Baker, Josephine

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[[Image:Circa 1925.jpg|thumb|Josephine Baker, c. 1920]]
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{{epname|Baker, Josephine}}
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{{Infobox musical artist
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| Name                = Josephine Baker
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| Img                = Josephinebaker.jpg
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| Img_capt            = Josephine Baker photographed by Carl Van Vechten, October 20, 1949
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| Img_size            = 200
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| Landscape          =
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| Background          = temporary
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| Birth_name          = Josephine Baker
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| Alias              =
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| Born                = June 3, 1906
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| Died                = April 12, 1975
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| Origin              = St. Louis, Missouri
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| Instrument          =
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| Voice_type          =
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| Genre              = Cabaret
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| Occupation          = Singer<br/>Dancer
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| Years_active        =
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| Label              =
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| Associated_acts    =
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| URL                =
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| Current_members    =
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| Past_members        =
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| Notable_instruments =
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}}
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'''Josephine Baker''' (or '''Joséphine Baker''' in francophone countries) (June 3, 1906 &ndash; April 12, 1975)<ref>official site of Josephine Baker. ''Josephine Baker Estate'' c/o CMG Worldwide, Inc. [http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html] accessdate 2006-09-28</ref> was an [[United States|American]]-born [[France|French]] entertainer, and international star of stage, screen and song. One of the most popular stars of the French dance halls in the 1920s and 1930s, she became one of the most successful and famous women in all of Europe, despite persistent racially-based resistance in her birth country. She is noted for her contributions to the [[Civil Rights Movement]] in North America, and for being an inspiration to generations of [[African-American]] female entertainers.
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== Biography ==
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=== Early life ===
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Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Carrie McDonald. Her father's identity is debated. Her father is identified as vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson by the official biography of her estate<ref>''Josephine Baker Estate c/o CMG Worldwide, Inc.'' [http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html] accessdate 2006-09-11</ref>, but Jean-Claude Baker, the unofficially adopted son of Baker suggests otherwise:
  
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'''Josephine Baker''' ([[June 3]], [[1906]] - [[April 12]], [[1975]]), born<ref>{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Biography | work = official site of Josephine Baker | publisher = © Josephine Baker Estate c/o CMG Worldwide, Inc. | date = | url = http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html| format =  | doi = | accessdate = 2006-09-28  }}</ref> was an American-born dancer, actress and singer. She was given the nicknames "Black Venus", "Black Pearl", and "Creole Goddess". She became a citizen of France in [[1937]].
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<blockquote> (Josephine Baker's) father was identified (on the birth certificate) simply as "Edw" … I think Josephine's father was white&mdash;so did Josephine, so did her family&mdash;and I think (the father) cared about Carrie … and people in St. Louis say that Carrie had worked for a German family (around the time she became pregnant). (Carrie) let people think Eddie Carson was the father, and Carson played along … (but) Josephine knew better.<ref>Jean-Claude Baker & Chris Chase. ''Josephine: The Hungry Heart.'' (New York: Random House, 1993)</ref></blockquote>  
  
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== Biography ==
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Josephine Baker's true ethnic background is unknown. Her mother Carrie was adopted in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1886 by Richard and Elvira McDonald, both of whom were former [[slavery|slaves]] of both African and Native American descent.<ref>Baker & Chase </ref>
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=== Early life ===  
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Living as a poor African-American youth in St. Louis, Baker worked various jobs, waiting tables, and doing laundry and babysitting for wealthy white families. But by the age of 13 she had already left home and begun her entertainment career in [[vaudeville]], touring America with the Jones Family Band and the Dixie Steppers. In August of 1922, she joined the traveling production of the first successful African-American musical, ''Shuffle Along.'' Initially deemed too dark-skinned to dance in the chorus line, she nevertheless learned the role and was ready to fill in when one of the girls was unable to perform.  When she finally got on stage as the last girl in the chorus line, she didn't perform the dance straight, but added outrageous exaggerated motions and made silly faces. Her scene-stealing behavior irked her co-workers, but thrilled audiences, and she became one of the big draws for the show for the rest of its run. She was billed as "the highest-paid chorus girl in [[vaudeville]]." She enjoyed some further success performing at the Plantation Club in [[Harlem, New York|Harlem]], but it was in France that she would make her leap to super-stardom.
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===Success in France===
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Baker traveled to Paris in 1925 to perform as one of the acts in a new show, ''La Revue Negre'' ("The Negro Review") at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, opening on October 2, 1925. Her act was called the "Danse sauvage" ("wild dance"); dressed in nothing more than a feather skirt, she performed a wild, sensual and charismatic act with co-star Joe Alex, catering to white fascination with all things "primitive" and African, and introducing a new idiom of beauty to France:
  
