https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7634493/gladys-alberta-bentley. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Gladys Presley died on August 14, 1958, at the age of 46 after suffering from heart failure. This browser does not support getting your location. Gladyspassed away on month day1963, at age 54 at death place, Kentucky. 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. For all her revelations in her Ebony article, Bentleys confessions may not be what they seem. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Elvis would go on to talk about his brother throughout his career, and as Peter Whitmer, author of the 1996 psychological biography The Inner Elvis explains (via the Billings Gazette), the singer's mother, Gladys Presley, always thought that Jesse's death was "the crucible that forged [Elvis'] 'destiny to do great things.'". She was one of the most well-known and financially successful black women in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. 1 reference. Cookie Settings, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Bulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies: Performance, Race, and Sexuality in the Harlem Renaissance, Five Places Where You Can Still Find Gold in the United States, Scientists Taught Pet Parrots to Video Call Each Otherand the Birds Loved It, Balto's DNA Provides a New Look at the Intrepid Sled Dog, The Science of California's 'Super Bloom,' Visible From Space, What We're Still Learning About Rosalind Franklins Unheralded Brilliance. Elvis Presley's Mother Gladys Love Presley Died 1958 Gladys Bentley loved women, wore men's clothing, and sang bawdy songs that would make sailors blush.and did it openly in the 1920s and 1930s. Acclaimed singer Gladys Knight recently became the latest celebrity to fall victim to an online death hoax. Gossip suggested her doctor had covered up the real cause of death, an overdose of . Whatever her reasons for marrying men, Gladys Bentley sure didnt know how to pick them. I think not only of the performative side but that Bentley was a working woman, says Reece, who described a letter in the collection which shows that Bentley reprimanded a club owner who failed to pay her. The creativity that came out of that period shaped music, theater, dance, literature, intellectual thought and scholarship in a way that has shaped who we are today.. By the mid 1940's, she took her act to Los Angeles, California and recorded for the Excelsior Record label. However, Floyd County Schools said in a statement Friday . Or there might have been a more cynical reason, Gladys Bentley was a consummate show woman, and she simply didnt know how to let a publicity opportunity pass her by. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. In an article she wrote about her life for Ebony magazine, she said that soon after arriving in Harlem she auditioned at the Mad House, a venue on 133rd Street, which was in need of a male pianist. He was 77. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. This was long before the gay rights or the civil rights movements, yet Bentley became a darling of the Harlem Renaissance alongside icons like . Shed made a scandalous name for herself singing her dirty songs, and audiences came out in droves. She had a recording contract for her raunchy songs, put out a series of records with her broad, booming voice, and was just positioning herself to take over the bright lights of Broadway. And this is JD Doyle with Queer Music Heritage and a special show devoted totally to her. Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. even described the Harlem Renaissance being surely as gay as it was black. Gladys Bentley Early Life Story, Family Background and Education "She was just defiant in who she was, and for gender and sexuality studies today, she shows the performance of . 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. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Search above to list available cemeteries. She quickly made a name for herself as somebody who sang ribald songs, says Wilson. Already a big girl, her parents and siblings saw this masculine turn as shamefully unladylike, while her classmates teased her at school. She moved to speakeasies and night clubs in Jungle Alley, the center of Harlems sporting life. And then he went after everything she held dear. Privacy Statement And then Mrs West returned to education - working towards a PhD . [1][2][24] It was initially believed to be the "Asian flu" but later turned into "pneumonia". 100 Women: Gladys West - the 'hidden figure' of GPS - BBC News Gladys Knight dead 2023 : The Empress of Soul killed by celebrity death In the 1920s, speakeasies ruled New York City, and Gladys Bentley ruled the speakeasies. Before long, Bentleys world got turned upside down again. The ploy worked a little too well. Elvis Presley's mother, Gladys Presley, died on August 14, 1958, of a heart attack. Gladys Bentley (1907-60) Michael Ochs Archives . Gladys Bentley died suddenly from the flu in Los Angeles in 1960 at the age of 52. In the end, the booming, bodacious, and vivacious singer succumbed to the relatively common ailment of pneumonia, which came on quickly and didnt let her go. Elvis' cause of death was NOT what you think: His - Express Elvis' family didn't come from riches or anything of the sort. On top of that, the news got out in a sensational way. She was 96. At the peak of her career, the singer was . But theres something very disturbing about this story. musician. 