. 4. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine 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. There was an error deleting this problem. She tried to continue her musical career but did not achieve as much success as she had had in the past. 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 was diagnosed with hepatitis shortly after, and her symptoms worsened significantly after that. On January 18, 1960, when Bentley was still just 52 years old, she passed quite suddenly in her Los Angeles home. The teenage Bentley was in way over her head when she moved to Harlem, and she needed to find work, stat. Remembering 28 Bodybuilders Who Passed Away (2017-2020) Photograph of Gladys Bentley by an unidentified photographer, 1927-45. Once more, I ask: Did Gladys Bentley care? occupation. Places would bill her as a male impersonator or even an actual male performer, thanks to her dapper styling and masculine energy. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. Here are bawdy facts about Gladys Bentley. Table showing information for name claims, including the name itself . Photograph of Gladys Bentley by an unidentified photographer, 1927-45. She was only 46 years old. Drag performers often backed her up at the . The hit show about a Yorkshire corner shop, which starred Ronnie. Millvina Dean - Death, Family & Facts - Biography As one historian put it, She knew what was popular, what she could do, and what people would pay to see.. Despite those challenges Bentley likely encountered in New Yorks entertainment business, it is no surprise that she moved to Harlem. 20072023 Blackpast.org. Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. even described the Harlem Renaissance being surely as gay as it was black. She wouldn't even nurse me and my grandmother had to raise me for 6 months on a bottle before they could persuade my mother to take care of her own baby. With the repeal of Prohibition, her popularity and public tolerance of openly gay persons waned. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. The cause of her death was most likely due to the stress of Elvis' career and the demands of being a single mother. 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. How Old Was Elvis Presley When His Mother Died? She dressed in men's clothes (including a signature tuxedo 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. [22] Gibson denied ever marrying her.[23]. Her success picked up again during World War II with the expansion of gay bars on the West Coast. Yet although the singer still brought the house down, her comeback only lasted three short years. Gladys Bentley on "You Bet Your Life" - YouTube At the time of her death, she had been more involved in the church and had just been ordained as a minister despite never getting her official paperwork. 1 reference. My hands fairly flew over the keys. Openly lesbian, she sang raunchy remakes of popular tunes in a deep voice, dressed in her signature mens style of tuxedo and top hat. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Gossip suggested her doctor had covered up the real cause of death, an overdose of . Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Elvis' family didn't come from riches or anything of the sort. As a result of her lack of gender conformity, she was teased by her classmates and often ostracized by her family and peers. Please accept Echovita's sincere condolences. Miss Bentley was an amazing exhibition of musical energy a large, dark, masculine lady, whose feet pounded the floor while her fingers pounded the keyboard a perfect piece of African sculpture, animated by her own rhythm.[15]. At the time of her death she survived by her large extended friends and family. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Bentley recalled dreaming and being infatuated with her primary school female teachers but did not understand those feelings until later on in her life. She died at 97, also becoming. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Gladys Alberta Bentley (12 Aug 1907 - certain 18 Jun 1960) 0 references . She was just defiant in who she was, and for gender and sexuality studies today, she shows the performance of gender.. Will Elvis had an emergency opportunity to visit her, but she did not make it. [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. 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. Bentley claimed that she and her white female lover went through a civil union in New Jersey. Unlike other notorious party girls -- including Barbara Payton and Lila Leeds -- she consistently delivered solid performances over the course of a half-century career. Hansberry insisted that the club had been built around the popularity of Bentley's success and that he owned a five-year contract over Bentley and her raunchy songs. 100 Women: Gladys West - the 'hidden figure' of GPS - BBC News She claimed that she had married a white woman in Atlantic City. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. Date of Death. According to the stories, Bentleys new partner was also a white woman. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. But once the lights went down, no one knew the tragedy going on behind the scenes. [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. Sorry! [1][2][24] It was initially believed to be the "Asian flu" but later turned into "pneumonia". But its more complicated than all that. Yet in California, Bentley only got into some silver screen drama. She then began performing at the Ubangi Club on Park Avenue, got an accompanist on piano, and was successful enough to own a "$300/month apartment in Park Ave. With servants and a nice car"[3] (although some have said that she was living in the penthouse of one of her lesbian lovers). 