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Introduced by Adam Clayton Powell IIIThe Disappearance of Miss Scott chronicles Hazel Scott’s meteoric rise as a jazz talent and major Hollywood star. A prodigious pianist, singer and actor, she was an incandescent performer, quickly achieving fame on Broadway and in five popular feature films, and earning a spot in history as the first African American to have her own television show. Scott was an influential figure in the early Civil Rights movement, with her husband, Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. She was blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s for her outspoken testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Facing a shattered career, she would remain an exile from the brilliant world of American entertainment in which she had achieved such fame. Directed by Nicole London and produced by 4th Act Actual for the American Masters series, this rich documentary tells the story of Hazel Scott’s remarkable life fully for the first time, through archival footage and stills, performance clips, and animation. Excerpts of her unpublished autobiography are voiced by Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, revealing the artist as a woman who would not compromise on her beliefs; complementing them are interviews with jazz musicians including Camille Thurman and Jason Moran, among others, Adam Clayton Powell III, Hazel Scott’s only son, and biographer Karen Chilton. The Disappearance of Miss Scott was the runnerup for the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film in 2023.
The Music Division holds the Hazel Scott Papers, more than 4000 items documenting her life and career, including music, diaries, photographs and clippings, contracts and correspondence.
Tickets available Wed., September 3 at 10 a.m.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20540-0002, United States
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