Janee Michelle
Janee Michelle | |
---|---|
Born | Geneva Leona Mercadel 1946 (age 77–78)[1][2][a] New Orleans, Louisiana[4] |
Nationality | American |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1964–present |
Spouses | Albert Hubbard
(m. 1966; div. 1968)Robert H. Tucker, Jr.
(m. 1979; div. 1998) |
Children | Robert Diago DoQui (born 1971) Iam Christian Tucker (born 1983) |
Website | janeemichelle |
Signature | |
Janee Michelle (born Geneva Leona Mercadel; 1946), also known as Gee Tucker, is an American actress, former
She adopted the stage name Janee Michelle because her
In 1977, she was the queen in the
In 1980, the couple founded Tucker and Associates, a management consulting company that, in 1990, received a US$26 million contract with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, representing the largest contract that had ever been received by a minority-owned company in Louisiana. While working on this contract, Michelle and Tucker started a second company called Integrated Logistical Support.
The couple divorced and Michelle retained ownership of Tucker and Associates while Tucker retained ownership of Integrated Logistical Support. When Tucker retired in 2008, the couple's daughter Iam Tucker replaced him as president of Integrated Logistical Support. After Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Michelle purchased Sophie's Gelato, an ice cream parlor on Magazine Street where she makes gelato in-house.
Early life
Janee Michelle was born Geneva Leona Mercadel
Her extended family was large and had lived in the 7th Ward of New Orleans for many years. Michelle is related to Sidney Barthelemy, former Mayor of New Orleans.[8]
Traditionally, the Mercadels had worked in construction, and some of Michelle's cousins continued this tradition. Michelle's mother's surname was Mathieu and her family background included people from Africa, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as Choctaw people.[7] She grew up in a religious home in which her father, Walter F. Mercadel, was a barber and her mother was a beautician.[6] She had three siblings: an older brother named Walbert and two younger sisters named Zernell and Zona.[7]
At age 13, Michelle created, produced, designed, and directed a dance show at the YWCA in New Orleans. She was named Miss New Orleans in 1960.[6] She attended Rivers Frederick Junior High School where her principal, Leah McKenna, encouraged her to pursue a career in entertainment.[7] While in high school, Michelle won fifteen certificates and medals for language proficiency.[9] She started high school in New Orleans and then transferred to Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, California,[6] when her family moved there as a result of her mother's illness, which was aggravated by the high humidity of New Orleans.[7]
Her father was unemployed at the time and her brother's wife was pregnant, so she started working as a cook to support the family.[10] She graduated from Manual Arts ranked 25th scholastically in her 500-student class,[7] and then attended Los Angeles City College and Woodbury College, receiving her best grades in English studies. She took drama courses from Actors Studio West and the Columbia Film Workshop.[6]
Career
Entertainment
Michelle's acting,
One of her early television advertisement appearances was for Ultra Sheen hair products.[6] In 1964, Michelle—still known by her birth name Geneva Mercadel—received her first film role[4] in the short film The Legend of Jimmy Blue Eyes,[11] which was nominated for an Academy Award. Her contract did not allow her to receive residuals when the film later aired on television.[6] Her talent agent and the film studio both believed her birth name would be received poorly, so she adopted the stage name Janee Michelle.
