Chan Woods | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | Beverly Delores Berg 29 June 1925 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Died | 9 September 1999 (aged 74) Étampes, France |
Spouse | Charlie Parker; Phil Woods |
Children | 5 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2018) |
Chan Woods (born Beverly Delores Berg,[1] also known as Chan Richardson; 29 June 1925 – 9 September 1999),[2] was a common-law wife of jazz musician Charlie Parker. She later married musician Phil Woods.
She was born in New York City to an inter-religious couple; her father, a producer of vaudeville shows, was Jewish, while her mother, a dancer in Florenz Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic, was not. Adopting the name "Chan Richardson," Parker became a nightclub dancer.[3] An early jazz enthusiast, she was romantically connected in the 1940s and early 1950s with jazz musicians Johnny Bothwell and later Don Lanphere.[4]
Chan met Charlie Parker in the 1940s, but their friendship was not romantic until around 1950. Chan and Charlie lived together in a common law relationship on New York's Lower East Side for the last five years of Charlie's life, from 1950 to 1955. However, Charlie had not formally terminated a prior marriage. Chan already had one child, her daughter Kim, at the time they established their household; together, Chan and Charlie had two more children, Baird and Pree. Although they never legally wed, Chan took Charlie's surname, as did all the children. Their relationship was dealt a severe blow with the 1953 death of their 2-1/2 year old daughter, Pree, from pneumonia related to a congenital heart defect.[5]