I met Irene Cara, when I first got to New York City. We both loved musicals and she had boundless energy. I first heard about Irene when she appeared in The Me Nobody Knows. Before that she appeared on Broadway in Maggie Flynn opposite Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy. Later in Via Galactica with Raúl Juliaand Got Tu Go Disco. Off-Broadway she appeared in Ain’t Misbehavin’. John Willis’ Screen World, Vol. 28, named her one of twelve “Promising New Actors of 1976.”
Irene was so excited when she was cast and rose to fame in the 1980 musical Fame, which she sang the title track for and starred as Coco Hernandez. Her performance in Fame earned her two Grammy nominations for best new artist and best pop vocal performance, female, at the 23rd annual Grammy Awards in 1981.
Cara also sang and co-wrote the song “Flashdance… What a Feeling” (from the film Flashdance), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
She started in TV as as a regular on PBS’s educational program The Electric Company as a member of the show’s band, The Short Circus. Cara was the original Daisy Allen on the 1970s daytime serial Love of Life. She later took on the role of Angela in the romance/thriller Aaron Loves Angela, followed by her portrayal of the title character in Sparkle. Later on she was in the award winning Roots: The Next GenerationsandGuyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones.
As a youngster, Cara recorded a Spanish-language record for the Latin market and an English-language Christmas album. She also appeared in a major concert tribute to Duke Ellington, which featured Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis Jr. and Roberta Flack.
Later came a comedic thriller City Heat, co-starring with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds and singing the standards “Embraceable You” and “Get Happy”. She also co-wrote the theme song “City Heat”, which was sung by the jazz vocalist Joe Williams. In 1993. That same year, she appeared as Mary Magdalene in a tour of Jesus Christ Superstar opposite Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson and Dennis DeYoung.
Irene won the third round of the NBC television series Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, performing “Flashdance (What a Feeling)” and covered Anastacia’s song “I’m Outta Love” with her all-female band, Hot Caramel.
Cara’s publicist, Judith A. Moose, confirmed the news of her death in a statement shared on the singer’s Twitter account early Saturday morning.
Cara’s cause of death is unknown, but it will be released when information is available.
Suzanna, co-owns and publishes the newspaper Times Square Chronicles or T2C. At one point a working actress, she has performed in numerous productions in film, TV, cabaret, opera and theatre. She has performed at The New Orleans Jazz festival, The United Nations and Carnegie Hall. She has a screenplay and a TV show in the works, which she developed with her mentor and friend the late Arthur Herzog. She is a proud member of the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle and was a nominator. Email: suzanna@t2conline.com
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