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worked with the Board of Education as a security guard.
She would go through three failed marriages before her
marriage to James Wheeler, a merchant seaman, in 1975.
In 1988, Ella and James moved to Atlanta. Tragically,
James died suddenly of a heart attack in 1992, and Ella
was once again on her own.
In 1995, she rented a room to a young man named
Lonnie Brown who had come to Atlanta hoping to fulfill
his dream to become a stand-up comedian. As he got to
know his landlady, he asked if she would try out some of
his scripts. “Ms. Ella was a natural. So witty and funny,”
said Lonnie. “I asked, ‘Have you ever thought about doing
stand-up comedy?’”
“Yes,” she said, “but I never knew how to get started.”
On her first night of performance in a comedy club,
“She got a standing ovation,” said Lonnie.
In the months and years that followed, he became
her writer, promoter, and producer. Ms. Ella traveled
the comedy circuit performing throughout Atlanta,
Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida. She also performed