{"id":4667,"date":"2024-09-24T23:36:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T23:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/?p=4667"},"modified":"2024-09-24T23:36:43","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T23:36:43","slug":"couple-received-hate-letters-50-years-ago-for-being-in-love-today-their-interracial-marriage-is-still-going-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/couple-received-hate-letters-50-years-ago-for-being-in-love-today-their-interracial-marriage-is-still-going-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"Couple received hate letters 50 years ago for being in love \u2013 today, their interracial marriage is still going strong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Leslie Uggams has had a fascinating career as an actress, working both on stage and in movies.\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Harlem-born singer and actress has had a successful career spanning seven decades. She is arguably most known for her role in the Deadpool series.\n\n\n\n<p><strong>But after she married White Australian man Grahame Pratt in 1965, her private life may be the topic of a movie because their love connection has lasted through the centuries against all the hurdles against interracial love.<br>\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/i0.wp.com%5C/fecoya.co.uk%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2023%5C/08%5C/F1-2.png?resize=597%2C400%5C%22" alt='\"\"' class='\"wp-image-2226\"\/'>\n\n\n\n<p>Leslie was a talented singer and in 1953 when she was just 10 years old she made a record for MGM. Encouraged by her aunt singer Eloise Uggams she attended the Professional Children\u2019s School of New York and prestigious New York music school Julliard.\n\n\n\n</p><p>But her musical career was only the start of her journey and by 1969 she had her own TV variety show<strong>&nbsp;\u201cThe Leslie Uggams Show\u201d, the first network variety show to be hosted by a black person since&nbsp;<strong>\u201cThe Nat King Cole Show.\u201d\n\n\n\n<p>But behind the scenes she had met and fallen in love with actor Grahame Pratt. After first meeting him at Professional Children\u2019s School of New York, where they were both students, the couple then ran into each other while she was performing in Sydney during one of Leslie\u2019s celebrity tours in Australia.\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/i0.wp.com%5C/fecoya.co.uk%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2023%5C/08%5C/less2.jpg?resize=569%2C704%5C%22" alt='\"\"' class='\"wp-image-2227\"\/'>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\n\n\n</p><p>Leslie knew what the repercussions would be of dating a white man as she\u2019d done so in her teens and her aunt had told her not to entertain the idea of a future with him.\n\n\n\n</p><p><strong>\u201cI remember the shock I got once when I was dating a white boy,\u201d&nbsp;Leslie said in a 1967 interview with Ebony.\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe sent me a color picture of himself. I showed it to my aunt. He was a good looking boy with beautiful hair. I thought he was gorgeous. But my aunt took one look and started in to lecture me. \u2018Well he\u2019s alright, I suppose,\u2019 she told me, \u2018but only for dates, huh, honey? When you\u2019re thinking of settling down for keeps you\u2019ll make sure you marry a nice [Black] fella, won\u2019t you?\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>After her chance meeting with Grahame Leslie said she kept seeing him.\n\n\n\n</p><p><a target='\"_blank\"' href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/clck.mgid.com%5C/ghits%5C/20750326%5C/i%5C/57855343%5C/0%5C/pp%5C/1%5C/1?h=0080TV4egaZ7ZOh7mymVr3bXUkmfpb11t_cmI2rOTv0i6d5h1jYSNgfiniPIVsybcH0YVTEHELz55gVqYIoq94npIIBvPfhn1NNj3EbqmxA*&amp;rid=b2a8fe7e-7acd-11ef-a62d-e43d1a2a96ea&amp;ts=l.facebook.com&amp;tt=Social&amp;att=1&amp;cpm=1&amp;abd=1&amp;iv=11&amp;ct=1&amp;gdprApplies=0&amp;st=120&amp;mp4=1&amp;h2=5mjhwagBKnRK1tbYFlzXyNZPGmWTKpV2oZ24centTWAhLqWOb27l7At3y-7X-SRk&amp;muid=o5spm1muN459%5C%22" rel='\"noreferrer' noopener>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI found myself really falling for him, which was quite a thing for me to realize as I was only 21.\u201d\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/i0.wp.com%5C/fecoya.co.uk%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2023%5C/08%5C/less3.jpg?resize=582%2C768%5C%22" alt='\"\"' class='\"wp-image-2228\"\/'>\n\n\n\n<p>Leslie Uggams and her husband Grahame Pratt at the \u201cAin\u2019t Nothing Like The Real Thing: How The Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment\u201d reception at the Museum of the City of New York on February 7, 2011 in New York City.\n\n\n\n</p><p>When she left Australia it would be 12 months before she saw him again. The two had fallen in love, despite Leslie\u2019s reservations over her family\u2019s reaction and what it would mean for the two of them as Grahame would have to move to the U.S. for Leslie\u2019s career. They got engaged for 5 months and Grahame visited her in New York.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cKnowing my family\u2019s ideas about mixed marriages I wanted to know, too, whether they would really accept Grahame and not just tolerate him,\u201d she said.\n\n\n\n</p><p>But Leslie had nothing to worry about as for Grahame being Australian had its advantages.