She chose the name Janee (pronounced Ja-Nay,[4] and sometimes spelled Janée)[13] to keep the first two syllables of her birth name. She chose the surname Michelle because she "thought it would be unique to have a name with two first names".[4] When she found people had difficulty pronouncing the name Janee, she considered changing it again, but decided against it because she believed this pronunciation difficulty caused people to remember her.[4]
In 1967, an article in
Michelle was included in the magazine
Michelle starred alongside her husband
In 1973,
Michelle is best known for her role in the 1974 horror film The House on Skull Mountain, which was once an obscure film but became better known when it was released on DVD.[3] She portrays Lorena Christophe, who is summoned to the house of a recently-dead distant relative who was a voodoo queen.[24] Christophe is the love interest of the main character, who is portrayed by Victor French.[18] In the Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television, Bob McCann writes that Michelle "is quite pretty and gives a charming performance in her undemanding role".[3] A Variety reviewer provided a similar appraisal of Michelle's appearance, calling her attractive and her role chic.[25] In 2014, she appeared in a health insurance television advertisement for AARP.[11]
New Orleans Mardi Gras
In 1977, Michelle's cousin, Anthony "Chuck" Mercadel, was chosen to be that year's king of the Zulu parade, part of
Until the time of the parade, Michelle was working in Hollywood. She flew to New Orleans to be ceremoniously greeted at the airport by a band and some
Business
After divorcing DoQui in 1978,[28] Michelle married Robert H. Tucker, Jr. the following year,[7] changed her name to Gee Tucker, moved back to New Orleans, and became a businessperson.[29] After Tucker had repeatedly been unsuccessful in being elected to public office, he convinced Michelle to go into business with him and stop working for Copeland.[7] In 1980, Tucker and Michelle founded Tucker and Associates,[30] a management consulting company.[29]
The company did not generate much revenue at first,[30] and Michelle worked elsewhere in management and marketing.[29] For the first few years, Michelle and Tucker did not apply for assistance from the Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program, which offers support to businesses run by members of minority groups. Michelle said they made this decision because "we had seen other businesses start out strongly, graduate from the SBA 8-A program and fail [and] we wanted to be able to know that we could compete without it".[30] Michelle had no formal business education, which made her feel inadequate as an entrepreneur. Of these early years in business, she later said, "I learned the hard way, on the job, things I could never have learned in school. But I think the formal training in school would have made it easier."[31]
Eventually, Tucker and Associates began receiving contracts requiring a variety of services, including personnel, data processing, finance, and marketing. By 1990, the company employed 225 people and had a revenue of approximately $11 million. That year, the company received a $26 million contract with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, representing the largest contract that had ever been received by a minority-owned company in Louisiana.[30] This contract was awarded through the SBA 8(a) program and lasted seven years. While working on this contract, Michelle and Tucker started a second company called Integrated Logistical Support,[33] of which Michelle became the vice president.[34] The couple divorced before the Strategic Petroleum Reserve contract ended,[33] and Michelle went back to using her maiden name.[35] Michelle retained ownership of Tucker and Associates,[32] remaining its president and chief executive officer,[33] while Tucker retained ownership of Integrated Logistical Support.[32]
Michelle was a director of
Michelle purchased Sophie's Gelato in New Orleans, which she operates.[7][35][38]
Awards
In 1991, Michelle was recognized as a YWCA Role Model. The National Council of Negro Women named her one of five community leaders of the year in 1995.[37] Michelle has been named New Orleans Woman Business Owner of the Year and has received the Best of Black Business Award. The Business and Professional Women's Foundation has named her Employer of the Year.[34] The American Council for Career Women has granted her their Achiever's Award.[37]
Personal life
On July 22, 1966, at the age of twenty, Michelle married 33-year-old Albert S. Hubbard in Marin County, California.[39] They divorced in January 1968.[40]
On April 25 of the following year, she married 35-year-old Robert DoQui in San Francisco.[41] DoQui, whose term of endearment for Michelle was "crazy Creole chick",[6] already had four children from a previous marriage to a woman who had died,[9] and Michelle developed a relationship with these children,[6] who were aged five, six, eight, and eleven.[7] In a 1969 interview with the magazine Tan, Michelle indicated that DoQui's fashion preferences were an important factor in her clothing purchase decisions, saying, "I think a girl should dress for her husband".[6] She also expressed her support for the breadwinner model in which men are expected to make the most income for their families and women are expected to be housewives, although Michelle argued that women should work outside the home if they want to. She went on to say that women no longer worked hard enough to retain the respect and love of their husbands, and the interviewer describes Michelle as following her own advice: "She dotes so much on her man, invests so much of herself in him, his well-being".[6] Michelle gave birth to a son, Robert Diago DoQui, in 1971, and he later became an actor and writer.[7] Michelle and DoQui divorced in June 1978.[28]
Having met Robert Tucker when her cousin Chuck asked her to appear in the 1977 Zulu parade, Michelle eventually started dating Tucker and they married in 1979.[7] Their daughter, Iam Christian Tucker,[29] was born in 1983.[42] Michelle and Tucker divorced after nineteen years of marriage.[29]
Filmography
Film
Title | Year | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Legend of Jimmy Blue Eyes | 1964 | Club Patron | Michelle had a non-speaking role in this Golden Globe Award-winning short film .
