gladys bentley cause of deathbecome a survival food distributor

It only got worse from there. Hansberry was so vengeful, he wasnt content to just sue Bentley; he also tried to prevent her from seeking any further success. Thanks for your help! Although she was a talented singer and pianist, her lyricism and queer presentation truly made her stand out. | READ MORE. She relocated to southern California, marketing herself as Americas Greatest Sepia Piano Player and The Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs, a cheeky nod to her inelegant lyrical double entendres. Gladys Bentley, a luminary of the Harlem Renaissance, began her blues career singing at rent parties (held to raise rent money by charging attendees) and underground establishments in Harlem, New York. Bentley's behavior was seen as abnormal and "unladylike" which led to her family sending her to doctors to fix Bentley's desires. Gladys Bentley - Performer (1907-1960) At the height of her career during the 1920s and 1930s, Gladys Bentley was the most well-known and financially successful black women in the United States. Try again later. Her shocking lyrics were accompanied by gossip column stories that readers would have found equally shocking. In many ways, Bentley never stopped trying to be in the spotlight, even as her audiences waned and the world changed around her. Gladys Love Smith parents Bob and Dolly Smith . To use this feature, use a newer browser. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. People, many of whom were white, seeking entertainment and covert access to alcohol crowded into Harlem nightclubs, speakeasies and parties. At the time, she didnt understand her desiresbut all that was about to change in a big way. [21] In 1931, Bentley had a civil ceremony in New Jersey, in a public union with a white woman whose identity is unknown. 4. Performing in a signature white top hat, tuxedo and tails, Bentley sang raunchy songs laced with double-entendres that thrilled and scandalized her audiences. She was larger in size and preferred to wear her brother's suits instead of dresses or blouses. Table showing information for name claims, including the name itself . Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Unable to express her talent on Broadway, she was forced to move back to Harlem in 1934, where she then played at the Ubangi Club for three years before it closed in 1937. Her career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House, a well-known gay speakeasy in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, cross-dressing performer. Gladys Bentley - Worried Blues (1928) Gladys Bentley and "Worried Blues," from 1928. Audience members started raving about her stage presence at the piano, so much so that the club even changed its name to Barbaras Exclusive Club to take the most advantage of Bentleys fame and notorietywhile they still could. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. She had been living in California with her mother and was waiting to be ordained as a minister in the Temple of Love in Christ, Inc. Today, she is being rediscovered for the same reason that her story was obscured during her youth. She and Elvis survived the tornado that struck Tupelo on April 5, 1936. 0 references. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? On January 18, 1960, when Bentley was still just 52 years old, she passed quite suddenly in her Los Angeles home. "Vernon Presley said he was aroused at 3 a.m. by his wife, Gladys, 'suffering for breath.' Cookie Policy Bentley was openly lesbian early in her career, but during the McCarthy Era in the 1950s, she started wearing dresses and married (within five months of meeting) Charles Roberts, age 28, a cook, in a civil ceremony in Santa Barbara, California, in 1952. When she eventually left the Clam House for the swanky Ubangi Club on Park Avenue, she reportedly rented an extravagant penthouse apartment that would have raised her mothers eyebrows. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Toward the end of her life Bentley became a devotee of The Temple of Love in Christ, Inc. and prepared for ordained ministry. 08/12/1907 . The 1950s were even more conservative than the early part of the 20th century. The cause of death was a heart attack, and it was later discovered that one of the contributing factors was liver failure due to alcohol poisoning. cemeteries found in Carson, Los Angeles County, California, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Her biggest dramas, however, were yet to come. Lets just, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Pitiless Facts About Jacques Damala, History's Worst Boyfriend, Startling Facts About Jackie Coogan, The Tragic Child Superstar, Hard-Earned Facts About Pedro Pascal, The Unlikely Star, Tormented Facts About Edvard Munch, The Man Behind The Scream. 