out, Louis proposes to her at the hospital. Just as things are looking up, Billie is arrested for possession of narcotics and removed from the clinic. In prison, Billie goes through crippling withdrawal. Louis brings the doctor from the hospital to treat her, but she is incoherent. He puts a ring on her finger to remind her of his promise to marry her. When she finishes her prison sentence, Billie returns home and tells her friends that she does not want to sing anymore. Billie marries Louis and pledges not to continue her career, but the lure of performing is too strong and she returns to singing with Louis as her manager. Unfortunately, her felony conviction has stripped her of her Cabaret Card, which would allow her to sing in NYC nightclubs. To restore public confidence and regain her license, Billie agrees to a cross-country tour. Billie 's career takes off on the nightclub circuit. Louis leaves for New York to arrange a comeback performance for Billie at Carnegie Hall. Despondent at Louis ' absence and the never - ending stream of venues, Billie asks Piano Man to pawn the ring Louis gave her in exchange for drugs. While they are high that evening, Piano Man 's drug connections arrive ; he neither pawned the ring nor paid for the drugs. Piano Man is killed by the dealers. Within the hour, Louis and her promoter call Billie with news that they got Carnegie Hall. Louis returns to find a very fragile Billie who is traumatized and has fallen back into drugs. Louis takes her back to New York. Billie plays to a packed house at Carnegie Hall. Her encore, `` God Bless the Child '', is overlaid with newspaper clippings highlighting subsequent events : the concert fails to sway the Commission to restore her license ; subsequent appeals are denied ; she is later re-arrested on drug charges and finally dies when she is 44. Nevertheless, the Carnegie triumph is frozen in time. Cast Diana Ross as Billie Holiday Billy Dee Williams as Louis McKay Richard Pryor as Piano Man James Callahan as Reg Hanley Paul Hampton as Harry Sid Melton as Jerry Virginia Capers as Sadie Fagan Holiday, Billie 's mother Yvonne Fair as Yvonne Isabel Sanford as Madame Jester Hairston as Fefe Lynn Hamilton as Aunt Ida Victor Morosco as Vic Robert Gordy as The Hawk Harry Caesar as The Rapist Paulene Myers as Mrs. Edson Scatman Crothers as Big Ben Box Office The film earned an estimated $9,050,000 in North American rentals in 1973. Awards and honors It was nominated for five Academy Awards. The nominations were for Best Actress in a Leading Role ( Diana Ross ), Best Art Direction - Set Decoration ( Carl Anderson and Reg Allen ), Best Costume Design ( Norma Koch ), Best Music, Original Song Score and Adaptation ( Gil Askey & Michel Legrand ) and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced. The film was also screened at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists : 2004 : AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Songs : `` God Bless the Child '' -- Nominated Soundtrack Motown released a hugely successful soundtrack double - album of Ross ' recordings of Billie Holiday songs from the film, also titled Lady Sings the Blues. The album went to number one on the Billboard Hot 200 Album Charts, for the week - ending dates of April 7 and 14, 1973. See also List of American films of 1972 References Jump up ^ `` LADY SINGS THE BLUES ( X ) ''. British Board of Film Classification. December 22, 1972. Retrieved July 21, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Lady Sings the Blues, Box Office Information ''. The Numbers. Retrieved January 21, 2012. Jump up ^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films : Lady Sings the Blues Jump up ^ `` Big Rental Films of 1973 '', Variety, 9 January 1974 p 19 Jump up ^ `` NY Times : Lady Sings the Blues ''. NY Times. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Academy Award Official Database for 1972 ''. Jump up ^ `` Festival de Cannes : Lady Sings the Blues ''. festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009 - 04 - 20. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Songs Nominees '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 30. Jump up ^ `` Article at Sulekha.biz ''. External links Lady Sings the Blues on IMDb Lady Sings the Blues at Box Office Mojo Lady Sings the Blues at Rotten Tomatoes Billie Holiday Discography Awards and nominations Albums Billie Holiday Sings / Solitude An Evening with Billie Holiday Billie Holiday Billie Holiday at JATP Stay with Me Music for Torching Velvet Mood Lady Sings the Blues Body and Soul Songs for Distingué Lovers Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport All or Nothing at All Lady in Satin Last Recordings The Essential Billie Holiday : Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live Lady in Autumn : The Best of the Verve Years Lady