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Josephine Baker was born on [[June 3 ]],  in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], the daughter of Carrie McDonald.  Her father's identity is debated. It is often said that he was Eddie Carson, who certainly was the lover of Carrie McDonald.<ref>Jean-Claude Baker & Ben Dovrho, ''Josephine: The Hungry Heart''. Random House, New York, 1933</ref> Her father is identified as vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson by the official biography of her estate;<ref>{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Biography | work = official site of Josephine Baker | publisher = © Josephine Baker Estate c/o CMG Worldwide, Inc. | url = http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2006-09-11  }}</ref> however, there are other sources that state that her father was a travelling [[Jew]]ish salesman.<ref>Symons, Alan. ''The Jewish Contribution to the 20th Century''. London: Polo Publishing, 1997.</ref> She was of mixed ethnic background:    [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]/[[African American]]. She descended from [[Apalachee]] [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]] and Black slaves in [[South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Josephine Baker | work = africanamericans.com | publisher = AfricanAmericans.com | date = | url = http://www.africanamericans.com/JosephineBaker.htm | accessdate = 2006-09-11 }}</ref>
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<blockquote>
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"The two specific elements had been established and were unforgettable-her magnificent dark body, a new model that to the French proved for the first time that black was beautiful, and the acute response of the white masculine public in the capital of hedonism of all Europe-Paris."<ref>''New Yorker'' correspondent Janet Flanner as quoted in the article [http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/noir/broch3.htm ''Le Tumulte Noir''] at the [http://www.npg.si.edu/ Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery]</ref>
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</blockquote>
  
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She started her career as a [[street performer]], dancing in the street as a child. She entered [[vaudeville]] joining the St. Louis Chorus at 15. She then headed to [[New York City]] during the [[Harlem Renaissance]], performing at the Plantation Club and in the chorus of the popular [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] revues ''Shuffle Along'' (1921) and ''The Chocolate Dandies'' (1924). She performed as the last dancer in a [[chorus line]], a position in which the dancer traditionally performed in a comic manner, as if they were unable to remember the dance, until the [[encore]], at which point they would not only perform it correctly, but with additional complexity. She was then billed as "the highest-paid chorus girl in [[vaudeville]]."
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Josephine was an overnight sensation<ref>Josephine Baker site [http://www.cmgworldwide.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html] Retrieved June 20, 2008.</ref>; with the help of artist Paul Colin's design work, Baker was "immortalized […] as the symbol of the Jazz Age"<ref>Anna Kisselgoff [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DD1E3AF93AA15750C0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print] ''New York Times,'' March 29, 1987: "DANCE VIEW; Josephine Baker; Dancing through the Jazz Age"</ref>. After a successful tour of [[Europe]], she reneged on her contract with ''La Revue Negre'' (prompting the first of many lawsuits in Baker's long career) and returned to [[France]] to star at the [[Folies Bergère]] performing her sensational act, wearing what would become the most iconic costume of her early years of success: a skirt made of a string of artificial [[banana]]s and little else.
  