0 references. Note: Although some historians view Bentley as a trans-masculine figure, she used she/her pronouns throughout her life. 0 cemeteries found in Carson, Los Angeles County, California, USA. This was long before the gay rights or the civil rights movements, yet Bentley became a darling of the Harlem Renaissance alongside icons like . Gladyslived at address, Kentucky. Later psychiatrists would coin Bentley's non-heteronormative behavior as "extreme social maladjustment." Gladys would soon become pregnant and . The Prohibition Era had come to an end, and now white pleasure-seekers frequented Harlem far less than before. Bentley moved to California, where she continued recording music, touring and performing in upscale supper clubs and bars, but Wilson says her act was a toned down version of what it was at the height of her fame in New York. I Am A Woman Again is a fraught, heartbreaking artifact of Bentleys life. Bentley's performances appealed to black, white, gay, and straight audiences alike, and many celebrities attended her shows. When Bentley relocated to Los Angeles, she allegedly married J. T. Gibson, who died in 1952,[22] the same year in which she married Charles Roberts, a cook in Los Angeles; they were married in Santa Barbara, California, went on a honeymoon in Mexico. 20072023 Blackpast.org. During the late 1920's, Bentley recorded for the OKeh Record label and then for Victor Records in 1930. There is a problem with your email/password. James T. Wilson, Bulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies: Performance, Race, and Sexuality in the Harlem Renaissance (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2010); Irene Monroe, Honoring Notorious Gladys, The Huffington Post Blog (February 12, 2010), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/irene-monroe/honoring-notorious-gladys_b_459929.html; http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Bentley/BentleyBio.html. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. In Bentleys heyday of the 1930s, she owned a Park Avenue apartment with servants and other accoutrements of wealth. . Like a great number of lost souls, I inhabited that half-shadow no mans land which exists between the boundaries of the two sexes.. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. She had her own weekly radio program the following year. She surprised her audience by wearing dresses and publicly declaring in an August 1952 Ebony article, I am woman again. Her literary assertions of marriage to two different men could not be verified. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Eventually, Gladys grew old enough to notice this icy upbringingand the consequences were devastating. As one historian put it, She knew what was popular, what she could do, and what people would pay to see.. A large, masculine, Black womana "bulldagger," in the language of her dayshe was known for wearing a. However, later that year, she did wed Charles Roberts, a cook sixteen years her junior. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? In it, she not only repudiates her homosexuality, but also her entire identity before that moment, revealing that she now only wears dresses and other acceptable housewife attire in order to please her husband and herself. The Grammy-nominated artist's prolonged absence from social media . After a long climb, Bentley had finally made it to the topbut with stardom came scandal. Her performances at the Clam House attracted luminaries like poet Langston Hughes and the photographer Carl Van Vechten, who both sang her praises. He wondered whether Bentley's father's sudden death resulted from an undiagnosed arrhythmia that triggered a . For one, while Bentley was a full-grown woman at 45 years old, Roberts was a measly 28 years old and not a match for her or her outsized reputation. "She was just defiant in who she was, and for gender and sexuality studies today, she shows the performance of . 2013.46.25.15 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Even better, when the columnist asked, Well, whos the man? Bentleys reply was oh-so-satisfying. . Her beginnings werent humble, though; they were scandalous. Death rumors debunked. A large, 250-pound woman, her deep voice appealed to straight, gay, black, and white audiences. According to the stories, Bentleys new partner was also a white woman. His mother was the daughter of a cotton farmer and she met his father at church. Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA. This happened even at her star-studded Hollywood shows, which would have the likes of Mary Astor and Barbara Stanwyck watching from the audience. Since she was a schoolgirl, she had started daydreaming about her female teachers, and developing intimate feelings for the women she knew. ", Gladys Bentley performing "Them There Eyes" with Groucho Marx on, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Gladys Bentley, Gender-Bending Blues Performer and '20s Harlem Royalty", "The Great Blues Singer Gladys Bentley Broke All the Rules", "A Spectacle in Color: The Lesbian and Gay Subculture of Jazz Age Harlem", National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gladys Bentley, more than a liberated singer, "Blues Singer Gladys Bentley Broke Ground with Marriage to a Woman in 1931", "shirlette celebrates Gladys Bentley in PBS American Masters Series, UNLADYLIKE2020", Collection of newspaper clippings and recording information about Gladys Bentley, from Queer Music Heritage, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gladys_Bentley&oldid=1147239415, The Mad House, 133rd Street, Harlem, New York City, New York, Harry Hansberry's Clam House ("Gladys' Clam House"), 133rd Street, Harlem, Harlem, New York City, New York, Ubangi Club, Harlem, New York City, New York, Connie's Inn ("Jungle Alley"), 2221 Seventh Street, Harlem, New York City, New York, "Worried Blues" / "Ground Hog Blues" (August 1928) #8610, "Wild Geese Blues" / "How Much Can I Stand" (November 1928, with piano, not released), "Wild Geese Blues" / "How Much Can I Stand" (November 1928, with guitar) #8643, "Red Beans and Rice" / "Big Gorilla Man" (March 1929) #8707, "Washboards Get Together" / "Kazoo Moan", #38127, scatting vocal on A-side only (title often listed as "Washboard Get Together"), with the Washboard Serenaders, recorded March 1930; reissued twice, as Bluebird B-5790 (circa 1934) and B-6633 (circa 1936), "Boogie'n My Woogie" / "Thrill Me Till I Get My Fill", #164, "Red Beans & Rice Blues" / "Find Out What He Likes (and How He Likes It)" #165/166, "Big Gorilla Blues" / "Lay It on the Line", #166/165, "Notoriety Papa" / "It Went to the Girl Next Door", #169, "July Boogie" / "Gladys Could Play", #337, as Fatso Bentley, July 4, 1953, "Easter Mardi Gras" / "Before Midnight", Flame 1001, Cincinnati, early 1950s, label misspells name as Gladys Bently; mentioned in her August 1952 article in, This page was last edited on 29 March 2023, at 17:37. In an effort to describe her supposed "cure" for homosexuality she wrote an essay, "I Am a Woman Again", for Ebony magazine in which she stated she had undergone an operation, which "helped change her life again".[17][18][19]. When she brought little Gladys home, she refused to nurse the girl, leaving Bentleys grandmother to raise the infant on a bottle for six months. Instance Of Rank; Q3. Rustin's sexuality was a cause for debate by others in the movement, but toward the end of his life, he began to openly fight for queer causes. Heck, I volunteer as tribute. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. At the time, the comings and goings of Bentleys inner boudoir were public knowledge, and that was just how she liked it. Upon hearing the news, Elvis immediately returned to the hospital. But trouble started as soon as Gladys was born. Although some of the corpses were eventually found, it was impossible to prove the cause of death. At the time of her much-too-early death in 1960 from pneumonia at age 52, she was waiting to be ordained as a minister in the Temple of Love In Christ, Inc. Bentley, illustrator Prentiss Taylor, and singer Nora Holt . As Bentley became more popular, she started performing at Harry Hansberrys Clam Houseone of New York Citys most well-known gay speakeasiesin the 1920s. Her career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, crossdressing performer. And while the performance of what an observer called a masculine garbed smut-singing entertainer led to the shutdown of Kings Terrace, Bentleys powerful voice, fiery energy on the piano and bold lyrics still made her a star of New York City nightclubs. In the late 1950s, Bentleys repentance for her star-studded sins took a turn towards God, and she got involved in her local Church and began studying to be a minister. On top of that, the news got out in a sensational way. Instead, she exerted a 'black female masculinity' that troubled the distinctions between black and white and masculine and feminine".[25]. She was a big woman, about 250 to 300 pounds and wore . At the time of her death, she was 53 years old. Born in working-class Philadelphia, Bentley moved to New York City at the age of 18 at a time when gay and lesbian nightclubs began to emerge and the . As a performer, she was advertised by event promoters as a male impersonator, and she filled venues with loud, rowdy performances in which she would flirt with women in the audience. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. Date of Birth. She moved to speakeasies and night clubs in Jungle Alley, the center of Harlems sporting life. GLADYS BENTLEY Gladys D. Fleming Bentley, 77, of 1020 Virginia Avenue, Anderson County, died Friday, August 2, 2002 at Heritage Hall Care Center in Lawrenceburg. Whatever her reasons for marrying men, Gladys Bentley sure didnt know how to pick them. Yet although the singer still brought the house down, her comeback only lasted three short years. Openly lesbian, she sang raunchy remakes of popular tunes in a deep voice, dressed in her signature men's style of tuxedo and top hat. 3 references. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? In fact, she was often the source. In 1933, Bentley found herself in the middle of a Supreme Court battle with Harry Hansberry and Nat Palein. By the 1950s, Gladys Bentley was making some even more rash decisions. They cried, laughing so hard; they were doubled over from the ache of it, they blushed, and they fed on the anomalous beauty of Bentley. Gladys George was one of the movies' greatest hard-luck dames, both on- and off-screen. Heck no. So she did what many 16-year-olds only dream of: She ran away from home to go seek stardom in Harlem, New York, the epicentre of Black bohemian culture at the time. Inside these hidden, smoky rooms, Bentley astounded and scandalized audiences with her booming voice, her impeccably tailored suits, and her raunchy lyrics. See, the Clam House was actually looking for a male pianist. Acclaimed singer Gladys Knight recently became the latest celebrity to fall victim to an online death hoax. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. based on information from your browser. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. After leaving her hometown of Philadelphia as a teenager, she arrived in New York during the Harlem Renaissance and was absorbed into a vibrant artistic and intellectual community. Persian Wikipedia. pneumonia. She dressed in men's clothes (including a signature tail coat and top hat), played piano, and sang her own raunchy lyrics to popular tunes of the day in a deep, growling voice while flirting with women in the audience. (Born on April 25, 1912, Gladys was actually 46 when she died.) She moved from Philadelphia to Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City in 1925[7] at the age of 16. She took a seat at the piano on the set and performed a song that showed a vocal range and confidence that hadnt diminished since her days in Harlem. [1][2][24] It was initially believed to be the "Asian flu" but later turned into "pneumonia". According to Elvis History Blog, Gladys Presley, the mother of Elvis Presley, died "of a heart attack" at the age of 46, the cause of death given in an Associated press story from the time.. In the 1920s, speakeasies ruled New York City, and Gladys Bentley ruled the speakeasies. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. She was frequently harassed for wearing men's clothing. The teenage Bentley was in way over her head when she moved to Harlem, and she needed to find work, stat. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Weve updated the security on the site. Oops, we were unable to send the email. She changed her stage name (briefly) to Barbara Bobbie Minton, and upgraded her clothing style to white full dress shirts, stiff collars, [and] small bow ties with a signature top hat. Lamont Bentley, a promising actor who appeared in more than a dozen films and television shows but was best known for his role on the comedy series "Moesha," died early Wednesday in a car crash in . The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. One of Bentleys signature performance moves was to flirt shamelessly with women in the audience. The performer had survived a harsh life up until this point, but she was about to spiral out of control. Unlike other notorious party girls -- including Barbara Payton and Lila Leeds -- she consistently delivered solid performances over the course of a half-century career. What she found was absolute infamy. Gladys Love, Elvis Presley's mother, died due to heart attack and liver failure. Gladys Bentley, one of the most flamboyant blues entertainers of the 20th century, began performing in New York City as a singer and male impersonator. When word got around that the great Gladys Bentley was no longer with us, her old friends and fans must have been shocked and looking for answers. Thanks for your help! Lincoln Memorial Park. