Thursday Whatever

LOL!!!!

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Obituary:  Singer Anita Bryant, 84, who, thanks to her rather unscrupulous first husband Bob Green's relentless pressure, had her career damaged by being involved in opposition to the gay rights ordinance in Dade County, Florida, way back in the 1970s, has died.  She actually died December 16, but her death was disclosed today.  

The ordinance did pass (in 1977)  but not without a ton of controversy.  Bryant was in the thick of it.

Bryant personally didn't have much beef with the gay community, but it didn't matter.  At one time, as I recall, she received a pie in the face in response to her activism.  Bryant ditched Green a few years later and married a man named Charlie Dry, who passed away. She still continued with her singing career, but it was way more low-key.

Anyway, Bryant was known for her pitching television ads for Florida orange juice, but she lost that gig thanks to the gay controversy.  She also did commercials for Coca Cola.

She had been second runner-up in the Miss America pageant in 1959, won by Mary Ann Mobley, who later became an actress and passed away in 2014.

From the obit:

Born on March 25, 1940, in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, to Lenora (Berry) Bryant and Warren Bryant, Anita spent her early years surrounded by the love of her family and the Christian faith that would guide her throughout her life. Her passion for music and performance blossomed early, leading her to a career that included her own TV show at the age of 12, her crowning as Miss Oklahoma at the age of 18, guest spots on Arthur Godfrey's CBS programs and on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," and chart hits “Till There Was You," “Paper Roses,” “In My Little Corner of the World,” and “Wonderland by Night.”

For seven consecutive years, Anita performed with Bob Hope's holiday tours for U.S. troops abroad. Hope dubbed her his troupe's “den mother” because of her propensity for taking care of others. She sang at the White House for President Lyndon B. Johnson and at his graveside service. In 1968 Anita sang at both the Republican and the Democratic national conventions. She was known especially for her rendition of "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

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