Thelma Carpenter Video | Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi

Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was a jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie The Wiz. As a child performer, Carpenter had her own radio show in New York and won an amateur night at the Apollo Theatre in 1938 (where she would be honored and perform nearly 60 years later on the NBC special Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame.) She played such clubs as Kelly's Stable and the Famous Door on legendary 52nd Street, where she was discovered by John Hammond. She subsequently made her debut as a band vocalist with Teddy Wilson's... MORE

Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was a jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie The Wiz. As a child performer, Carpenter had her own radio show in New York and won an amateur night at the Apollo Theatre in 1938 (where she would be honored and perform nearly 60 years later on the NBC special Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame.) She played such clubs as Kelly's Stable and the Famous Door on legendary 52nd Street, where she was discovered by John Hammond. She subsequently made her debut as a band vocalist with Teddy Wilson's short-lived orchestra in 1939, recording Love Grows on the White Oak Tree and This is the Moment for Brunswick Records. She joined Coleman Hawkins' orchestra in 1940, with whom she made the RCA Bluebird Records classic He's Funny That Way. She followed Helen Humes as Count Basie's vocalist in 1943, remaining with the band for two years, recording the Columbia Records hit I Didn't Know About You as well as many popular V-disc sides including Do Nothing till You Hear from Me, More Than You Know, I Dream of You, Tess's Torch Song and My Ideal. She also did a V-disc version of Frank Loesser's "The Last LESS