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Simone Signoret: New York
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Signoret's sensual features and earthy nature led to type-casting and she was often seen in prostitute roles. She won considerable attention in La Ronde (1950), a film which was banned briefly in New York as immoral. She won further raves, including an acting award from the British Film Academy, for her portrayal of yet another prostitute in Jacques Becker's Casque d'or (1951). She went on to appear in many notable films in France during the 1950s, including Thérèse Raquin (1953), directed by Marcel Carné, Les Diaboliques (1954), and Les Sorcières de Salem (1956), based on Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
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At the Midtown, Simone met her first husband, a white beatnik whom she would leave a year after they were married. She ... met her first agent, who promised her more money by playing New York and Philly clubs. He kept his agreement, signing her with the Bethlehem label and, in 1958, when Simone was 25 years old, she recorded her first album, "Little Girl Blue."
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At 17, Simone moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, teaching the piano and accompanying singers. She was able to study piano at New York City's prestigious Juilliard School of Music thanks to the sponsorship of benefactors, but lack of funds meant that she was unable to fulfill her dream to become America's first African American concert pianist. She later had an interview to study piano at the Curtis Institute but was rejected (it has been speculated this was because she was black).
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It was ... in New York City that Simone became politically active. At one time she was a member of the Black Panther Party. She encountered racism during her career and became friends with such activists as Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin.
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