Day : The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933 -- 1944 Remixed and Reimagined Songs `` Ai n't Nobody 's Business '' `` As Time Goes By '' `` Billie 's Blues '' `` Blue Moon '' `` Body and Soul '' `` Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans ? '' `` Do n't Explain '' `` Easy Living '' `` Embraceable You '' `` Everything Happens for the Best '' `` Everything Happens to Me '' `` Fine and Mellow '' `` Gloomy Sunday '' `` God Bless the Child '' `` Good Morning Heartache '' `` I Cover the Waterfront '' `` I Loves You, Porgy '' `` I Thought About You '' `` I 'll Be Seeing You '' `` I 'll Get By '' `` I 've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm '' `` Just One of Those Things '' `` Lady Sings the Blues '' `` Left Alone '' `` Love for Sale '' `` Lover Man ( Oh, Where Can You Be ? ) '' `` Me, Myself, and I '' `` Miss Brown to You '' `` My Man '' `` Moonlight in Vermont '' `` Night and Day '' `` No More '' `` Now or Never '' `` Our Love Is Different '' `` P.S. I Love You '' `` Pennies from Heaven '' `` Please Do n't Do It Here '' `` Preacher Boy '' `` Sophisticated Lady '' `` Stormy Blues '' `` Strange Fruit '' `` Summertime '' `` These Foolish Things ( Remind Me of You ) '' `` Too Marvelous for Words '' `` Trav'lin ' Light '' `` What a Little Moonlight Can Do '' `` What Is This Thing Called Love ? '' `` Who Needs You ( Baby ) '' `` Why Was I Born ? '' `` Willow Weep for Me '' `` You Go to My Head '' Related topics `` Angel of Harlem '' Lady Sings the Blues ( book ) Lady Sings the Blues ( film ) Lady Sings the Blues ( soundtrack ) Book Films directed by Sidney J. Furie A Dangerous Age ( 1958 ) A Cool Sound from Hell ( 1959 ) Doctor Blood 's Coffin ( 1961 ) The Snake Woman ( 1961 ) Three on a Spree ( 1961 ) During One Night ( 1961 ) The Young Ones ( 1961 ) The Boys ( 1962 ) The Leather Boys ( 1964 ) Wonderful Life ( 1964 ) The Ipcress File ( 1965 ) The Appaloosa ( 1966 ) The Naked Runner ( 1967 ) The Lawyer ( 1970 ) Little Fauss and Big Halsy ( 1970 ) Lady Sings the Blues ( 1972 ) Hit ! ( 1973 ) Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York ( 1975 ) Gable and Lombard ( 1976 ) The Boys in Company C ( 1978 ) The Entity ( 1981 ) Purple Hearts ( 1984 ) Iron Eagle ( 1986 ) Superman IV : The Quest for Peace ( 1987 ) Iron Eagle II ( 1988 ) The Taking of Beverly Hills ( 1991 ) Ladybugs ( 1992 ) Iron Eagle on the Attack ( 1995 ) Hollow Point ( 1996 ) Top of the World ( 1997 ) The Rage ( 1997 ) Married to a Stranger ( 1997 ) In Her Defense ( 1999 ) My 5 Wives ( 2000 ) Cord ( 2000 ) Under Heavy Fire ( 2001 ) The Fraternity ( 2002 ) Global Heresy ( 2002 ) Partners in Action ( 2002 ) Detention ( 2003 ) Direct Action ( 2004 ) American Soldiers ( 2005 ) The Veteran ( 2006 ) Conduct Unbecoming ( 2011 ) The Dependables ( 2014 ) NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture 1972 -- 2000 Lady Sings the Blues ( 1972 ) Let 's Do It Again ( 1976 ) The Greatest ( 1978 ) Fame ( 1980 ) Bustin ' Loose ( 1981 ) An Officer and a Gentleman ( 1982 ) A Soldier 's Story ( 1985 ) The Color Purple ( 1986 ) Lethal Weapon ( 1987 ) Coming to America ( 1988 ) Lean on Me ( 1989 ) Glory ( 1990 ) Boyz n the Hood ( 1992 ) Sister Act ( 1993 ) Malcolm X ( 1994 ) Waiting to Exhale ( 1996 ) A Time to Kill ( 1997 ) Soul Food ( 1998 ) How Stella Got Her Groove Back ( 1999 ) The Best Man ( 2000 ) 2001 -- present Remember the Titans ( 2001 ) Ali ( 2002 ) Antwone Fisher ( 2003 ) The Fighting Temptations ( 2004 ) Ray ( 2005 ) Crash ( 2006 ) The Pursuit of Happyness ( 2007 ) The Great Debaters ( 2008 ) The Secret Life of Bees ( 2009 ) Precious ( 2010 ) For Colored Girls ( 2011 ) The Help ( 2012 ) Red Tails ( 2013 ) 12 Years a Slave ( 2014 ) Selma ( 2015 ) Straight Outta Compton ( 2016 ) Hidden Figures ( 2017 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lady_Sings_the_Blues_(film)&oldid=782344520 '' Categories : 1972 films English - language films Billie Holiday 1970s drama films 1970s biographical films American films American biographical films American drama films African - American films Biographical films about musicians Films about drugs Jazz films Films about race and ethnicity Films based on biographies Films directed by Sidney J. Furie Motown Productions films Paramount Pictures films Films set in New York City Films set in the 1920s Films set in 1928 Films set in the 1930s Films set in 1936 Films shot in Los Angeles Film scores by Michel Legrand Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from July 2013 Film articles using image size parameter Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català فارسی Français Italiano Polski Português Русский Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 26 May 2017, at 09 : 11. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who did richard pryor play in lady sings the blues
Answer: Piano Man