Support local theaters though virtual documentary of the iconic Ella Fitzgerald

Most people know Ella Fitzgerald’s powerful voice.

They may not know the talented jazz singer also loved baseball, collected cookbooks and had a passion for fashion.

Or that she was once homeless and made fun of because of her weight, and that she fought for civil rights.

To learn more about her, buy a ticket to the virtual showing of Eagle Rock Entertainment’s “Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things,” a documentary about the woman known as “The First Lady of Jazz.”

This show was originally scheduled for release in April but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

You can view it while also supporting the local Harris Theater, Downtown Pittsburgh, and the Carnegie Science Center on the North Shore by ordering tickets for $12 here.

Carnegie Science Center marketing manager Nicole Chynoweth said the museum has had successes with music and other documentaries at the Rangos Giant Cinema. Since they can’t have visitors inside the theater, hosting this movie via the Rangos at Home series is a good fit.

“Ella is a larger-than-life voice,” Chynoweth said. “I am not sure many people know her back story and the impact she made in life and music history.”

Fitzgerald won 13 Grammys, the NAACP Equal Justice Award and the American Black Achievement Award. She sold more than 40 million albums throughout her six-decade career.

The Harris Theater is coming to your living room with a new cinema streaming service from the @CulturalTrust ?️

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— Downtown Pittsburgh (@DowntownPitt) April 13, 2020

The film is directed by Leslie Woodhead and produced by novelist Reggie Nadelson.It features archival footage and includes interviews with Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Itzhak Perlman, Norma Miller and the late Andre Previn. Fitzgerald’s son Ray Brown Jr. is also interviewed in the film.

Courtesy of Peter Worsley

Tony Bennett is one of the people interviewed for Eagle Rock Entertainment’s “Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things.”

“I grew up with Ella,” said Nadelson. “She was amazing. In those days no one stuck up for you if you were heavy. They laughed at her, and she was sent to a reform school where they beat young African American girls.”

Nadelson said Fitzgerald was homeless the first night she performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Her fate changed that day after she won one of the first amateur nights. Fitzgerald took over the Chick Web Band in Harlem at the age of 19.

“She kept the band going,” Nadelson said. “She was driven. She was unique.”

There is a Spotify playlist and a question-and-answer session at 7 p.m. Sunday with Nadelson, author/music critic Will Friedwald, author Margo Jefferson and singer Camille Thurman. Here is the link.

The release of the documentary was supposed to be a fun time on the road kind of event, said Nadelson but covid-19 forced a virtual celebration.

“The one nice thing is you only have to buy one ticket and the entire family can watch,” Nadelson said. “The music is wonderful. Ella redefined the great American songbook.”

15 June 1996: U.S. #singer Ella #Fitzgerald dies at the age of 78 in Beverly Hills, #California. She was born April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia. She was known as the #Queen of #Jazz. #RIP #history #EllaFitzgerald #ad https://t.co/y4GsNjMzyO pic.twitter.com/lNg14sGAao

— Today In History (@URDailyHistory) June 15, 2020

Fitzgerald lost her mother at the age of 15, was sent to an abusive reform school before escaping to the streets of Harlem. She worked with Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and Benny Goodman, and was married to jazz bassist Ray Brown.

“Her spirit resonates more than ever, especially during these trying times,” Nadelson said. “She was one-of-a-kind.”