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Bentley also studied to be a minister, claiming to have been "cured" by taking female hormones. Gladys Bentley wasnt just popular with the common people; she had all of New York eating out of the palm of her hand. [9] She toured the country, some destinations being Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Hollywood, where she was well liked by Cesar Romero, Hugh Herbert, Cary Grant, Barbara Stanwyck, and other celebrities. When Bentley finished her performance, the room burst into applause. My hands fairly flew over the keys. Bentley was born August 12, 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of George L. Bentley, an American, and his wife, Mary Mote, a Trinidadian. One of the frustrating and actually joyous things about Gladys Bentley was she was constantly inventing herself, Wilson says. In the early 1930s, she headlined at Harlem's Ubangi Club, where she was backed up by a chorus line of drag queens. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Privacy Statement Shed always been good at the piano, and heard through a friend one night that the notorious gay speakeasy the Clam House was looking for a pianist. Ergo, no charges. I won't pretend to know enough astrology to deduce any meaning from this, but it felt important to note. Year should not be greater than current year. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. Bentley was the most popular and infamous speakeasy performer in Prohibition-era New York. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. [2] In Bentley's Ebony article,[3] she wrote about trouble in the home as she was growing up and the relationship between her and her mother. Places would bill her as a male impersonator or even an actual male performer, thanks to her dapper styling and masculine energy. composer. When Bentley came up to a hot young thing, she had one go-to move. Portraits of Bentley are now held in the music collections of the African American History museum, where the performer is both a face of the Harlem Renaissance and an example of a woman who on her own terms navigated the entertainment business during the Great Depression and Prohibition Eras. The world's biggest star was found in his bathroom at Graceland on August 16, 1977, and pronounced dead at Memphis Baptist Memorial Hospital. In 1952, her first husband J.T. Gladys Bentley (1907-60) Michael Ochs Archives . That all changed in the blink of an eye. She'd been lying about her age to conceal the fact that she was four years older than Vernon Presley. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. The rumored marriage had all the makings of an early 20th-century scandalBentley claimed that not only was it a same-sex civil ceremony, but that the union was between herself and a white woman. She would take popular songs of the day and just put the filthiest lyrics possible. Drag images here or select from your computer for Gladys Alberta Bentley memorial. musician. She headlined in the early 1930s at Harlem's Ubangi Club, where she was backed up by a chorus line . Early the next morning at 3:15 AM on August 14, Gladys Presley, the 46-year-old mother of Elvis, died from a heart attack due to hepatitis complications. On August 14, 1958, Gladys Presley died, aged just 46. Scholars who have studied Bentleys life said that the story Bentley told about being cured in the Ebony article was likely a response to the McCarthy Era and its hostile claims that homosexuality and communism were threats to the country. Her songs revealed all her dirty little secrets. imported from Wikimedia project. Thanks for your time! Gladys Knight Death Hoax Dismissed Since Singer Is 'Alive And Well'. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. When Bentley approached young, impressionable women at her clubs, she would often get them in the mood by asking them to sing dirty lyrics into her microphone. Try again. Gladys Knight and the Pips Singer Dies at Age 74 | Essence William Guest passed away on Christmas Eve from congestive heart failure. That one had to hurt. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. For the Smithsonians Sidedoor podcast, host Haleema Shah tells the story of an unapologetically gay African-American performer in 1920s and 30s. And then he went after everything she held dear. At the time of her death she survived by her large extended friends and family. Dancy Mason is the Editor-in-Chief at Factinate. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. Gladys Bentley came into this world on August 12, 1907 as the eldest child of George Bentley and his wife Mary Mote. And in the end, shed have to grab that fame back with both hands. On Thursday, Charlie Monk, music publisher and family friend of the country singer-songwriter, confirmed to The Tennessean that Weatherly died on Wednesday.

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