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On [[October 2]], [[1925]], she opened in [[Paris]] at the [[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]], where she became an instant success for her [[burlesque|erotic dancing]] and for appearing practically [[nude]] on stage. After a successful tour of [[Europe]], she reneged on her contract and returned to [[France]] to star at the [[Folies Bergère]], setting the standard for her future acts. She performed wearing only [[high heels]] and a skirt made of [[banana]]s; she was often accompanied by her pet [[cheetah]], Chiquita, who was adorned with a [[diamond]] collar. The cheetah frequently escaped into the [[orchestra pit]], where it terrorized the musicians, adding yet another element of excitement to the show.
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=== Fame and international celebrity ===
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[[Image:Josephine Baker sings the National Anthem.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Miss Josephine Baker, popular stage performer, sings the National Anthem as the finale to the show held in the Municipal Theater, Oran, Algeria, N. Africa.]]
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After a short while she was the most successful American entertainer working in France, one of the most photographed women in the world, and earned more than any other entertainer in Europe<ref>Josephine Baker site [http://www.cmgworldwide.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html]Retrieved June 20, 2008. </ref>, attaining a stardom and celebrity unimaginable in the racial climate of the United States at the time. Paul Colin helped to introduce her to the artistic and intellectual elite of Paris, (including Georges Simenon, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Pablo Picasso) with whom she became an immediate hit.<ref>LuLen Walker, Department of Prints and Drawings [http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/noir/broch3.htm] Retrieved June 20, 2008.</ref>
  
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=== Rise to fame ===
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Under Giuseppe Pepito Abatino, a "self-invented Italian aristocrat"<ref>KAIAMA L. GLOVER, "Postmodern Homegirl." [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/books/review/Glover-t.html?ex=1338436800&en=733569e4b1eeea03&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink] Review of books.Retrieved June 20, 2008. </ref> whom Baker took on as manager and lover, Baker's stage and public persona went through an extraordinary transformation. In 1927 Baker and Abatino embarked on a world tour during which Baker took etiquette and singing lessons, and learned French. She returned to Paris a reinvented star, her natural charisma equipped with the tools to ensure she would not end up a flavor of the month, but instead keep her stardom afloat for the long haul. In 1931, she scored a hit single with what would become her signature song, "J'ai deux amours." By 1934 she was able to take the lead in a revival of [[Jacques Offenbach]]'s 1875 opera ''La Créole'' at the Théâtre Marigny in the Champs-Élysées of Paris, which premiered in December of that year and completed a six-month run. In addition to being a musical star, Baker also starred in three films which only found success in Europe: the silent film ''Siren of the Tropics'' (1927), ''Zouzou'' (1934) and ''Princesse Tamtam'' (1935). Although Josephine Baker is often credited as a movie star, her starring roles ended with ''Princesse Tamtam'' in 1935.
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After a short while she was the most successful American entertainer working in France&mdash;whereas in the [[United States|U.S.]], she would have suffered from the [[racism|racial]] prejudices common to the era. [[Ernest Hemingway]] called her "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw." In addition to being a musical star, Baker also starred in several successful films, among them ''Zouzou'' (1934) and ''Princesse Tamtam'' (1935).
 
  
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Upon marrying her manager Giuseppe Pepito Abatino&mdash;a Sicilian stonemason who passed himself off successfully as a Sicilian [[count]]&mdash;Baker transformed her stage and public persona into a sophisticated cultural figure. (The marriage was reportedly a publicity stunt and not legally binding.)
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===American indifference===
  
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[[Image:Baker Banana 2.jpg|thumb|Joséphine Baker pictured in her most famous outfit - the legendary 'banana skirt'.]]
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Yet despite her popularity in France, she never obtained the same reputation at home. In 1936, at the height of her success in Europe, she returned to America to star in a revival of ''Ziegfield's Follies,'' the long-running and popular Broadway revue. Performing alongside costars Bob Hope and Fanny Brice, Baker had high hopes for replicating her European success in America. Josephine's act in the show, however, met with mixed reviews. A notable undercurrent of racial prejudice ran through the criticism. ''TIME'' Magazine wrote at the time:
  
