DIVA

by Stanley Bennett Clay

Beautiful, talented Ida Lake was known as "The Diva" to her millions of fans when she reigned as Hollywood's black singing sensation of the 1940s. Her career--and her sanity--collapsed after the suspicious deaths of the husband she adored and the daughter she worshipped. Haunted by rumors of "un-American" activities, Ida took refuge abroad.Two decades later, she has been coaxed into a comeback as the star of a new Broadway musical. But tragedy stalks Ida Lake once again as a mysterious web of intrigue, sex scandal and murder envelops the show.In DIVA, author Stanley Bennett Clay shows that drama isn't always on stage!

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1988

About the author

Stanley Bennett Clay received 3 NAACP Theatre Awards and 3 Drama-logue Awards for writing, directing and co-producing the stage play “Ritual.” He made his film writing/directorial debut with the film version, which was voted the Jury Award at the 2000 Pan African Film Festival. Recently he wrote and directed the documentary "You Are Not Alone," and examination of depression among black gay men.

He wrote the plays “Lovers” (Theatre of Arts), wrote and composed the musical “Street Nativity” (Celebrity Centre Theatre), and wrote and starred in “Armstrong’s Kid” (Roy Arias Off-Broadway Theatre/NY).

He directed the west coast premiere of the play “Jonin’” (Estelle Harmon Theatre, Drama-logue Award/Direction), produced the GLAAD award-winning “Children of the Night” (Ebony Showcase Theatre), and produced the world premiere of “Willie & Esther” which was a Los Angeles Times Critics’ Choice and won 2 L.A. Weekly Awards, including Best Play. He most recently directed the premiere production of "B-Boy Blues: The Play" adapted from the James Earl Hardy classic novel. The production won The Audience Award at New York City's Downtown Urban Theatre Festival.

As an actor, Clay starred, guest-starred and was featured in more than fifty TV and film productions including “Good Times,” “Cheers,” “Minstrel Man,” "James Michener’s Dynasty,” “Cannonball” and “All The President’s Men.” On stage, he did leads in “Zooman and the Sign” (Drama-logue Award/NAACP Image Award Best Actor nominee) “Anna Lucasta” (NAACP Image Award Best Actor winner) and “Six Pieces of Musical Broadway” (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion). He also appeared in Albert Camus’ “Caligula” (Zodiac Theatre) Bill Duke’s “Sonata” (Theatre of Arts) and “A Hatful of Rain” (Argo Repertory Company).

He’s the author of 6 novels: “Diva” (Fleming & Sons), “In Search of Pretty Young Black Men” (Atria), “Looker” (Atria), "Aching For It" (Ellora's Cave), "Hollywood Flames" (Ellora's Cave) and "Madame Frankie" (Ellora's Cave). “Search” won the 2005 New York HOTEP Society Award for Best Gay Novel. He also co-authored “Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris.”

For ten years (1991-2001) he edited and published SBC Magazine, then the most widely distributed national monthly for the Black LGBT community. He received Genre Magazine’s Life Guard Award, The National Black Writers’ Founder’s Award, the first Black Gay and Lesbian Cultural Alliance Award, the 2008 Oakland Black Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, Blatino Oasis 2010 Award for Literature, the Indianapolis Black Pride/Brothers United Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature, and the first Better Brother Los Angeles Lifetime Achievement Award.


He lives in Manhattan, New York with his husband Reny.

Reviews

[Jacquie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me from beginning to end. The twists and turns were brilliantly written and I would recommend to this to ALL my family and friends.