Josephine Baker
From Harlem Renaissance
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Josephine
Josephine Baker held a very special place in the Harlem Renaissance.This is because she was a dancer, singer, actress, and a comedian all in one. She was also the first African American performer to break free of racial offense, or be critisized because of her ethnicity and skin color. She was known to entertain audiences in both Europe and the United States of America. By her audiences and because of her beauty, she held nicknames such as "Black Venus", "Black Pearl", and "Creole Goddess". In her whole life, she received cars, diamonds and one thousand five hundred marriage proposals. I know, that's a lot of admirers.
Her Childhood
She was born on June 3rd, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her original birth name was Freda Josephine McDonald. Her parents were an un-married couple. Her father, Eddie Carson a vaudeville drummer, left her mother after some time. Her mother shortly re-married an unemployed man named Arthur Martin. After that, the family grew to have two more daughters and a son. During her childhood, Josephine would clean houses and baby sit to earn money. When she was thirteen she got a job as a waitress at the Old Chauffeur's Club.
Adulthood
While working as a waitress, she met a man named Willie Wells and eventually, they had a brief marriage. She never depended on any man for financial support, which was unusual for women in her time period. She never waited to leave before a relationship got serious. After that, she married and divorced three more times. First to Willie Baker in 1921, which was when she became Josephine Baker. Then she married a French man named Jean Lion in 1937. From him, she got French citizenship. After that, she married a French orchestra leader named Jo Bouillon in 1947. He helped her raise twelve adopted children.
Career Girl
In the start of her career, Josephine Baker toured the United States with two comic groups. One was The Jones Family Band and the other was The Dixie Steppers in the year 1919. Shortly the groups split up and Josephine tried to become a chorus girl for The Dixie Steppers in the presentation Shuffle Along. She was rejected because of her skin color and how skinny she was. Even though she was hurt, she learned the lines and moves while working as a dresser. Her lucky chance came when one of the dancers left the production, and she was the chosen replacement. She added comic touches like rolling her eyes and acting purposely clumsy, but, the audience loved her. After Shuffle Along, she had some success at The Plantation Club in New York. Then her career really took off when she traveled to Paris to perform in La Revue Negre.The audience was mesmerized as Josephine and partner Joe Alex danced across the stage with the Danse Sauvage.The piece was described as new and exotic and Josephine dressed in nothing but a feather skirt. She spent most of the money she earned on clothes, jewelry, and pets. She had a wide passion for animals and bought several pets including leopards, chimpanzees, pigs, snakes, goats, parrots, parakeets, fish, cats, and dogs. She also starred in the french production La Folie du Jour, which took place at the Follies-Bergere Theater. She wore a costume made of sixteen bananas strung together in a skirt. She also starred in two french movies,
Zou-Zou and Princess Tam-Tam. She moved her family to France after becoming the most photographed woman in Europe.(Countee Cullen, a famous poet also lived there. Aaron Douglas, a famous artist, studied there.)She returned to the United States to star in the Zeigfield Follies. The audience was enraged at the idea of a colored woman with so much power. Even the New York Times called her a "negro wench." "I like Frenchmen very much, because even when they insult you they do it so nicely."-Josephine Baker. On one visit to the United States, she fell in love with American artist Robert Brady. They got married in Mexico in the year 1973.
The Later Days
Josephine performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York in the year 1973. This time the audience didn't throw racial comments at her. She received a standing ovation on stage and wept because she was so happy. At the age of sixty-eight, she performed in France at the Bobino Theater. Princess Grace of Monaco and Sophia Loren were present. A while later, she slipped into a coma and died. The date was April 12, 1973. Over twenty thousand people attended the streets of Paris for the funeral. She was the first American woman buried with French military honors. She had a great, luxurious life, and a career that lasted roughly fifty years.
Vocabulary
Sauvage = savage or wild in french. Revue = magazine or periodical in french.
Links
[1] Countee Cullen [2] Aaron Douglas
References
- [www.cmgww.com/stars/bakers/about/index.php] - [www.JosephineBaker.com] - Collective Biogrphies Artists and Writers of the Harlem Renaissance -