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At this time she also scored her greatest song hit "''J'ai deux amours''" (1931) and became a muse for contemporary authors, painters, and sculptors including [[Langston Hughes]], [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]], and [[Pablo Picasso]].
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<blockquote>
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"Josephine Baker is a St. Louis washer-woman's daughter who stepped out of a Negro burlesque into a life of adulation and luxury in Paris during the booming 1920s. In sex appeal to jaded Europeans of the jazz-loving type, a Negro wench always has had a headstart… But to Manhattan theatre-goers last week she was just a slightly buck-toothed young Negro woman whose figure might be matched in any night-club show, and whose dancing and singing might be topped almost anywhere outside of Paris."<ref>Wood, 249-250.</ref></blockquote>
  
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She was so well known and popular that even the [[Nazism|Nazis]], who occupied France during [[World War II]] were hesitant to cause her harm. In turn, this allowed Baker to show her loyalty to her adopted country by participating in the [[French Resistance|Underground]]. After the war, Baker was awarded the [[Croix de Guerre]] for her underground activity.
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Dismayed at the chilly reception from her home country after decades of receiving nothing but plaudits, Josephine broke her contract with the show and fled back to Europe.<ref>Biography[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:difixqw5ld6e~T1]''allmusic.com''. Retrieved June 20, 2008. </ref>
  
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Yet despite her popularity in France, she never obtained the same reputation at home. Upon a visit to the United States in [[1936]], she starred in a failed version of the ''[[Ziegfeld Follies]]'' (being replaced by [[Gypsy Rose Lee]] later in the run) her personal life similarly suffered, and she went through six marriages, some legal, some not. During this time, when Baker returned to the United States, she was allegedly at a dinner party and began to speak in French as well as English with a French accent. An African-American maid was reputed to tell her, "Honey, you is full of shit. Speak the way yo' mouth was born". She had the woman fired.<ref>{{cite book | last =Haney | first =Lynn | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Naked at the Feast: A Biography of Josephine Baker | publisher =Robson Books | date =1981 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = ASIN: B000KVDYXO  }}</ref>
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===World War II===
  
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In 1973, Josephine Baker opened at Carnegie Hall to a standing ovation. Josephine's last marriage was to American artist Harry Balzanya.
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She was so well-known and popular with the French people that even the [[Nazism|Nazis]], who occupied France during [[World War II]], were hesitant to cause her harm. This allowed Baker to show her loyalty to her adopted country by participating in the French Resistance, smuggling intelligence to the resistance in Spain coded within her sheet music, participating in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, serving as a nurse in the Red Cross, and performing for troops in North Africa and the Middle East to boost morale. After the war, Baker was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'Honneur by General [[Charles de Gaulle]], and also the Rosette of the Résistance.<ref>"Josephine Baker" entry online [http://www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/baker_j.htm] ''Encyclopedia of World Biography,'' 2nd Ed., Vol. 17. Thomson Gale.Retrieved June 20, 2008. </ref>
  
 
=== Civil rights involvement ===
 
=== Civil rights involvement ===
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Though based in France, she supported the [[American Civil Rights Movement]] during the 1950s, and protested racism in her own unique way, adopting twelve multi-ethnic orphans, whom she called her "Rainbow Tribe."[http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/919/Josephine_Baker_international_entertainer]  Her adopted children were: Akio ([[Korea]]n son), Janot ([[Japan]]ese son), Luis ([[Colombia]]n son), Jarry ([[Finland|Finnish]] son), Jean-Claude ([[Canada|Canadian]] son), Moise (French son), Brahim ([[Arab]] son), Marianne (French daughter), Koffi ([[Ivory Coast]] son), Mara ([[Venezuela]]n son), Noel (French son), Stellina ([[Morocco|Moroccan]] daughter).[http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/bake-jos.htm][http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001927/bio] Jean-Claude Baker and his brother Jarry run the restaurant 'Chez Josephine' on Theatre Row, [[42nd Street]], [[New York]], that celebrates Josephine's life and works.[http://www.chezjosephine.com/jean-claude.html]
 
