https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7634493/gladys-alberta-bentley. Season 3. Get it, Gladys. 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. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Privacy Statement Significant Dates. And this is JD Doyle with Queer Music Heritage and a special show devoted totally to her. 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 . 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. 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. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. She was revolutionary in her masculinity: "Differing from the traditional male impersonator, or drag king, in the popular theater, Gladys Bentley did not try to 'pass' as a man, nor did she playfully try to deceive her audience into believing she was biologically male. Yep, Bentley did that, and in the middle of segregated America to boot. Celebrity OTE - Spring Arts Guide Daniel Kaluuya Digital. 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. On Thursday (April 27) the singer's reps officially confirmed that Gladys Knight is not dead. ", 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. Michael Bekoev. 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 quickly made a name for herself as somebody who sang ribald songs, says Wilson. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. "It broke my heart," Elvis Presley said. For the Smithsonians Sidedoor podcast, host Haleema Shah tells the story of an unapologetically gay African-American performer in 1920s and 30s. Bentley began singing at rent parties and buffet flats. Theyd seen talent before, but theyd never seen talent like this. 2013.46.25.15 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Your Privacy Rights [26], In 2019, The New York Times newspaper began a series called "Overlooked No More," in which the editorial staff aims to correct a perceived bias in reporting by republishing obituaries for historical minorities and women. 0 references. Gladys Bentley's speakeasy from the Harlem Renaissance, "Clam Jam," was a gay nightlife scene 100 years ahead of its time. The hit show about a Yorkshire corner shop, which starred Ronnie. Bentley claimed that she and her white female lover went through a civil union in New Jersey. 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. Fed up and at the brink of her sanity, Bentley resorted to drastic measures. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. 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. Gladys Bentley was born in Philadelphia in 1907 to a Trinidadian woman and an American man. According to the stories, Bentleys new partner was also a white woman. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. The Prohibition Era had come to an end, and now white pleasure-seekers frequented Harlem far less than before. Gladys George was one of the movies' greatest hard-luck dames, both on- and off-screen. 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. And that was the least of her revelations. "She was always my best girl." 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. The timing of her downturn in health spurred theories that Gladys drank herself to death, wracked with worry and suffering from a broken heart while her son was serving overseas in Germany. Let it play in the background as you study and immerse yourself in this topic! 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.. 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. . A large, 250-pound woman, her deep voice appealed to straight, gay, black, and white audiences. See, the Clam House was actually looking for a male pianist. Gladys Knight and the Pips Singer Dies at Age 74 | Essence William Guest passed away on Christmas Eve from congestive heart failure. Drag images here or select from your computer for Gladys Alberta Bentley memorial. Even more, she often sang about "sissies" and "bulldaggers"[10] and, through innuendo or more literally, about her female lovers, and she flirted with women in the audience. By the 1950s, Gladys Bentley was making some even more rash decisions. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. They eventually divorced. Shortly after, Gladys was diagnosed with hepatitis, and her condition worsened very quickly. And then he went after everything she held dear. On May 15, 1958 she appeared as a contestant on You Bet Your Life, engaging in discussion with host Groucho Marx before accompanying herself on piano as she sang "Them There Eyes". That one had to hurt. [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. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Gladys Presley died on August 14, 1958, at the age of 46, due to a heart attack. When I had finished my first number, the burst of applause was terrific.. Then again, there were rumors that would have made her mother straight-up faint. 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.. 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]. Failed to delete memorial. Like a great number of lost souls, I inhabited that half-shadow no mans land which exists between the boundaries of the two sexes.. [27] Bentley was one of the featured obituaries in Overlooked No More. This is a carousel with slides. 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. There was a problem getting your location. Though the cause was a heart attack, it was later found that one of the contributing factors was liver failure due to alcohol poisoning. 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. And she didnt stop there. [1] [2] [24] It was initially believed to be the "Asian flu" but later turned into "pneumonia". This service only issues certified copies of microfilmed death certificates for deaths that occurred in Louisiana between 1911-1972. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? There are no volunteers for this cemetery. BETSY LAYNE, Ky. The Floyd County school district is mourning the death of an elementary school teacher. For many years, I lived in a personal hell, she wrote. This happened even at her star-studded Hollywood shows, which would have the likes of Mary Astor and Barbara Stanwyck watching from the audience. 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. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. She was frequently harassed for wearing men's clothing. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Instance Of Rank; Q3. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. As a child, Bentley developed tender feelings for a female teacher and was often sent home for going . Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Gladys Bentley (7634493)? 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. 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. Decades after his death, Baldwin's work is still celebrated, with his ruminations of life as a Black gay man still holding true for many today. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. . I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. Ergo, no charges. Not content with changing her outward appearance, in the 1950s Bentley began to change her insides as well, going to a doctor and beginning to take female hormones to overcome her more masculine traits. It did not end well. Make sure that the file is a photo. 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 . 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. Just as Gladys Bentley was taking center-stage on Broadway, her old Clam House boss Harry Hansberry came out of the woodwork to ruin her life. Gladys Alberta Bentley (August 12, 1907 - January 18, 1960) was an American blues singer, pianist, and drag entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance. | READ MORE. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Haleema Shah She performed again, most often at the Rose Room in Hollywood and appeared two times on Groucho Marxs television show in the 1950s. It's up there with being a communist, Wilson says. Hansberry and Palein sued Bentley to prohibit her from taking her musical to the Broadway division. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? That year, she claimed that she married an unknown woman in a civil ceremony in Atlantic City, a practically unheard-of move. 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. There she received many complaints about her raunchy performances which resulted in the police locking up the doors of places she performed. She was predeceased by : her parents, Lloyd . 1,242 likes, 52 comments - Gladys Bentley Society (@gladysbentleysoc) on Instagram: "This incredible human is a living testament to the power of faith, will, resilience, and service . 3 references. Gladys Alberta Bentley was born on August 12, 1907, which makes her a Leo. She had her own weekly radio program the following year. She sang her Bentley died on March 2 at Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center. In Bentleys heyday of the 1930s, she owned a Park Avenue apartment with servants and other accoutrements of wealth. At the peak of her career, the singer was . 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. But trouble started as soon as Gladys was born. The details of this courtship, however, areshady. Upon hearing the news, Elvis immediately returned to the hospital. Bentley moved to Los Angeles to live with her mother. Her performances at the Clam House attracted luminaries like poet Langston Hughes and the photographer Carl Van Vechten, who both sang her praises. She was frequently harassed for wearing men's clothing. Gladys Love Smith parents Bob and Dolly Smith . As a singer, Bentley became known for a deep, growling voice and a trumpet-like scat. Gipson passed, but the spitfire performer didnt wait until he was cold in his grave to jump into bedwith yet another man. "[5] She believed that growing up feeling rejected shaped her behavior; she never wanted a man to touch her, hated her brothers, wore boys' clothes, and had a crush on one of her female teachers in elementary school. 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. Okeh Race Records released eight singles of her music between 1928 and 1929. place of burial. Elvis' family didn't come from riches or anything of the sort. 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. Terms of Use Lincoln Memorial Park. In an interview with Ebony magazine,[6] Bentley stated that "It seems I was born different. Inside these hidden, smoky rooms, Bentley astounded and scandalized audiences with her booming voice, her impeccably tailored suits, and her raunchy lyrics. In 1952, her first husband J.T. Gladys Bentley had told the gossip columnist that she had just gotten married. Yet the reality behind her death was far too simple, and far too tragic. Though Gladys Bentley notes that her marriage to Don didnt work out, it still seems like something out of a fairy taleand perhaps its just as untrue as a fairy tale, too. Roberts later denied that they had ever married. 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. Although she was a talented singer and pianist, her lyricism and queer presentation truly made her stand out. GREAT NEWS! Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) was a blues pianist, singer, performer, and drag king pioneer. She moved to speakeasies and night clubs in Jungle Alley, the center of Harlem's sporting life. Photograph of Gladys Bentley by an unidentified photographer, 1927-45. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. There may be one final bizarre touch to the already strange life of Gladys Bentley. [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.
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