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Ray Charles Filmography
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Ray Charles: Last performances
One of Charles' last public performances was in 2003 at a televised annual electronic media journalist banquet held in Washington, DC.He performed "Georgia On My Mind" and "America the Beautiful," though the singer was a bit slower and had some more vocal difficulty than in his younger days.Ray Charles' final public appearance came on April 30, 2004, at the dedication of his music studio as an historic landmark in the city of Los Angeles.
He died at age 73 of liver disease at his home in Beverly Hills, California, surrounded by family and friends.He was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
His final album,
Genius Loves Company, released after his death, consists of duets with various admirers and contemporaries, including B.B. King, Van Morrison,
Willie Nelson,
James Taylor,
Elton John,
Bonnie Raitt, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, and Johnny Mathis.Unlike a similar
Frank Sinatra album, the duets were recorded face-to-face, with both performers in the studio at the same time.
Charles was significantly involved in the critically-acclaimed biopic Ray, an October 2004 film which portrays his life and career between 1930 and 1966 and stars actor Jamie Foxx as Charles. Foxx won the 2005 Best Actor Academy Award for the role.
Before shooting could begin, however, director Taylor Hackford brought Foxx to meet Charles, who heard that the younger man was an accomplished pianist and insisted that they sit down at two pianos and jam.For two hours, Charles challenged Foxx, who revealed the depth of his talent, and finally, Charles stood up, hugged himself, and proclaimed, "He's the one...he can do it," thus giving his blessing.
Charles was able to "see" the completed film, but he died before it opened in theaters.
The film's credits note that he is survived by 12 children, 21 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
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