  
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She also refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States and worked with the NAACP.[http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/3-02/3-02bostock-e.htm] For some time she lived with all of her children and an enormous staff in a castle, [[Château de Milandes]], in the [[Dordogne]] in France. (Baker had only one child of her own, stillborn in [[1941]], an incident that precipitated an emergency [[hysterectomy]].)
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Though based in France, she supported the [[Civil Rights Movement|American Civil Rights Movement]] during the 1950s. She protested racism in her own unique way, adopting twelve multi-ethnic orphans, whom she called her "Rainbow Tribe." <ref>Josephine Baker entry, African American History. online [http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/919/Josephine_Baker_international_entertainer] from: ''Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia
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Volumes 1 and 2,'' edited by Darlene Clark Hine (Brooklyn, New York: 1993, Carlson Publishing Inc., ISBN 0926019619) Retrieved June 20, 2008.</ref> Her adopted children were: Akio ([[Korea]]n son), Janot ([[Japan]]ese son), Luis ([[Colombia]]n son), Jarry ([[Finland|Finnish]] son), Jean-Claude ([[Canada|Canadian]] son), Moïse ([[France|French]] Jewish son), Brahim ([[Arab]] son), Marianne (French daughter), Koffi ([[Ivory Coast]] son), Mara ([[Venezuela]]n son), Noël (French son), Stellina ([[Morocco|Moroccan]] daughter).<ref> [http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/bake-jos.htm] ''Lkwdpl.org'' Retrieved on 05-10-09 </ref> For some time she lived with all of her adopted children and an enormous staff in a castle, Château de Milandes, in the Dordogne in France.
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Later in her career, she make visits to the United States and perform, always refusing to perform for segregated audiences, thus integrating every venue she performed at.<ref>[http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/3-02/3-02bostock-e.htm] [http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/3-02/3-02bostock-e.htm] ''Qualitative-research.net'' Retrieved on 05-10-07.</ref>
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She also worked with the NAACP.<ref>[http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/3-02/3-02bostock-e.htm http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/3-02/3-02bostock-e.htm] ''Qualitative-research.net'' Retrieved on 05-10-07.</ref> In 1963, she spoke at the March on Washington at the side of the [[Martin Luther King, Jr.|Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]]<ref> [http://www.nbjcoalition.org/news/black-history-profile-5.html] [http://www.nbjcoalition.org/news/black-history-profile-5.html] ''Nbjcoalition.org'' Retrieved on 05-10-07 </ref> Wearing her Free French uniform with her Legion of Honor decoration, she was the only woman to speak at the rally.<ref>[http://www.abbeville.com/civilrights/washington.asp] [http://www.abbeville.com/civilrights/washington.asp] ''Abbeville.com'' Retrieved on 05-10-07 </ref> After the rally, she played a series of four extremely successful charity shows at Carnegie Hall for the benefit of the NAACP and other civil rights organizations.<ref>Wood,  363</ref>
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After Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, his widow, [[Coretta Scott King]], approached Baker in Holland to ask her if she would take her husband's place as leader of the [[Civil Rights Movement|American Civil Rights Movement]]. After many days of thinking it over, Baker declined, stating that her children were ''" … too young to lose their mother."''<ref>Josephine Baker and Joe Bouillon. ''Josephine.'' (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1977) </ref>
  
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In 1963, she spoke at the [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom|March on Washington]] at the side of the [[Martin Luther King, Jr.|Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]] [http://www.nbjcoalition.org/news/black-history-profile-5.html] Wearing her Free French uniform with her Legion of Honor decoration, she was the only woman to speak at the rally. [http://www.abbeville.com/civilrights/washington.asp]
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=== Late career and death ===
  
