'Fabulous' 95-year-old grandmother with ties to old Hollywood among California fire victims
'Fabulous' 95-year-old grandmother with ties to old Hollywood among California fire victims
Share:
At age 95, there was no other way to describe Dalyce Curry, or “Momma Dee” to her large extended family, other than “fabulous.”. ”My grandmother still wore her big hair, glasses, nails, you know, painted makeup,” her granddaughter and namesake Dalyce Kelley said, “You know, she was just fabulous, period.”.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1929, that big personality was destined for one place: Hollywood. She settled in Los Angeles, where she never became a star but did rub shoulders with some of the elites of old Hollywood, including backing up singer Pearl Bailey, being an extra in a scene with Diana Ross in “Lady Sings the Blues” and being mentored by the first Black woman to ever sign a movie contract.
Curry died last week at her home in Altadena as the Eaton Fire raged through the community. Her granddaughter had dropped her off at her house about 11:30 p.m., after she spent the day in the hospital for tests after she felt dizzy. On the drive, they saw the fire far off in the distance and power was out as they exited the interstate in Altadena.
But power was on in her grandmother’s neighborhood, and there was no sign of immediate danger, so Kelley told her grandmother she'd check in later and left. She asked in a neighborhood text group for someone to call her if there were evacuations. She woke about 5:30 a.m. the next morning to a with a message in the group chat, asking if Curry got out during the overnight evacuations.