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. You can always change this later in your Account settings. By the mid 1940's, she took her act to Los Angeles, California and recorded for the Excelsior Record label. The world's biggest star was found in his bathroom at Graceland on August 16, 1977, and pronounced dead at Memphis Baptist Memorial Hospital. 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. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. "She was always my best girl." ", 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. The after-theater club near Broadway was where a troupe of liberally painted male sepians with effeminate voices and gestures performed behind entertainer Gladys Bentley, who was no less provocative for early 20th-century America. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Gladys Presley died on August 14, 1958, at the age of 46 after suffering from heart failure. Roberts later denied that they had ever married. There may be one final bizarre touch to the already strange life of Gladys Bentley. 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. Gladys Love, Elvis Presley's mother, died due to heart attack and liver failure. Bentley began singing at rent parties and buffet flats. Gladys Bentley Was The Gender Nonconforming, Lesbian Superstar - Bust Like a great number of lost souls, I inhabited that half-shadow no mans land which exists between the boundaries of the two sexes.. Thing is, Bentley didnt keep her private life private, not by a long shot. musician. 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. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Jim Weatherly Dead at 77 - People "It broke my heart," Elvis Presley later said. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. The details of this courtship, however, areshady. Before her death from pneumonia at the age of 52, Bentley appeared by most accounts to be very bold and confident. "Vernon Presley said he was aroused at 3 a.m. by his wife, Gladys, 'suffering for breath.' She was a big woman, about 250 to 300 pounds and wore . 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]. Yep, Bentley did that, and in the middle of segregated America to boot. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. Bentley also studied to be a minister, claiming to have been "cured" by taking female hormones. Performing in a signature white top hat, tuxedo and tails, Bentley sang raunchy songs laced with double-entendres that thrilled and scandalized her audiences. Gladys Bentley - National Museum of African American History and Culture Gladys Bentleywas born circa 1909. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. A cause of death wasn't. Dancy Mason is the Editor-in-Chief at Factinate. The Grammy-nominated artist's prolonged absence from social media . Elvis' cause of death was NOT what you think: His - Express Elvis was given emergency leave to visit her, arriving in Memphis on August 12, but she died on August. As Bentley became more popular, she started performing at Harry Hansberry's Clam Houseone of New York City's most well-known gay speakeasiesin the 1920s. 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. Well, it backfired. Since she was a schoolgirl, she had started daydreaming about her female teachers, and developing intimate feelings for the women she knew. based on information from your browser. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Oh, Bentley tried her best to make it workand it almost did. 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. She and Elvis survived the tornado that struck Tupelo on April 5, 1936. A talented pianist and blues singer, she ran away to New York City at the age of sixteen. 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. 0 references. Significant Dates. In fact, she became the most prominent mannish lesbian of the Harlem Renaissance. By the 1950s, Bentley was approaching middle age and the roaring 20s of her youth and the Harlem Renaissance community that flirted with modernism was now a thing of her past. Though Bentley was in the process of finding herself, these discoveries only made her family more disgusted with her. Its a woman.. As someone who wrote about feeling attracted to women and being comfortable in mens clothes from an early age, Bentley likely would have found more acceptance in a community that was home to other sexually-fluid entertainers like Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters. 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. "She was always my best girl." At her funeral, Elvis was inconsolable. Gladys Bentley on "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx 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. On the decline of the Harlem speakeasies with the repeal of Prohibition, she relocated to southern California, where she was billed as "America's Greatest Sepia Piano Player" and the "Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs". Visitation . Gladys Bentley Early Life Story, Family Background and Education Years before Gladys Bentley performed in midtown Manhattan, she arrived in Harlem around 1925. 08/12/1907 . 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. Bentley was born August 12, 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of George L. Bentley, an American, and his wife, Mary Mote, a Trinidadian. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Get the latest on what's happening At the Smithsonian in your inbox. 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. 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.. cemeteries found in Carson, Los Angeles County, California, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. While performing at the Manhattan nightclub Kings Terrace, the masculine garbed smut-singing entertainer, as one audience member put it, quickly got the authorities to shut the whole place down with her performance. Heck no. One of Bentleys signature performance moves was to flirt shamelessly with women in the audience. All Rights Reserved. Gladys Bentley had waited years for this moment, and she wasted no time grabbing the opportunity with both hands. Oops, something didn't work. Gladys Love Smith parents Bob and Dolly Smith . 