Film

Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer

2007 · 1h 30m · Documentary

She survived it all to become one of the world's great jazz singers

IMDb

7.9

Rotten Tomatoes

100%

Metacritic

76

This documentary explores the life of jazz singer Anita O'Day. As a child, Anita had a tonsillectomy, during which her uvula was accidentally removed. The surgery prevents her from singing vibrato and holding long notes, but lends to her much-revered percussive style. Anita overcomes her vocal hurdle, as well as many others -- including poverty, heroin addiction and jail time for a drug arrest -- to become one of the most prolific and respected jazz vocalists of the 20th century. Initial release: 30 April 2007

Anita O'Day

Herself

Buddy Bregman

Himself

Leonard Feather

Himself

Will Friedwald

Himself

Johnny Mandel

Himself

John Cameron Mitchell

Himself

Annie Ross

Herself

George Wein

Himself

Margaret Whiting

Herself

Gerald Wilson

Himself

• Ian McCruddenDirector
• Robbie CavolinaDirector

Release date

April 30, 2007

Status

Released

Original language

English

Runtime

1h 30m

Budget

$200,000

Genres

Documentary