gladys bentley cause of death

Before joining the team, she worked as a course lecturer while completing her Ph.D. in English Literature. Yet although the singer still brought the house down, her comeback only lasted three short years. In Bentleys heyday of the 1930s, she owned a Park Avenue apartment with servants and other accoutrements of wealth. Table showing information for name claims, including the name itself . Get the latest updates and more delivered straight to your inbox. In her music, she called out men and openly sang about sexual relationships which was seen as risqu behavior at the time. 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. As Bentley became more popular, she started performing at Harry Hansberrys Clam Houseone of New York Citys most well-known gay speakeasiesin the 1920s. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? Visitation . The Life And Death Of Gladys Presley, Elvis Presley's Beloved Mother 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. Some even claimed that her infamous penthouse, complete with a coterie of servants and a car, actually belonged to one of Bentleys rich lesbian lovers. Let it play in the background as you study and immerse yourself in this topic! Bentley claimed that she and her white female lover went through a civil union in New Jersey. Within weeks of starting her gig at the Clam House, Bentley transformed the whole jointliterally. Gladys Alberta Bentley (12 Aug 1907 - certain 18 Jun 1960) 0 references . Maybe thats why things took a turn for the tragic. Elvis had an emergency opportunity to visit her, but she did not make it. Black and white audiences loved the risqu lyrics, the sonorous deep voice, the open flirtation with the most attractive women in the audience, the jokes about sissies and bull daggers. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. One of the frustrating and actually joyous things about Gladys Bentley was she was constantly inventing herself, Wilson says. That year, Bentley took up with kitchen cook Charles Roberts, marrying him after a whirlwind courtship. Drag performers often backed her up at the Ubangi Club. People, many of whom were white, seeking entertainment and covert access to alcohol crowded into Harlem nightclubs, speakeasies and parties. Years before Bentley played midtown nightclubs, she got her musical career started at rent parties, where people in Harlem would cover the costs by charging admission for private parties with alcohol and live performances. In his 1945 autobiography, Langston Hughes described her as, "An amazing exhibition of musical energy." Her career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, crossdressing performer. In 1960, after a lifetime as a popular entertainer and a woman who lived on the fringes in a world that wasnt ready to accept her, Gladys Bentley succumbed to pneumonia. Her beginnings werent humble, though; they were scandalous. That one had to hurt. Sean Harris. Celebrity OTE - Spring Arts Guide Daniel Kaluuya Digital. Her career continued after that point, though briefly. In her brief years, Bentley had seen America transform from a hedonistic party to a strait-laced society, and she came out the other side just as changed herself. Today though, Bentleys story is resurfacing and she is seen as an African-American woman who was ahead of her time for proudly loving other women, wearing mens clothing and singing bawdy songs. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Oops, we were unable to send the email. [2] She heard that Harry Hansberry's Clam House on 133rd Street, one of the city's most notorious gay speakeasies,[8] needed a male pianist. Upon hearing the news, Elvis immediately returned to the hospital. Bentley began singing at rent parties and buffet flats. The cause of death is pending toxicology results from the Frankfort lab, said Mercer Coroner Sonny Ransdell. Tragic Facts About Bessie Smith, The Empress Of The Blues, Eleanor Of Aquitaine Was Englands Fiercest QueenUntil Her Brutal End, Lawyers Reveal Their Most Jaw-Dropping Court Cases, Truth Hurts: Binge-Worthy Stories About The Biggest Liars Of All Time, These Mega Embarrassing Moments Still Made Us Burst Out Laughing, Catherine The Great Was a Mighty EmpressUntil Her Brutal Downfall. She had her own weekly radio program the following year. The unknown cause explained a tragic death that had occurred decades earlier. When I had finished my first number, the burst of applause was terrific.. By the 1950s, Gladys Bentley was making some even more rash decisions. In August 1928, she signed with Okeh Records company and recorded eight sides over the course of the next year up until 1929. Eventually, Bentley got tired of performing for small crowds, and began looking for gigs at bona fide clubs around New York. Gladys Love Smith parents Bob and Dolly Smith . I Am A Woman Again, Bentley declared, disavowing the gender-bending performances that had made her famous. In 2016, musician Shirlette Ammons released an album entitled Twilight for Gladys Bentley, that paid tribute to Bentley's legacy and "reimagined" Bentley in relationship to hip hop culture. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Gladys Bentley Wiki, Biography, Age, Husband, Net Worth, Family 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. Haleema Shah is the host and associate producer for the Smithsonian's "Sidedoor" podcast, and a journalist who believes in using audio to enable audiences to delve deep into the ideas that shape our world. She moved to speakeasies and night clubs in Jungle Alley, the center of Harlem's sporting life. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Gladys Bentley had waited years for this moment, and she wasted no time grabbing the opportunity with both hands. Thanks for your help! By 1934, just a year after her debut, Gladys Bentley had to give up on her Broadway baby dreams, and she slunk back to Ubangi Club with her white coat tails between her legs. Elvis' cause of death was NOT what you think: His - Express Gladys Bentley (stage name, Bobbie Minton) was a Harlem Renaissance blues singer and cross dresser. Try again later. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Elvis Presley's mother, Gladys Presley, died on August 14, 1958, of a heart attack. On August 14, 1958, Gladys Presley died, aged just 46. She sang loud, and her vocal style was deep and booming, sometimes using a growling effect and imitations of a horn. Gladys Bentley was a triple threata singer, a dancer, and a lesbian. Gladys fell seriously ill just a few months after Elvis enlisted in the US Army. Heck, I volunteer as tribute. While Harlem was home to African-Americans facing the challenges of the Great Depression, it also became a destination for pleasure-seekers who Wilson says were eager to let loose of their bourgeois attitudes. Significant Dates. She quickly made a name for herself as somebody who sang ribald songs, says Wilson. . Bawdy Facts About Gladys Bentley, The Dapper Diva - Factinate Well, it backfired. So maybe its no surprise that the lovebirds split up less than a year into their relationshipand more heartache was to come. Was Bentley slowly unraveling? She moved from Philadelphia to Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City in 1925[7] at the age of 16. Today, experts believe that the article and her marriages were not actually true representations of her identity, but rather her attempts to conform to the newly conservative standards of the day so she could survive. My hands fairly flew over the keys. At the time of her death, she was 53 years old. 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. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. Already a big girl, her parents and siblings saw this masculine turn as shamefully unladylike, while her classmates teased her at school. It wouldnt be long before she shot to fame. Her mother had desperately wanted a boy, and when the nurses told her she had a little girl instead, the matriarch refused to even touch her baby. For the Smithsonians Sidedoor podcast, host Haleema Shah tells the story of an unapologetically gay African-American performer in 1920s and 30s. At the time of her death she survived by her large extended friends and family. GenealogyBuff.com - Mercer County, Kentucky Obituary and Death Notice

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