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. Gladys Bentley joined New York's Harlem Renaissance jazz scene at age 16 and became an instant sensation and gender identity pioneer, performing piano and vocals at the most popular gay bars . He wondered whether Bentley's father's sudden death resulted from an undiagnosed arrhythmia that triggered a . From an early age, Bentley defied gender normative behaviors and femininity. Get it, Gladys. Hansberry and Palein sued Bentley to prohibit her from taking her musical to the Broadway division. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Gladys Bentley - Worried Blues (1928) Gladys Bentley and "Worried Blues," from 1928. The report will reveal what was in Tewmey's system at the time of his . In his 1945 autobiography, Langston Hughes described her as, "An amazing exhibition of musical energy." Bentley, who never seemed to look at a man before, married the very manly J.T. 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. 0 references. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Well, just you wait. This happened even at her star-studded Hollywood shows, which would have the likes of Mary Astor and Barbara Stanwyck watching from the audience. place of burial. 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.. She was a pioneer in pushing the envelope of gender, sexuality, class, and race with parody and exaggeration, personally and professionally. But they werent all there for the right reasons. Weve updated the security on the site. Gladys Bentley (stage name, Bobbie Minton) was a Harlem Renaissance blues singer and cross dresser. She often dressed as a man in her signature black-and-white tuxedo. Gladys became severely ill in August 1958 due to undiagnosed hepatitis, brought on by alcoholism, while Elvis was serving in US Army in Germany; he . 5. 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. Bentley died of pneumonia unexpectedly at her home in Los Angeles on January 18, 1960, aged 52. 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. She found one, alright. 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. 0 references. Try again. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. Haunting Elvis theory claims singer was destined to die young due to https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7634493/gladys-alberta-bentley. | READ MORE. She is buried beside her mother at Lincoln Memorial Park in Carson, California. 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. . singer. Bentley reported wearing her three younger brothers suits to school when growing up. This is a carousel with slides. She went to Broadway anywaybut she would live to regret it. She moved from Philadelphia to Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City in 1925[7] at the age of 16. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. 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 . Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Lincoln Memorial Park. She performed again, most often at the Rose Room in Hollywood and appeared two times on Groucho Marxs television show in the 1950s. She recorded in 1945 for the Excelsior label. Her songs revealed all her dirty little secrets. 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. 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. That one had to hurt. For all her revelations in her Ebony article, Bentleys confessions may not be what they seem. While Bentley was in California, the halcyon days of the liberal Roaring Twenties transformed into conservatism almost overnight, and she didnt find as many friendly faces in her crowds. A large, 250-pound woman, her deep voice appealed to straight, gay, black, and white audiences. By 1933, Bentley had parlayed her fame into country-wide domination. Bentley had great talent as a piano player, singer, and entertainer. Just days before the Tampa Pro bodybuilding contest in 2017, Sean Harris fell asleep behind the wheel and died in a pretty tragic accident. Her performances at the Clam House attracted luminaries like poet Langston Hughes and the photographer Carl Van Vechten, who both sang her praises. composer. William Young died of cancer just before Christmas, 1962 . She would take popular songs of the day and just put the filthiest lyrics possible. Add to your scrapbook. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. Gladys Presley died on August 14, 1958, at the age of 46, due to a heart attack. Think this stopped Gladys Bentley? Was Gladys Presley an Alcoholic? Gladys Presley's Cause of Death 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. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. At the time of her death, she had been more involved in the church and had just been ordained as a minister despite never getting her official paperwork. 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. 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. This account has been disabled. Note: Although some historians view Bentley as a trans-masculine figure, she used she/her pronouns throughout her life. 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. 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. Blues Singer. Try again later. It's up there with being a communist, Wilson says. For Hoedel, any such claims are just baseless "romanticism." Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? The unknown cause explained a tragic death that had occurred decades earlier. In August 1928, she signed with Okeh Records company and recorded eight sides over the course of the next year up until 1929. Gladys Bentley Society on Instagram: "This incredible human is a living 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.
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