Upon hearing the news, Elvis immediately returned to the hospital. 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. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. This article reflects that. Bentley made her spectacular debut on the Great White Way in 1933until it turned into an utter disaster. Unlike other notorious party girls -- including Barbara Payton and Lila Leeds -- she consistently delivered solid performances over the course of a half-century career. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Just play. And Bentley was just getting started. 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. Sorry! Still, Bentley had bigger dreams on her mind. As one historian put it, She knew what was popular, what she could do, and what people would pay to see.. I like to believe that Gladys Bentley had her thumb on the pulse of the time. On August 8, gravely ill, she was taken by ambulance to Methodist Hospital. Bentley reported wearing her three younger brothers suits to school when growing up. Date of death: August 5, 2017. James T. Wilson, Bulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies: Performance, Race, and Sexuality in the Harlem Renaissance (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2010); Irene Monroe, Honoring Notorious Gladys, The Huffington Post Blog (February 12, 2010), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/irene-monroe/honoring-notorious-gladys_b_459929.html; http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Bentley/BentleyBio.html. A system error has occurred. She died at 97, also becoming. occupation. ). "Biblical Gender Bending in Harlem: The Queer Performance of Nugent's Salome. Cara Williams Dead: 'The Defiant Ones,' 'Pete And Gladys' Star Was 96 Its a woman.. And then he went after everything she held dear. Gladys George was one of the movies' greatest hard-luck dames, both on- and off-screen. Not only did her own time not know what to do with her, but Bentleys impact is also still a hot topic now. Gladys Bentley (1907-60) Michael Ochs Archives . The teenage Bentley was in way over her head when she moved to Harlem, and she needed to find work, stat. Elvis Presley's mother, Gladys Presley, died on August 14, 1958, of a heart attack. Despite those challenges Bentley likely encountered in New Yorks entertainment business, it is no surprise that she moved to Harlem. 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]. He was very close to his mother, which made her death that much more heartbreaking. Gladys fell seriously ill just a few months after Elvis enlisted in the US Army. 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. Gladys Presley - IMDb For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Name a Woman: Pioneering Drag King Gladys Bentley And she didnt stop there. When she eventually left the Clam House for the swanky Ubangi Club on Park Avenue, she reportedly rented an extravagant penthouse apartment that would have raised her mothers eyebrows. Heck no. Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) was a blues pianist, singer, performer, and drag king pioneer. 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. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? The performer had survived a harsh life up until this point, but she was about to spiral out of control. Openly lesbian, she sang raunchy remakes of popular tunes in a deep voice, dressed in her signature mens style of tuxedo and top hat. Then again, there were rumors that would have made her mother straight-up faint. When prohibition ended in the 1930s, it was a slow, painful death for Bentleys career, and her speakeasy gigs started to dry up as booze flooded the public markets. Date of Death. She was predeceased by : her parents, Lloyd . Bentley died on March 2 at Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center. 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 world's biggest star was found in his bathroom at Graceland on August 16, 1977, and pronounced dead at Memphis Baptist Memorial Hospital. musician. Inside these hidden, smoky rooms, Bentley astounded and scandalized audiences with her booming voice, her impeccably tailored suits, and her raunchy lyrics. Yep, Bentley did that, and in the middle of segregated America to boot. Failed to report flower. After graduating from the rent party circuit, Bentley got her shot at becoming a nightclub performer. [12] Bentley was known for taking popular songs and putting a promiscuous spin on them. Roberts later denied that they had ever married. The details of this courtship, however, areshady. Gladys Bentley: 0: French: Gladys Bentley: chanteuse de blues amricaine: 0: Dutch: Gladys Bentley: Amerikaans zangeres (1907-1960) . The eldest of four children, Bentley was born on August 12, 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to George L. Bentley from the U.S. and Mary (Mote) Bentley from Trinidad. By the 1950s, Gladys Bentley was making some even more rash decisions. Years before Gladys Bentley performed in midtown Manhattan, she arrived in Harlem around 1925. In truth, Gladys Bentley has been a mystery for decades. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Gladys Bentley - Historical records and family trees - MyHeritage Ergo, no charges. That year, Bentley took up with kitchen cook Charles Roberts, marrying him after a whirlwind courtship. In an interview with Ebony magazine,[6] Bentley stated that "It seems I was born different. In fact, she was often the source. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. August 14, 1958: Gladys Presley, Elvis' Mother, Dies - Best Classic Bands At least, I always thought I was." The gossip columnist asked, well, who's the man? And she scoffed and said, Man? Instance Of Rank; Q3. based on information from your browser. For many years, I lived in a personal hell, she wrote. Thanks for your help! The singer was infamous for making up juicy stories about herself, and this Don remains a vague figure in Bentleys life. William Young died of cancer just before Christmas, 1962 . And in the end, shed have to grab that fame back with both hands. 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. Gladys Bentley - WorldCat 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. 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. When Bentley ran away from home, she was certainly disillusioned with her familybut she was also hiding a huge secret. 08/12/1907 . Already a big girl, her parents and siblings saw this masculine turn as shamefully unladylike, while her classmates teased her at school. Although some of the corpses were eventually found, it was impossible to prove the cause of death. cause of death. When Bentley came up to a hot young thing, she had one go-to move. As Bentley became more popular, she started performing at Harry Hansberrys Clam Houseone of New York Citys most well-known gay speakeasiesin the 1920s. Yet the reality behind her death was far too simple, and far too tragic. This drag king persona has formed part of her legacy to this day. Gladys Knight and the Pips Singer Dies at Age 74 | Essence William Guest passed away on Christmas Eve from congestive heart failure. 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. Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) - BlackPast.org Her songs revealed all her dirty little secrets. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Gladys George - Turner Classic Movies cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Please try again later. He demanded she stop trying to perform on Broadway, and took his suit all the way up to the Supreme Court. Like everything she did, she did this whole hog, and got ordained at the beginning of the 1960s. Gladys died of a heart attack and liver failure caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Please enter your email and password to sign in. 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 . Please accept Echovita's sincere condolences. She recorded in 1945 for the Excelsior label. Langston Hughes recorded his reaction to the beginning of Bentley's career success: For two or three amazing years, Miss Bentley sat, and played piano all night long with scarcely a break between the notes, sliding from one song to another, with a powerful and continuous underbeat of jungle rhythm. 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. It did not end well. 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. 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. The headline sent shockwaves through America. Gladys Bentley was born in Philadelphia in 1907 to a Trinidadian woman and an American man. Heck no. Gladys was ill throughout the summer of 1958, so she and husband Vernon Presley returned to Memphis in early August to see her personal physician. 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 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. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Her salary started at $35 per week plus tips and went to $125 per week, and the club was soon renamed Barbara's Exclusive Club, after her stage name at the time, Barbara "Bobbie" Minton. Names. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. "She was just defiant in who she was, and for gender and sexuality studies today, she shows the performance of . Even as a teenage girl of 16, Bentley had grown into a headstrong young woman, and she was sick and tired of feeling rejected. Learn more about this trailblazer on the Smithsonian Sidedoorpodcast episode"Singing the Gender-Bending Blues. Later psychiatrists would coin Bentley's non-heteronormative behavior as "extreme social maladjustment." There she received many complaints about her raunchy performances which resulted in the police locking up the doors of places she performed. Gladys Bentley died suddenly from the flu in Los Angeles in 1960 at the age of 52. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Haleema Shah Elvis Presley mother: What happened to Gladys Presley? How she died Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. She quickly made a name for herself as somebody who sang ribald songs, says Wilson. In 1934, a midtown Manhattan nightclub called Kings Terrace was padlocked by the police after an observer complained of the dirty songs performed there. 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. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Bentley claimed that she and her white female lover went through a civil union in New Jersey. 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. She kept on performing, but in womens clothing. Bentley had great talent as a piano player, singer, and entertainer.

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