Gladys Bentley (stage name, Bobbie Minton) was a Harlem Renaissance blues singer and cross dresser. We are sad to announce that on July 1, 2021, at the age of 87, Gladys Bentley of New York Mills, Minnesota passed away. Though Bentley was in the process of finding herself, these discoveries only made her family more disgusted with her. Gladys Bentley Wiki, Biography, Age, Career, Relationship, Net Worth Share this memorial using social media sites or email. 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. 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. Cara Williams, the actress known for her Oscar-nominated turn in The Defiant Ones, her Emmy-nominated performance in CBS' sitcom Pete and Gladys and more, died on December 9. Jealous of her immense success and the fact shed moved on from his club, Hansberry sued her, claiming she hadnt completed her contract with him. 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. See, the Clam House was actually looking for a male pianist. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. When Bentley ran away from home, she was certainly disillusioned with her familybut she was also hiding a huge secret. Gladys Bentley: Blues Singer - Smithsonian American Women's History At least, I always thought I was." When Bentley showed up for a given performance, shed soon find that officers had locked up her venues in an attempt to drive away her business. This account has been disabled. When Bentley finished her performance, the room burst into applause. 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. It's up there with being a communist, Wilson says. "Gladys Bentley should be remembered for being a gender outlaw," says Wilson. A large, 250-pound woman, her deep voice appealed to straight, gay, black, and white audiences. National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gladys Bentley, Prentiss Taylor, and Nora Holt, Letter to Paul Kalmanovitz from the Musicians' Protective Association, Musicians' Protective Association Local 767 claim form, Photograph of two men and a woman taken at the Ubangi Club, Photograph of a group of men and women taken at the Ubangi Club, Photograph of Leroy Broomfield and the Ubangi Club dancers, Carl Van Vechten Photographs of Prentiss Taylor with Gladys Bentley and Nora Holt. The Harlem Renaissance is really a critical point in the history and evolution of African-Americans in the 20th century, says Dwandalyn Reece, curator of music and performing arts at the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture. Gladyspassed away on month day1963, at age 54 at death place, Kentucky. Then she proceeded to blow his mind. 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. Bentley died of pneumonia unexpectedly at her home in Los Angeles on January 18, 1960, aged 52. Places would bill her as a male impersonator or even an actual male performer, thanks to her dapper styling and masculine energy. She moved to speakeasies and night clubs in Jungle Alley, the center of Harlems sporting life. Bentley became an active member of the "Temple of Love In Christ" Church and was on her way to becoming an ordained minister at the time of her death from pneumonia at the age of 52. 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. Not only did her own time not know what to do with her, but Bentleys impact is also still a hot topic now. Gladys Knight and the Pips Singer Dies at Age 74 | Essence William Guest passed away on Christmas Eve from congestive heart failure. 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. . Year should not be greater than current year. August 14, 1958: Gladys Presley, Elvis' Mother, Dies - Best Classic Bands Learn more about managing a memorial . That all changed in the blink of an eye. Toward the end of her life Bentley became a devotee of The Temple of Love in Christ, Inc. and prepared for ordained ministry. Was Bentley slowly unraveling? I thought you might like to see a memorial for Gladys Alberta Bentley I found on Findagrave.com. [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. musician. Like everything she did, she did this whole hog, and got ordained at the beginning of the 1960s. Feb 2013 Script - Gladys Bentley Tribute - Queer Music Heritage 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. At the time of her death, she was 53 years old. 03.12.2019. 0 references. By the late 1930s, the Harlem Renaissance and Gladys Bentley, had lost their allure. She's still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet, " they said. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Get the latest information about timed passes and tips for planning your visit, Search the collection and explore our exhibitions, centers, and digital initiatives, Online resources for educators, students, and families, Engage with us and support the Museum from wherever you are, Find our upcoming and past public and educational programs, Learn more about the Museum and view recent news, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of African American History & Culture. Gladys Love Smith parents Bob and Dolly Smith . For many years, I lived in a personal hell, she wrote. GREAT NEWS! She marched right over one night during a packed audience and met the clubs skeptical boss, Harry Hansberry. He was inconsolable as he sank to his knees beside his mother's bed. She tried to continue her musical career by playing in a number of gay nightspots but did not achieve as much success as she had had in the past. Whatever her reasons for marrying