\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/i0.wp.com%5C/fecoya.co.uk%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2023%5C/08%5C/F3-1.png?resize=932%2C602%5C%22" alt='\"\"' class='\"wp-image-2229\"\/'>\n\n\n\n<p>He had none of the self-consciousness about the situation that a white American often has. He fitted in easily with all my friends\u2026just because he liked them. And they certainly liked him, both the men and the girls.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>The two got married in 1965 and although didn\u2019t encounter many of the racial issues that the rest of the U.S. was experiencing living in New York, Leslie said she still received hate mail over their union.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cIt was not as hard as I expected it to be,\u201d Leslie said of her marriage in an interview. \u201cI think the reason is that Grahame was not an American white man. But of course we did get mail.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cSometimes when I go on tour through the States I get anonymous letters about being married to a white man,\u201d Leslie revealed. \u201cI remember I got one in Detroit of all places. It came to the club addressed to \u2018The Little Negro Entertainer.\u2019 They\u2019re always addressed something like that and they\u2019re not pleasant to read.\u201d\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/i0.wp.com%5C/fecoya.co.uk%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2023%5C/08%5C/F4.png?resize=937%2C602%5C%22" alt='\"\"' class='\"wp-image-2230\"\/'>\n\n\n\n<p>Grahame became Leslie\u2019s manager and the couple had two children Danielle, born in 1970, and son Justice, born in 1976.\n\n\n\n</p><p>Leslie Uggams and husband Graham Pratt during Broadway\u2019s Plymouth and Royale Renamed as The Schoenfeld Theater and The Jacobs Theater at 45th Street.\n\n\n\n</p><p>By 1977, one year after their second child was born, Leslie had landed the lead role in the miniseries \u201cRoots\u201d, a part she received an Emmy nomination for her role as Kizzy.\n\n\n\n</p><p>Two years later she starred as Lillian Rogers Parks in \u201cBackstairs at the White House\u201d, a miniseries for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actress.\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/i0.wp.com%5C/fecoya.co.uk%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2023%5C/08%5C/F2-1.png?resize=432%2C605%5C%22" alt='\"\"' class='\"wp-image-2231\"\/'>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1996, she played the role of Rose Keefer on \u201cAll My Children\u201d and in 1983 she received a Daytime Emmy Award as a host of the NBC game show \u201cFantasy.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>She also made guest appearances television programs such as \u201cFamily Guy\u201d (as herself), \u201cI Spy\u201d, \u201cHollywood Squares\u201d, \u201cThe Muppet Show\u201d, \u201cThe Love Boat\u201d and \u201cMagnum, P.I..\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>Leslie and Grahame are still together and very much in love 55 years later and as well as having two children they also have granddaughter Cassidy.\n\n\n\n</p><p>And the secret to their happy union \u2013 Leslie said, \u201cWe laugh all the time \u2014 but it ain\u2019t always roses. We have fun together.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>The love these two have for each other has defied all odds and has stood the test of time. They are clearly devoted to each other and have supported each other throughout the years, they are an inspiration.<br>\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-embed' is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio><div class='\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"'>\n<iframe loading='\"lazy\"' title='\"I' am what i leslie uggams width='\"500\"' height='\"375\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/www.youtube.com%5C/embed%5C/o_DSmFLnrXs?feature=oembed%5C%22" frameborder='\"0\"' allow='\"accelerometer;' autoplay clipboard-write encrypted-media gyroscope picture-in-picture web-share referrerpolicy='\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"' allowfullscreen>\n<figcaption class='\"wp-element-caption\"'>Please share with your friends and family so they too can read this beautiful love story.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class='\"mh-excerpt\"'><p>Leslie Uggams has had a fascinating career as an actress, working both on stage and in movies. The Harlem-born singer and actress has had a <a class='\"mh-excerpt-more\"' href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/sciencesandnatures.com%5C/couple-received-hate-letters-50-years-ago-for-being-in-love-today-their-interracial-marriage-is-still-going-strong%5C/%5C%22" title='\"Couple' received hate letters years ago for being in love today their interracial marriage is still going strong>[&hellip;]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4667"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4667"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4669,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4667\/revisions\/4669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</a></p></div></figcaption></iframe></div></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></a></p></strong></p></figure></p></strong></strong></p></figure></strong></p></strong></p></strong></p>