Marriage and Family
Washington dated Duke Ellington for some time but, when she saw he was not going to marry her, she started another relationship. She married Lawrence Brown, the trombonist in Duke Ellington's jazz orchestra, a relationship which ended in divorce.
Washington later married Anthony H. Bell, a dentist. Bell died in the 1980s. Washington died of a stroke, the last of several, on June 28, 1994 in Stamford, Connecticut at the age of 90. According to her sister, Isabel, Fredi never had children.
One of Washington's sisters, Isabel Washington (May 23, 1909 - May 1, 2008), was also an actress. Isabel married Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., the first African American elected to Congress from New York state. At her death, Washington was also survived by her sisters Rosebud Smith of Jamaica, Queens; and Gertrude Penna of Orlando, FL; and a brother, Floyd Washington of Hempstead, New York.
nb George Wein in his autobiography "Myself Among Others" implies that Washington was already married to Brown when she met Ellington & that the affair led to their divorce. This is cited as explanation for the enduring coolness between the two men throughout their lengthy association.
Read more about this topic: Fredi Washington
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