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As mentioned above on tours of the United States she refused to perform in segregated nightclubs. Her insistence on mixed audiences helped to integrate shows in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]. Nevertheless, her career was on a downturn and she was near bankruptcy until she was bailed out and given an apartment by her close friend, [[Grace Kelly|Princess Grace]] of [[Monaco]], another expatriate American living in Europe.
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Baker spent her significant income as quickly as she earned it. She owned many pets at one time maintaining "a leopard, a chimpanzee, a pig, a snake, a goat, a parrot, parakeets, fish, three cats and seven dogs."<ref>Josephine Baker site [http://www.cmgworldwide.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html] biography. Retrieved June 20, 2008.</ref> By the late 1960s her lavish lifestyle brought her to the brink of bankruptcy and eviction from her 300-acre estate in the Dordogne. Her close friend, [[Grace Kelly|Princess Grace]] of [[Monaco]], another expatriate American living in Europe, gave her a residence and financial assistance.
  
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=== Death ===
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On April 8, 1975, Baker starred in a retrospective revue at the Bobino in Paris &mdash; ''Joséphine à Bobino 1975,'' celebrating her 50 years in show business. The revue opened to rave reviews and a spectacular audience response, with tickets sold out for weeks in advance. The opening night audience included Prince Ranier and Princess Grace, Sophia Loren and Mick Jagger, among many others.<ref>Wood, 402-403</ref>
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On [[April 8]], [[1975]], her fortunes seemed to be turning to the better when she was the star of a retrospective show at [[Bobino|Club Bobino]] in Paris, ''Joséphine'', celebrating her 50 years in the theater. The show opened to rave reviews. She died of a [[cerebral hemorrhage]] less than a week later at the age of 68. She was found lying peacefully in her bed surrounded by newspapers with glowing reviews of her performance.
 
  
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She became the first American-born woman to receive French military honors at her funeral, which was held at L'[[Église de la Madeleine]]. Paris came to a standstill on the day of her funeral, and 20,000 filled the streets to watch her procession. She was interred at the Cimetière de Monaco.
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On April 10, the day after the second successful performance of ''Joséphine,'' Baker took a brief afternoon nap before an appointment scheduled with a journalist for five o'clock. When she proved difficult to wake, a doctor was called, and it was realized that Baker had had a stroke and slipped into a coma. She was rushed to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, where she died at the age of 68 on April 12, 1975.<ref>Wood, 405</ref>
  
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"Place Josephine Baker" in the [[Montparnasse Quarter]] of Paris was named in her honor. She has also been inducted into the [[St. Louis Walk of Fame]].
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Her funeral was held at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris, her adopted home. She became the first American-born woman buried with the highest French military honors, the Croix de Guerre ("Cross of War"). Paris came to a standstill on the day of her funeral, and 20,000 filled the streets to watch her procession. She was interred at the ''Cimetière de Monaco'' in Monaco.<ref>[http://www.cmgworldwide.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html] ''Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia'' Retrieved June 20, 2008.</ref>
  
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==Quotes==
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=== Marriages and personal life ===
  
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*"I have two loves: my country and Paris."
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Baker was an independent woman, and never relied on men for financial support, and thus never hesitated to leave when a relationship soured. She was first married in 1919 at age 13, to Willie Wells for a few weeks. Her second marriage was to Will Baker, briefly in 1921, at which time she changed her name officially to Josephine Baker. She was romantically involved with her manager and mentor, Pepito Giuseppe Abatino for almost a decade, but never married him, ending the affair in 1935.<ref>[http://www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/baker_j.htm] ''Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia'' Retrieved June 20, 2008.  
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*"Since I personified the savage on the stage, I tried to be as civilized as possible in my daily life."
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</ref>
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*"You've got to fight every single day. When I see a roach, I step on it."
 
