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A longtime cohost of the popular TV program “Showtime At The Apollo” has died. Kiki Shepard was 74, and she was known as an avatar of elegance. NPR’s Neda Ulaby has our remembrance.
NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: For years, there was no more storied showcase for up-and-coming Black entertainers than the program “Showtime At The Apollo.”
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ULABY: Filmed live before a famously opinionated audience at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater in New York, the syndicated show aired in various iterations on Fox and BET. For 15 years, it’s where Kiki Shepard helped introduce a generation of talent to fans around the country.
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KIKI SHEPARD: Run DMC and LeVert are coming back right after…
ULABY: Shepard usually supported a male comedian, like Sinbad or Steve Harvey, who served as emcee. She was affectionately known as the queen of fashion for fits like the stunning raspberry satin gown she shimmered in while paying homage to Motown singer Eddie Kendricks.
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SHEPARD: Kendricks was the love man. Not only did he transform women into screaming would-be lovers and wives, but he also gave men a tantalizing love potion with solo hits like “You’re My Everything” and “Just My Imagination.”
ULABY: Kiki Shepard grew up in Tyler, Texas. Beauty pageants were among her first stages, and she danced in the chorus of Broadway shows before her breakthrough at “Showtime At The Apollo” in 1987. Throughout her career, the Howard University graduate also appeared on other TV shows and movies, including “A Rage In Harlem” and “A Different World.” Shepard was also an ardent advocate for people with sickle cell disease.
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SHEPARD: My name is Kiki Shepard. I’m the executive director and founder of the KIS Foundation, Inc.
ULABY: That’s from a 2021 video showing Shepard’s community work with the foundation she started 20 years ago. In a statement, the nonprofit called Kiki Shepard a cherished friend and said her work created lasting pathways for hope and understanding for those living with sickle cell disease. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF GOAPELE SONG, “CLOSER”) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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