|
[11][14][43] |
Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion | 1965 | Girl in Pit | [3][44] | |
The Love-Ins | 1967 | Lamelle | [45] | |
Soul Soldier | 1970 | Julie Brown | Michelle is the . | [3][12] |
The Mephisto Waltz | 1970 | Agency Chief's Girlfriend | [46] | |
Scream Blacula Scream | 1973 | Gloria | This film is the sequel to Blacula. | [47][48] |
The House on Skull Mountain | 1974 | Lorena Christophe | This role is the one for which Michelle is best known. | [3][24] |
Television
Title | Episode | Year | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr. Novak | [11] | ||||
The Outcasts
|
"My Name is Jemal" | 1968 | Michelle | The reception of Michelle's acting in this episode led to several film role offers. | [16] |
Julia | "The Champ is No Chump" | 1968 | Marva Le Bouse | [12] | |
Ironside | "Due Process of the Law" | 1968 | Helen Tobin | [3] | |
The Governor & J.J. | "Rhyme with Reason" | 1969 | Michelle starred in this episode with Robert DoQui. | [19] | |
Love, American Style | "Love and the Uncoupled Couple" | 1970 | Dessie Smith | Michelle starred in this episode with Greg Morris. | [3] |
The F.B.I. | "The Architect" | 1970 | Mary Borden | Michelle starred in this episode with Billy Dee Williams. | [3][13] |
Bewitched | "Sisters at Heart" | 1970 | Dorothy Wilson | [3] | |
Sanford and Son | "Tower Power" | 1974 | Sandra | [3] | |
In the Heat of the Night | "A Necessary Evil" | 1988 | Arlene Jeffson | [3] | |
Star-Crossed | "An Old Accustom'd Feast" | 2014 | Vendor | [11] |
Notes
References
- ^ a b c "Fifty Eligible Girls for 1969: This Year's Bachelorettes Prefer Guys who are 'Black and Proud'". Ebony. April 1969. p. 152.
- ^ a b c d "Newest Film Faces in Hollywood: If You Can Act You're In". Jet. June 5, 1969. p. 58.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n McCann (2009), p. 229.
- ^ a b c d e f g "New Negro Film Starlet in Far Out Movie Role". The Chicago Defender. Jul 15, 1967. p. 16.
- ^ "Actor and Educator of Film and Arts". Janee Michelle. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Janee Michelle Talks About Love, Marriage, Career". Tan. Vol. 20, no. 12. October 1969. p. 25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Stanton, Janet (September 2006). "Reinventing Gee: A Resilient Star Bounces Back from Life's Disappointments and Katrina". The New Orleans Tribune. p. 18.
- ^ Stanton, Janet (September 2006). "Reinventing Gee: A Resilient Star Bounces Back from Life's Disappointments and Katrina". The New Orleans Tribune. p. 16.
- ^ a b "Janee Michelle Talks About Love, Marriage, Career". Tan. Vol. 20, no. 12. October 1969. p. 24.
- ^ a b "Janee Michelle Talks About Love, Marriage, Career". Tan. Vol. 20, no. 12. October 1969. p. 26.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Meet the Actors". NOVAC. 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Janee Michelle Makes Debut in Film 'Soul Soldier'". The Chicago Defender. 1972. p. 10.
- ^ a b "St. Jacques Portrays Black Militant on Dan August". Jet. October 8, 1970. p. 66.
- ^ a b Robinson, Louie (June 29, 1967). "Billy Eckstine's Son Makes Film Debut". Jet. p. 59.
