By Grand Rapids Anonymous
friday, january 10, 2025 at 2:28:00 a.m. est
“(nexstar) — Anita Bryant, a singer and crusader against the progress of gay rights — has died at the age of 84, her family announced in an obituary. she died dec. 16 at her Edmond, oklahoma, home.
“Bryant, a Barnsdall, oklahoma, native, rose to prominence in the 1950s, becoming both a Miss Oklahoma and a charting music career. Among Bryant’s notable hits are ‘Till There was You’ and ‘in my little corner of the world.
“Bryant was a noted singer for televised and political events, including singing at the Super Bowl V Halftime Show in 1971. Bryant was also noted for being the TV spokesperson for florida orange juice and was featured in national commercials through the 1970s.
“but the majority of Bryant’s notoriety came from her crusade against gay rights [sic] in the late 1970s, which began with Bryant advocating against a florida ordinance that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. Bryant led a coalition called Save Our Children against the gay rights movement.”
GRA: The first White person “the left” destroyed?
--GRA
N.S.: Sorry about forgetting this twice, GRA.
4 comments:
You usually get to them eventually.
--GRA
There were actors who were punished, shunned or marginalized for being vocally anti-Communist. Adolphe Menjou comes to mind, and Robert Hutton, as I noted once before. And Robert Taylor's name was removed from a building, though that was much later (probably after his demise). They keep lobbying to remove John Wayne's name from an airport, but he remains stubbornly popular to this day!
Obnoxious liberal "method actor" Robert Horton (not to be confused with Hutton) was always at odds with Ward Bond during "Wagon Train," and the stress MAY have contributed to Bond's untimely death from a heart attack (though the man DID drink quite a bit!). Walter Brennan was supposedly hated in Hollywood for his blatant unfavorable comments about various "minority" groups, though, like Wayne, he was too popular to "cancel"! Elia Kazan was despised for "informing" at the HUAC hearings, though his career was fairly inert anyway by the 1960s (the Commies weren't enamored with his anti-union classic "On the Waterfront" either).
-RM
Wasn't that all "behind the scenes" though? The public never knew anything about celebrities back then. When Anita voiced her opinion,the venom unleashed against Bryant was publicly voiced. Phil Donahue for one,but comedians as well(SNL,I believe--and others). She's the first I remember,anyways
--GRA
Before the 1960s, performers were discouraged from being openly "political" unless it was to express the patriotic/propagandistic views of the moment.
Lew Ayres was an unusual case: his career was harmed when he declared himself a "conscientious objector" during the War, when many big stars were going into the Service.
-RM
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