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*"We can make all our dreams come true, but first we have to decide to awaken from them."
 
  
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==Pop culture==
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Upon returning to France after the tepid reception of her 1936 American venture, she was married for the third time, to French industrialist Jean Lion, finally becoming an official French citizen in the process. They divorced in 1940. Her fourth and final official marriage was in June 1947 to French bandleader Jo Bouillon, who helped her set up and run her massive estate, Les Milandes and raise her "Rainbow Tribe" of adopted children. He and Baker were separated in 1957.<ref>[http://www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/baker_j.htm] ''Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia'' Retrieved June 20, 2008.  
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[[Image:Beyoncebanana.jpg|thumb|Beyoncé Knowles performing [[Deja Vu]], on Fashion Rocks wearing a banana dress, a tribute to Baker.]]
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</ref>
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* In the French film ''[[Les Uns et les Autres]]'', an African-American vaudeville performer appears who is clearly based on Josephine Baker.
 
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*The 2004 erotic novel, ''Scandalous'' by British author Angela Campion uses Josephine Baker as its heroine and is inspired by Baker's sexual exploits and later adventures in the French Resistance.  In the novel, Josephine, working with a fictional black Canadian lover named Drummer Thompson, foils a plot by French fascists in 1936 Paris. The novel is said to be the first time an historical figure has been used as the heroine in a modern erotica novel.
 
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*“Josephine Baker ranked in at #8 on "Wayne's Top Ten Babes of All Time" in a [[Wayne's World]] skit on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'':''"See, Josephine Baker was a babe from the 20's, while though she was a victim of the prevailing racial mores of her native United States, became the toast of Paris known primarily for her exotic banana dance, ok." - Wayne "It's so obvious!"'' - Garth
 
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* The animated film ''[[Les Triplettes de Belleville|The Triplets of Belleville]]'' featured a half-nude caricature of Baker. Director [[Sylvain Chomet]] states in one of the commentary segments that this scene was the reason the film got a [[MPAA film rating system|PG-13]] rating in America.
 
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*There is a track on [[Al Stewart]]'s album ''[[Last Days of the Century]]'', "Born too Late to see Josephine Baker". It describes the narrator watching an old documentary on television and fantasizing about "Josephine Baker/dancing in a Paris [[cabaret]]"
 
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* The English pop group [[Sailor]] in their debut 1974 album of the same name included a track called "Josephine Baker."  It describes the passion of a man in Paris who repeatedly visit Les Folies Bergere to see Josephine performing.
 
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*Pop/R&B singer [[Beyoncé Knowles]] performed her number one hit, [[Deja Vu]], on the Fashion Rocks television show wearing a banana dress.  Knowles has said [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBD7PPjmR68 the performance] was a tribute to Josephine Baker.
 
−
*In 1995 the band Fossil released an album containing a song titled "Josaphine Baker" about a man living in the 1990s who is in love with the late Josephine Baker.
 
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*In the animated movie ''[[Anastasia (1997 film)|Anastasia]]'', when the characters visit Paris there is a woman wearing a banana skirt (with a bodysuit underneath for the American audience) walking her pet cheetah that is clearly representative of Josephine Baker.
 
−
*In rapper sir-mix-a-lot's video baby got back, there is a dancer wearing the banana skirt.
 
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*Diana Ross, a long time admirer of Baker also performed and tributed Baker wearing the famous banana skirt.
 
