Gladys Knight

Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She portrayed Gladys Glazeman on Skillz Rossling, TLR.
==Biography==
Knight was born on May 28, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia and is the daughter of Merald Woodlow Knight Sr., a postal worker, and Sarah Elizabeth (née Woods). She has an older sister, Brenda, one living brother, Merald "Bubba" Jr. and one deceased brother, David. Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, she would sing in the church choir. She first achieved minor fame by winning Ted Mack's The Original Amateur Hour TV show contest at the age of eight in 1952. That same year, Gladys, her brother Bubba, sister Brenda, and their cousins Eleanorand William Guest began performing together during Bubba's tenth birthday party after a record player malfunctioned. Shortly, the quintet agreed to form a group under the insistence of Gladys' mother Elizabeth Knight. They settled on the name The Pips, inspired by the nickname of their cousin James "Pip" Woods. By 1955, the group began performing on the talent show circuit in their hometown of Atlanta, winning each talent show they entered. This success allowed them to get a record contract with Brunswick Records in 1957. At Brunswick, the group released two recordings that failed to chart. Despite this, the group was now opening for top recording acts such as Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke. By 1959, Brunswick dropped the group, and both Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest left the group to begin families. They were replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and a friend, Langston George.
In 1961, they recorded the Johnny Otis–penned "Every Beat of My Heart". Because the group was without a record label, a local Atlanta label, Huntom Records, pushed the single and got a distribution deal with Vee-Jay Records to release the single. During this time, the group moved to New York, where they auditioned for Bobby Robinson's Fury Records. Upon learning that "Every Beat of My Heart" was already becoming a hit and cutting the group out of profits, Robinson had the group re-record the song and re-release it on Fury Records. Both versions made the Billboard charts, with the Huntom/Vee-Jay version reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Prior to the re-release on Fury Records, the group changed their name to Gladys Knight & the Pips. Later in 1961, the quintet released the single "Letter Full of Tears", which became another top-40 hit in early 1962. After a string of single releases on Fury Records, Langston George left the group in 1962. That same year, Knight left the group to start a family with musician and husband Jimmy Newman. In 1964, she returned to the group, and they signed with Larry Maxwell's Maxx label, releasing several modest hits produced by Van McCoy, including "Lovers Always Forgive" and the original version of "Giving Up". Other notable songs they released on Maxx include "(There Will Never Be) Another Love", "Either Way I Lose", "Go Away, Stay Away", "Maybe Maybe Baby", "Stop and Get a Hold of Myself", "Who Knows" and "If I Should Ever Fall in Love".
==Credits==
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1990-1993	Skillz Rossling, TLR	Gladys Glazeman	Main Role; 45 episodes
Category:Actresses
Category:Skillz Rossling, TLR Cast
Category:Skillz Rossling, TLR Main Cast