Bentley, Gladys, 1907-1960

Gladys Alberta Bentley; August 12, 1907, Philadelphia, PA – January 18, 1960, Los Angeles, CA; career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, cross-dressing performer; 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; Bentley was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of George L. Bentley, an American, and his wife, Mary Mote, a Trinidadian; moved to New York City from Philadelphia at the age of 16; her stage name at the time, Barbara "Bobbie" Minton; began performing at the Ubangi Club on Park Avenue; In 1933, Bentley found herself in the middle of a Supreme Court battle with Harry Hansberry and Nat Palein. Hansberry and Palein sued Bentley to prohibit her from taking her musical to the Broadway division. 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. The duo insisted that Bentley left them high and dry at the rise of the club and wanted to pursue other interests that she could financially benefit from; In 1931, Bentley had a public marriage to a white woman during a civil ceremony in New Jersey whose identity remains unknown. When she relocated to Los Angeles, she married J. T. Gipson, who died in 1952,[15] the same year in which she married Charles Roberts, a cook in Los Angeles; they were married in Santa Barbara, California, went on a honeymoon in Mexico,[15] and had a five-month-long courtship before their divorce. Roberts denied ever marrying her; Bentley died of pneumonia unexpectedly at her home in Los Angeles on January 8, 1960, aged 52.[1] It was initially believed to be the Asian flu but later turned into "pneumonia." 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 Alberta Bentley; August 12, 1907, Philadelphia, PA – January 18, 1960, Los Angeles, CA; career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, cross-dressing performer; 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; Bentley was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of George L. Bentley, an American, and his wife, Mary Mote, a Trinidadian; moved to New York City from Philadelphia at the age of 16; her stage name at the time, Barbara "Bobbie" Minton; began performing at the Ubangi Club on Park Avenue; In 1933, Bentley found herself in the middle of a Supreme Court battle with Harry Hansberry and Nat Palein. Hansberry and Palein sued Bentley to prohibit her from taking her musical to the Broadway division. 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. The duo insisted that Bentley left them high and dry at the rise of the club and wanted to pursue other interests that she could financially benefit from; In 1931, Bentley had a public marriage to a white woman during a civil ceremony in New Jersey whose identity remains unknown. When she relocated to Los Angeles, she married J. T. Gipson, who died in 1952,[15] the same year in which she married Charles Roberts, a cook in Los Angeles; they were married in Santa Barbara, California, went on a honeymoon in Mexico,[15] and had a five-month-long courtship before their divorce. Roberts denied ever marrying her; Bentley died of pneumonia unexpectedly at her home in Los Angeles on January 8, 1960, aged 52.[1] It was initially believed to be the Asian flu but later turned into "pneumonia." 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 Alberta Bentley; August 12, 1907, Philadelphia, PA – January 18, 1960, Los Angeles, CA; career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, cross-dressing performer; 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; Bentley was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of George L. Bentley, an American, and his wife, Mary Mote, a Trinidadian; moved to New York City from Philadelphia at the age of 16; her stage name at the time, Barbara "Bobbie" Minton; began performing at the Ubangi Club on Park Avenue; In 1933, Bentley found herself in the middle of a Supreme Court battle with Harry Hansberry and Nat Palein. Hansberry and Palein sued Bentley to prohibit her from taking her musical to the Broadway division. 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. The duo insisted that Bentley left them high and dry at the rise of the club and wanted to pursue other interests that she could financially benefit from; In 1931, Bentley had a public marriage to a white woman during a civil ceremony in New Jersey whose identity remains unknown. When she relocated to Los Angeles, she married J. T. Gipson, who died in 1952,[15] the same year in which she married Charles Roberts, a cook in Los Angeles; they were married in Santa Barbara, California, went on a honeymoon in Mexico,[15] and had a five-month-long courtship before their divorce. Roberts denied ever marrying her; Bentley died of pneumonia unexpectedly at her home in Los Angeles on January 8, 1960, aged 52.[1] It was initially believed to be the Asian flu but later turned into "pneumonia." 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.