Pat Cleveland Tonight Josephine - Tribute to Josephine Baker

Worked with both ladies. Pat in the 80 ‘s at numerous fashion shows in nyc. The nicest kindest and beautiful lady. ...but prior to that I had the immense privilege and the honor to have worked with Miss Baker in 1975 @ Bobino. I was the youngest dancer in the cast . The show was called “ Josephine “ It was based on her life story celebrating her 50 years in show business from her humble beginning in St Louis to her triumphant comeback in Monte Carlo ....She used to call me “ her little page “ (Son petit page )cause of my age ! I just turned 18 th on April 1st 1975. luckily for me I have tons of memorable pics from the show as well as unforgettable stories of this short but amazing Run . ! She was extremely engaged with all of the dancers like a second mother . Wanting to know everyone ‘s names Josephine really truly care about people She was a true legend immensely talented beautiful ,elegant ,generous , humble & kind . She would bring oranges for the entire company saying “ My children you need lots Vit C for strength and energy “ She was so right cause the rehearsals were long and grueling ,,,. Bobino ‘s stage was too small to accommodate a cast of 8 boys 12 girls 3 comedians 1 little girl (who played young josephine ) and 1 gorgeous dancer who performed the famous banana dance ....so they had to transformed the stage by expanding it ; including putting additional seats in the theater and building brand new dressing rooms to accommodate such a big cast all while we were practicing in the lobby of The theater. ! It was bit chaotic to say the list & quite cold being mid -February But no one seemed to care cause it was so exciting to be part of this legendary show ! None of the big Paris music ‘halls like Le Casino de Paris ,Le Moulin Rouge or les Folies Bergére wanted to take the risk producing Miss baker mostly for insurance purposes There were already rumors circulating of her failing health but finally a small theater on Paris left bank called Bobino took a chance ...Josephine liked to rehearsed late at night after we were done .She even enjoyed having her favorite dish Spaghetti bolognese around 1 am at a restaurant right across the theater. I will never forget the 1 st time I saw her performing once the stage was finally ready. That night She was in the audience watching us dancing with huge smile on her face applauding many times throughout being so proud of the cast. After all she was watching part of her whole life story in front of her eyes. ... In fact during the promotion of the show a French journalist asked her. “ How does it feel to be the starring in a musical retrospective of your own life story ? She replied “ it’s wonderful ..At least i will get to see what they think of me when I am still around !!!! I When we were done the director Andre levasseur said “ josephine c ‘ est a vous “ she jumped on stage and belt a song from the Brazilian number called” Que c‘est bon de vivre” She seemed to be completely possessed by the rhythm of the Afro Cuban sound very reminiscing of “Princess Tam-Tam “ all those years earlier Her moves were so unbelievable. Her body was in perfect shape specially in her Chanel suit !!!! There is No way you would have guessed that this beautiful lady was in her late 60 ‘s. A goddess still !!!! What thrill for me. A true MASTER CLASS ,,,,,,, I ‘ve enjoyed this documentary immensely specially listening the immensely talented Andre Levasseur speaking so kindly about her I just wanted to make few points . We rehearsed the show for about 1 month and half . We actually did more than 4 performances. We started with one week of previews on March 25 th with a special Press night on march 31 st to glorious reviews ! We had another full week of performances with a big opening gala on April 8 th with stars like Grace Kelly Sophia Loren & Alain Delon among many however neither Jackie ‘O ,Diana Ross .Mick jagger or Liza Minelli ever attended any of performances . We had another show on the 9 th . She felt into a coma the 10 th and past in the early hours on the 12 th. We were invited VIP at her funeral ..Miss Baker had full military honor at la Madeleine church She reposes at the cemetery of Monaco. I went recently to pay my respects 45 years later. Josephine paved the way for Diana Ross Madonna Beyoncé and many other artists. A true legend. Unparalleled. ❤️❤️❤️. Both ladies are classy but. check Photo of Bobino with La Baker et moi. Just Type. “Josephine and me Cittaroma P “.

Pat werk!!!! Miss Cleveland!!!!!

i just discovered Pat Clevland after i found a Roostein Mannequin likeness of her. She is a awesome lady.

Magnificent⭐💛⭐💌

Brava...beautiful Pat! I feel sure your GodMother, La Josephine is Happy!!

+Kiko NYC Spectaculaire! The grand spirit of two legende's in one night. WoW

Pat Cleveland is wonderful. I was wondering if Alva Chin, Billie Blair, Iman and Beverly Johnson were in attendance. I did not see them and I know Pat worked with those models in the past.

I hope Pat is back to health soon.

Pat Cleveland was THE first supermodel….perhaps she never made the money Iman, Christie, Linda and Cindy made but she was model above them all.

I always thought there was a correlation between Pat and Josephine Baker but I cant understand what exactly what is going on here.