The only unwed black woman in 1974 with her own theme song has another memoir out!

November 17, 2:43 AMNY African American Community ExaminerTimisha Dixon

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Who remembers Diahann Carroll of Dynasty in 1986, or better yet the 1974 Oscar and Golden Globe nominated film Claudine starring James Earl Jones and Diahann Carroll? It certainly wasn’t a film of my generation, but I still have hairs standing on the back of my neck as I recall the highly emotionally driven issues within the film. You see, Claudine (Diahann Carroll) was a single black female on welfare struggles to support herself, AND six children in Harlem by working as a maid during the day for a very wealthy and condescending white family in the suburbs. She is swept off her feet, and accidentally falls in love with Roop the garbage man (James Earl Jones). Their relationship is rather tumultuous because of the outside baggage that they both carry. Carroll spends the movie torn between being a single mother to her six kids, and loving and trusting a man all over again. In the movie she states she has had “three marriages, and three almost marriages”- while Jones is obviously in love with her, his past life makes him apprehensive to dive in head first when Carroll offers him a lifetime of love and stability. The film also touches issues like the welfare system, absent fathers, single mothers, and the black experience in America in general. The soundtrack, produced by Curtis Mayfield, includes hits Like “On and On”, and “The Makings of You” by Gladys Knight and the Pips, it also includes a theme song entitled “Claudine”. I thought to myself years ago, this woman must be amazing; she’s the only woman I know on welfare- with her own theme song! Carroll has always had groundbreaking, breathtaking and thought provoking roles, and it is almost fitting that she now has- a second set of memoirs. A trailblazer in her own right, Carroll titled it The Legs Are the Last Thing to Go: Aging, Acting, Marrying& Other Things I Learned the Hard Way. I am sure that with her knowledge and staying power as an African American woman within the entertainment industry- this WILL be a good read! In fact, I have the day off tomorrow- I’m going to pick this book up!