- Born
- Birth nameLoletha Elayne Falana
- Nickname
- First Lady of Las Vegas
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- Born in Philadelphia in 1942, Lola Falana left home as a teenager to seek her fortune in entertainment. She often slept in subway stations before finding work. She studied African dance, and her big break came when she appeared opposite Sammy Davis Jr. in "Golden Boy" on Broadway in 1964. She then toured Italy and won fame there in two Italian movies. She toured with the Tavares Brothers in the 1970s and married Feliciano "Butch" Tavares. In 1979 she became the highest-paid entertainer in Las Vegas, thus earning her the title "First Lady of Las Vegas".
- IMDb mini biography by: A. Nonymous
- SpouseFeliciano Tavares(1971 - 1975) (divorced)
- ChildrenNo Children
- ParentsBennett FalanaCleo Falana
- Performed her signature song "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets" during her Las Vegas shows.
- Wore a famous silk white evening gown during her Las Vegas shows
- Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the 1980s. After a brief period of apparent remission, the disease returned in 1996. She retired to her parents' home in Philadelphia. A decade later, she had recovered sufficiently to return to live in Las Vegas.
- Was a protégé of Dinah Washington.
- She and Joey Heatherton were the namesakes for the "Lola Heatherton" character as played by Catherine O'Hara on SCTV (1976) and SCTV Network (1981).
- Her Cuban father would sing to her in Spanish. She later became a popular nightclub singer who performed in various languages.
- Born in Camden, NJ, of African-American and Cuban descent. Her family later moved to Philadelphia. She attended Germantown High School there. Raised Episcopalian, she later converted to Roman Catholicism.
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