men, Gladys Bentley sure didnt know how to pick them. She created her own musical revue with a chorus of eight male dancers in drag, the primary attraction at the well-known Ubangi Club, 1934-1937. Bentley died on March 2 at Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center. It only got worse from there. She took the songs Sweet Alice Blue Gown and Georgia Brown, and combined them and it became a song about anal sex., Bentley was not the first to sing raunchy music, but Reece said that she was still breaking barriers by pushing the boundaries of public taste in a way that would have been much more suitable for a man to do.. Drag performers often backed her up at the Ubangi Club. Lynda Baron: Open All Hours and Come Outside actress dies aged 82 Funeral arrangements announced for Betsy Layne Elementary School teacher Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. This is when she began performing in men's attire ("white full dress shirts, stiff collars, small bow ties, oxfords, short Eton jackets, and hair cut straight back"),[3] and here she perfected her act and became popular and successful. Langston Hughes praised Bentley as an amazing exhibition of musical energya large, dark, masculine lady, whose feet pounded the floor while her fingers pounded the keyboarda perfect piece of African sculpture, animated by her own rhythm., As her star rose, Bentley began playing larger Harlem venues, like the Cotton Club and the iconic gay speakeasy the Clam House. She was frequently harassed for wearing men's clothing. A college student's near fatal collapse uncovered a frightening family At the peak of her career, the singer was . and experiment both sexually and socially.. Gladys Bentley died suddenly from the flu in Los Angeles in 1960 at the age of 52. As Bentley put it, My hands fairly flew over the keys. And the response was legendary. Bentleys fame was a product of being both a gifted singer and an adept provocateur. When she got up on stage every night in her top hat and tails, she sang loud and proud about sissies and bulldaggers, and her lyrics often illustrated her lesbian affairs in very explicit terms. Weve updated the security on the site. But once the lights went down, no one knew the tragedy going on behind the scenes. She found one, alright. Unlike other notorious party girls -- including Barbara Payton and Lila Leeds -- she consistently delivered solid performances over the course of a half-century career. She rose to fame during Prohibition in New York City, entertaining speakeasy audiences with performances testing the boundaries of gender and sexuality. [11] She mostly played the blues and parodies of popular songs of the time: "mocking 'high' class imagery with 'low' class humor, she applied aspects of the sexually charged 'black' blues to demure, romantic 'white' ballads, creating a culture clash between these two music forms". [20], In 1930, Bentley lived with a woman named Beatrice Robert. After Elvis entered his mother ward and the door closed, witnesses remember a piercing wild despair of wails from Elvis were heard as he wept and prayed long and loud over his mother's lifeless body. 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. 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. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. Since she was a schoolgirl, she had started daydreaming about her female teachers, and developing intimate feelings for the women she knew. "She was always my best girl." At her funeral, Elvis was inconsolable. Its a woman.. Within months of Bentleys entrance into Broadway, the authorities had cottoned onto to her risqu shows, and they made sure to nip them right in the bud. 08/12/1907 . Advertising Notice Okeh Race Records released eight singles of her music between 1928 and 1929. 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.'". 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. 1 reference. His mother was the daughter of a cotton farmer and she met his father at church. Gladys Bentley came into this world on August 12, 1907 as the eldest child of George Bentley and his wife Mary Mote. "Goodbye, darling. She claimed that she had married a white woman in Atlantic City. The family struggled financially. People, many of whom were white, seeking entertainment and covert access to alcohol crowded into Harlem nightclubs, speakeasies and parties. . Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. even described the Harlem Renaissance being surely as gay as it was black. While in Los Angeles, Bentley was up to her usual tricks in the beginningfrequenting and performing at gay bars and scoping out beautiful new lovers. ). Heck, I volunteer as tribute. Instead, she exerted a 'black female masculinity' that troubled the distinctions between black and white and masculine and feminine".[25]. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Gladys Bentley knew how to live life to the fullest, and with her large, bodacious build and flashy sense of style, she had no problem getting women to fall into bed with her. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. She moved to speakeasies and night clubs in Jungle Alley, the center of Harlem's sporting life. For all her revelations in her Ebony article, Bentleys confessions may not be what they seem. However, Floyd County Schools said in a statement Friday . . Bentley recalled dreaming and being infatuated with her primary school female teachers but did not understand those feelings until later on in her life. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. 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.. The database also contains older death records for some parishes, such as deaths that occurred in Jefferson parish before 1911, and deaths that occurred in Orleans parish as early as . Gladys Bentley | LGBTQIA+ Wiki | Fandom And this is JD Doyle with Queer Music Heritage and a special show devoted totally to her. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. At the Mad House, the boss was reluctant to give me a chance, Bentley wrote. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Gladys Bentley Society on Instagram: "This incredible human is a living Failed to report flower. Gladys Bentley - Wikipedia It was discovered that one of the contributing factors to the attack was liver failure due to alcohol poisoning. It only got worse from there. Date of Birth. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Bentley was openly lesbian early in her career, but during the McCarthy Era she started wearing dresses and married, claiming to have been "cured" by taking female hormones. Her beginnings werent humble, though; they were scandalous. Like a great number of lost souls, I inhabited that half-shadow no mans land which exists between the boundaries of the two sexes.. That year, she claimed that she married an unknown woman in a civil ceremony in Atlantic City, a practically unheard-of move. Vernon told him Gladys had died at 3.15am. Who was Elvis Presley's mother Gladys? The heartbreaking story - Smooth Gladys Alberta Bentley (1907-1960) - Find a Grave Memorial She was a big woman, about 250 to 300 pounds and wore . Bentley reported wearing her three younger brothers suits to school when growing up. It did not end well. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. I wore immaculate full white dress shirts with stiff collars, small bow ties and shirts, oxfords, short Eton jackets and hair cut straight back.. My hands fairly flew over the keys. Gladys Bentley: Gender-Bending Performer and Musician Try this on for size: For one of her sweatiest performances, Bentley combined the titles and lyrics of the popular songs Sweet Alice Blue Gown and Georgia Brown to make one mightily controversial ditty abouter, how do I put thisthe backdoor bedroom act. Well, just you wait. At the time of her death she survived by her large extended friends and family. Lila Gladys Young | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers ", Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use). Learn more about this trailblazer on the Smithsonian Sidedoorpodcast episode"Singing the Gender-Bending Blues. Bentley became an active member of the "Temple of Love In Christ" Church and was on her way to becoming an ordained minister at the time of her death from pneumonia at the age of 52. BIOGRAPHY: Gladys Bentley - Musician - The Heroine Collective In August 1928, she signed with Okeh Records company and recorded eight sides over the course of the next year up until 1929. According to Bentley herself, her dysfunctional relationship with her mother shaped the rest of her life in intense ways. 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. [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. She quickly made a name for herself as somebody who sang ribald songs, says Wilson. The article was accompanied by photos of Bentley wearing a matronly white housedress and performing the role of homemakerpreparing meals, making the bed for her husband, wearing a dress and flowers in her hair. She was the eldest of four children in a low-income family living at 1012 W. Euclid Ave. in North Philadelphia[4] and always felt unwanted or rejected because her mother desperately wanted her to have been born a boy: "When they told my mother she had given birth to a girl, she refused to touch me. 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. GenealogyBuff.com - Mercer County, Kentucky Obituary and Death Notice And she didnt stop there. 0 cemeteries found in Carson, Los Angeles County, California, USA. Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. Even better, when the columnist asked, Well, whos the man? Bentleys reply was oh-so-satisfying. The headline sent shockwaves through America. This drag king persona has formed part of her legacy to this day. Born in Philadelphia, she moved to New York City at the age of 16 and began her career as a performer at Harry Hansberry's Clam House on 133rd Street, one of the city's most notorious gay speakeasies. Bentley moved to Los Angeles to live with her mother. In shock and disbelief Elvis rushed to the hospital. Oh, Bentley tried her best to make it workand it almost did. That year, Bentley took up with kitchen cook Charles Roberts, marrying him after a whirlwind courtship. Your Privacy Rights Sadly, Bentleys confessions dont stop there. Gladys Bentley: 0: French: Gladys Bentley: chanteuse de blues amricaine: 0: Dutch: Gladys Bentley: Amerikaans zangeres (1907-1960) . There may be one final bizarre touch to the already strange life of Gladys Bentley. Although some of the corpses were eventually found, it was impossible to prove the cause of death. Her success picked up again during World War II with the expansion of gay bars on the West Coast. Heck no. Aside from her musical talent and success, Bentley is a significant and inspiring figure for some in the LGBT community and African Americans, and she was a prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
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