The incredible history of Audrey Smaltz and the Ebony Fashion Fair.
There are a rare class of entertainers whose voices are embocrated with an electricity that rushes out their throats, with the power to lift you out of your seat and your very skin. Audrey Smaltz, the legendary and masterful commentator for Ebony Fashion Fair – the world’s longest running travelling fashion show – has a wide-open tap to that divine energy. She might be the keeper of its flame. At an ageless 84, she has still got me hyped just from a phone call.
Immersed in the beauty, genius and ambition that was Harlem in the 40s and 50s, her destiny for the stage was recognised and nurtured. Her mother sent to the Ophelia DeVore School of Charm, on 271 West 125th Street. Considered a pioneer of the “Black is Beautiful” movement, Ophelia was a successful model , who was the co-founder of Grace Del Marco Models in 1946. Two years later, she founded her charm school. Audrey Smaltz entered the school doors at fifteen.
She did it. And a star was born, and about to hit the road. Audrey set her sights on commenting, and as a commentator, Audrey Smaltz was singular. She was spectacular. And Eunice Johnson – creator of The Ebony Fashion Fair in 1958 – saw her potential. The Ebony Fashion Fair audience was not your typical crowd. “They dressed to the nines. They tried to outdress the models because the people were the fashion show, honey. They were glamorous.”
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