- ProQuest 964066189. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c d "Newest Film Faces in Hollywood: If You Can Act You're In". Jet. June 5, 1969. p. 59.
- ^ "Newest Film Faces in Hollywood: If You Can Act You're In". Jet. June 5, 1969. p. 60.
- ^ ProQuest 1476113580. (subscription required)
- ^ a b "Diana Ross, Supremes, Temptations Get Together". Jet. November 13, 1969. p. 80.
- ^ Walker et al. (2009), p. 220.
- ^ "'Soul Soldier' Opens". The New York Times. April 29, 1972. p. 19.
- ^ ProQuest 1401300368. (subscription required)
- ^ ProQuest 1401300368. (subscription required)
- ^ a b Miller (2010), p. 43.
- ProQuest 1285998032. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c Scott, Liz (February 2000). "Queen Gee: She Brought a Touch of Hollywood to the Zulu Throne". New Orleans Magazine. 34 (5): 15.
- ^ a b Scott, Liz (February 2000). "Queen Gee: She Brought a Touch of Hollywood to the Zulu Throne". New Orleans Magazine. 34 (5): 14.
- ^ a b "Bobby J Doqui and Geneve L, 20 Jun 1978". FamilySearch. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Scott, Liz (February 2000). "Queen Gee: She Brought a Touch of Hollywood to the Zulu Throne". New Orleans Magazine. 34 (5): 16.
- ^ a b c d Engelberg, Adrian (September 24, 1990). "Bob & Gee Tucker: Community Service Important for Married Consulting Team". New Orleans CityBusiness. 11 (6): 23C.
- ^ Moore & Buttner (1997), p. 57.
- ^ a b c d "Dispute Between Transit Authority Chairman, Mayor's Exec. Assistant Much Exaggerated". New Orleans CityBusiness. January 20, 2003.
- ^ a b c Bechen, Lauren L. "Let the Good Times Roll: New Orleans' Business Community is Experiencing a Renaissance of Opportunities and Inclusion". Minority Business Entrepreneur. 14 (5): 49.
- ^ a b Moore & Buttner (1997), p. 226.
- ^ a b "People to Watch 2006". myNewOrleans.com. September 2006. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Careful, Cautious, Conservative is Boydstun's Pledge for Hibernia: Paul Candies Elected to Board". Business Wire. April 17, 2002.
- ^ The Times-Picayune. p. D1.
- ^ "Miss Sophie's Delight". BigEasy Magazine. September 2006. p. 24.
- ^ "Albert S Hubbard and Geneva L Mercadel, July 22, 1966". FamilySearch. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ "Geneva L Mercadeg and Albert S Hubbard, Jan 1968". FamilySearch. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ "Bobby J Doqui and Janee Mercadel, 25 Apr 1969". FamilySearch. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ "Iam Christian Tucker, Residence, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States". FamilySearch. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ Winter et al. (2007), p. 100.
- ^ "Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
- ^ Cowie (1977), p. 592.
- ^ Muir (2002), p. 128.
- ^ Muir (2002), p. 292.
- ^ Berry & Berry (2009), p. 295.
Bibliography
- Berry, Torriano S.; Venise T. Berry (2009). The A to Z of African American Cinema. ISBN 978-0810870345.
- Cowie, Peter (1977). World Filmography: 1967. ISBN 0498015653.
- McCann, Bob (2009). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television. ISBN 978-0786458042.
- Miller, Steve (2010). 150 Movies You Should Die Before You See. ISBN 978-1440509032.
- Moore, Dorothy P.; E. Holly Buttner (1997). Women Entrepreneurs: Moving Beyond the Glass Ceiling. ISBN 0761904646.
- Muir, John Kenneth (2002). Horror Films of the 1970s. ISBN 0786491566.
- ISBN 978-0820339597.
- Walker, David; Andrew J. Rausch; Chris Watson (2009). Reflections on Blaxploitation: Actors and Directors Speak. ISBN 978-0810867062.
- Winter, Jessica; Lloyd Hughes; Richard Armstong; Tom Charity (2007). The Rough Guide to Film. ISBN 978-1405384988.