Celebrity Nooz: Lola Falana

Lola Falana (Entertainer) - Whatever Lola Wants

Updated: 01/25/2008

Name: Lola Falana

Birth Name: Loletha Elaine Falana

Born: September 11, 1942 in Camden, New Jersey

Nickname: First Lady of Las Vegas

Claim To Fame: Lola is no doubt known as an all around entertainer. Perhaps she's best known for her signature song "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets."

Family Life: Feliciano Tavares (1971 - 1975) (divorced)

Info: Lola Falana left home as a teenager to seek her fortune in entertainment. She often slept in subway stations before finding work. She Studied African dance, and her big break was appearing opposite Sammy Davis Jr. in "Golden Boy" in 1964. She then toured Italy and won fame there in two Italian movies. She toured with the Tavares Brothers in the 1970s and married Feliciano "Butch" Tavares. In 1979, Lola became the highest-paid entertainer in Las Vegas, thus earning her the title, "First Lady of Las Vegas".

Trivia: Is of African-American and Cuban descent.

Posed Naked for Playboy 1970

Was nominated for Broadway's 1975 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Doctor Jazz."

Was a protege of Dinah Washington.

Recorded on Reprise Records, the label owned by Frank Sinatra.

The SCTV character "Lola Heatherton," played by Catherine O’Hara, was derived from the first name of Lola Falana and the last name of Joey Heatherton. See the WATN on
Joey Heatherton by Clicking Here

9/11 Revelation: On September 10th, 2001, the eve of her 59th birthday, Falana's evening prayers were interrupted by a "voice."

As Falana later recounted to Jet magazine, the voice said, "Today is the last day things will be as they are. Tomorrow nothing will be the same again."

The next day Falana, who lived in Las Vegas at the time, got a call from her mother in Philadelphia about the attacks.

"It made me become a servant for God," Falana said. "I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God lives and that He is the authority on everything on this earth. What He allows is for
the greater good for humanity."

Where Are They Now: Was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; after a brief period of (1987) remission, her MS returned in 1996.

"I woke up one day with a crooked face, a crooked mouth, and dragging limbs," Lola told Ebony magazine in 1988. "The whole left side - my arms and legs were dragging. And I woke up one day and said okay, it's not about physical prowess and glamour any more, Falana."

She had been stricken with Multiple Sclerosis. Left in a crippled state, it was impossible to continue performing, forcing the cancellation of nearly $2 million dollars in signed contracts.

With help from family and friends, Lola Falana methodically battled her way back to health and made a triumphant return to Las Vegas in 1989 with several sold-out shows at the Sand's Hotel. But Lola's priorities had shifted during her illness; she turned her back on the entertainment industry after that Vegas gig.

Lola has recovered sufficiently from her second attack of multiple sclerosis in 1996, which sent her to her parents' home in Philadelphia, to make her own home in her beloved Las Vegas.

In 1991 she converted to Catholicism and began giving lectures in churches that are described as part sermon, part personal memoir.

After 9/11, Falana became a spokeswoman for Save Sub-Saharan Orphans but refuses to give interviews about her show biz career it's said she despises her former life and shuns all publicity

Her sole public performance since 1990 was joining Wayne Newton on stage for his 1997 Branson Christmas show.

Today Lola Falana lives a quiet life in the city of Las Vegas.

Write To Lola Falana:
This is Lola's last known contact info. Don't know if they forward things onto her or not.

Lola Falana
Capital Entertainment
217 Seaton Place NE
Washington, DC 20002

Videos: See A Video Clip of Lola Falana Singing & Dancing: Click Here

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