3 references. It's a woman, Wilson says. She started to perform at prohibition-era rent parties, soirees that charged guests a fee to come enjoy a house party with booze and entertainment. Bentley's performances appealed to black, white, gay, and straight audiences alike, and many celebrities attended her shows. Category:Gladys Bentley - Wikimedia Commons The same year, she attempted to move her act to Broadway, despite legal issues. They eventually divorced. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. ", Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use). FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - Funeral arrangements were announced for Betsy Layne Elementary School teacher Lea Bentley. The Prohibition Era had come to an end, and now white pleasure-seekers frequented Harlem far less than before. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. But they werent all there for the right reasons. After a long climb, Bentley had finally made it to the topbut with stardom came scandal. However, later that year, she did wed Charles Roberts, a cook sixteen years her junior. But once the lights went down, no one knew the tragedy going on behind the scenes. He demanded she stop trying to perform on Broadway, and took his suit all the way up to the Supreme Court. Gladys Bentley Obituary (1934 - 2021) | New York Mills, MN 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. Theyd seen talent before, but theyd never seen talent like this. Gladys Bentley - Wikipedia Its a woman.. She tried to continue her musical career but did not achieve as much success as she had had in the past. Over the course of their acquaintance, Bentley came to realize Don was a normal man who was utterly devoted to her, and they eventually started a romantic relationship and even, according to Bentley, married. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. See, the Clam House was actually looking for a male pianist. 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. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Gladys Alberta Bentley was born on August 12, 1907, which makes her a Leo. We are sad to announce that on July 1, 2021, at the age of 87, Gladys Bentley of New York Mills, Minnesota passed away. 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 . She began to resent her brothers and didnt want men to touch her, yet she also started wearing boys clothes and suits instead of skirts and blouses, partly in a bid to emulate who her mother wanted her to be. Gladys Bentley Wiki, Biography, Age, Husband, Net Worth, Family Your Privacy Rights How did Elvis's mother die? Elvis's fame contributed to her death All Rights Reserved. He was very close to his mother, which made her death that much more heartbreaking. cemeteries found in Carson, Los Angeles County, California, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 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. There was a problem getting your location. Her act drew white patrons from outside of Harlem, including writer and photographer Carl van Vechten, who based a fictional blues singer in one of his novels off of her, writing that when she pounds the piano the dawn comes up like thunder.. 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. Floyd school mourns teacher - Mountain Top Media With lyrics like hers, controversy came knocking on Bentleys door soon enough. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. According to Jim Wilson, author of the book Bulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies: Performance, Race, and Sexuality in the Harlem Renaissance, Harlem was also a community that the police turned a blind eye to during the Prohibition Era. The Wayward Life of Gladys Bentley - Paris Review The world's biggest star was found in his bathroom at Graceland on August 16, 1977, and pronounced dead at Memphis Baptist Memorial Hospital. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. 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. In her Ebony tell-all I Am A Woman, Bentley mentions yet another husband, a sailor named Don, who she claims seduced her, turned her straight, and set her on the path to womanhood again. Her performances at the Clam House attracted luminaries like poet Langston Hughes and the photographer Carl Van Vechten, who both sang her praises. Gladys Bentley Death: and Cause of Death On January 18, 1960, Gladys Bentley died of non-communicable disease. Learn more about merges. At the time, the comings and goings of Bentleys inner boudoir were public knowledge, and that was just how she liked it. Elvis' parents Vernon and Gladys | Photo by Getty Images Elvis was inconsolable following his mother's death After Gladys passed away, Elvis reportedly sank to his knees and wept. Gladys Alberta Bentley (12 Aug 1907 - certain 18 Jun 1960) 0 references .
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