  
−
==Filmography==
+
Finally, Baker held an unofficial, non-legally binding ceremony in Mexico with American artist Robert Brady in 1973. <ref>[http://www.cmgworldwide.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html] ''cmgworldwide''. Retrieved June 20, 2008.</ref>
−
* {{imdb title|0135652|title=La Sirène des tropiques (1927)}} ... aka ''Siren of the Tropics''
+
 
−
* {{imdb title|0026023|title=Zouzou (1934)}}
+
===Legacy===
−
* {{imdb title|0026891|title=Princesse Tam Tam (1935)}} ... aka ''Princess Tam-Tam''
+
 
−
* {{imdb title|0151636|title=Moulin Rouge (1941)}}
+
Josephine Baker was one of the most charismatic performers of the twentieth century, and "remained one of the biggest stars in international entertainment until her death in 1975." <ref>Kisselgoff [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DD1E3AF93AA15750C0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print] ''New York Times,'' March 29, 1987: "DANCE VIEW; Josephine Baker; Dancing through the Jazz Age" Retrieved June 20, 2008.</ref> She exploded onto the scene an overnight sensation in 1925, ended up one of the iconic figures of Jazz Age Paris, and yet remained an influential and magnetic celebrity persona for the remainder of her life. Throughout her life she showed a dedication to the elimination of racial prejudices and discrimination, a battle she took on personally, from adopting and raising her "Rainbow Tribe," to the way she conducted her performances, demanding integrated audiences be a part of her contracts.
−
* {{imdb title|0032459|title=Fausse alerte (1945)}} ... aka ''The French Way''
+
 
−
* {{imdb title|0044352|title=An jedem Finger zehn (1954)}} ... aka ''Ten on Every Finger''
+
As one of the first African-American international celebrities, she paved the way for generations of actresses, singers, and performers after her, many of whom, including Diana Ross and Beyonce Knowles, acknowledge her as an influence and forerunner.
−
* {{imdb title|0161380|title=Carosello del varietà (1955)}}
 
−
* {{imdb title|0444157|title=Grüsse aus Zürich (1963)}} (TV)
 
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
Line 81: Line 109:
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
* Kraut, Anthea, ''Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, [[Zora Neale Hurston]], and [[Katherine Dunham]],'' '''Theatre Journal 55''' (2003): 433–50.
+
 
 +
* Baker, Jean-Claude. ''Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart.'' New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001. ISBN 0815411723
 +
* Baker, Josephine and Joe Bouillon. ''Josephine.'' New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1977.
 +
* Jules-Rosette, Bennetta. ''Josephine Baker in Art and Life: The Icon and the Image.'' University of Illinois Press, 2007. ISBN 0252031571
 +
* Kraut, Anthea. "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Dunham." ''Theatre Journal 55'' (2003): 433–450.
 +
* Wood, Ean. ''The Josephine Baker Story.'' Totem Books, 2002. ISBN 1860743943
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
{{commons|Josephine Baker}}
+
All links retrieved August 10, 2022.
−
*[http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/ The Official Site of Josephine Baker]
+
*[http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/ The Official Site of Josephine Baker]  
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*[http://silent-movies.com/Ladies/PBaker.html A Josephine Baker photo gallery]
+
*[http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/noir/tumu2.htm Le Tumulte Noir ("The Black Craze")] Exhibit at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. 
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*[http://www.doctormacro.com/Movie%20Star%20Pages/Baker,%20Josephine.htm Josephine Baker Gallery] and [http://www.doctormacro.com/Movie%20Star%20Pages/Baker,%20Josephine-Annex.htm Annex] at [http://www.doctormacro.com/index.html Dr. Macro's]
+
*[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DD1E3AF93AA15750C0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print "DANCE VIEW; Joesphine Baker; Dancing Through the Jazz Age"] by Anna Kisselgoff. ''The New York Times'', March 29, 1987.
−
*{{Whmc stl photodb|keywords=Josephine+Baker|title=Josephine Baker}}
 
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*{{ibdb name|id=30698|name=Josephine Baker}}
 
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*{{imdb name|id=0001927|name=Josephine Baker}}
 
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*[http://sonybmgmasterworks.com/artists/josephinebaker/ Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks]
 
  
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[[Category:American dancers|Baker, Josephine]]
 
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[[Category:Music]]
 
 
[[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 
[[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 +
[[Category:Musicians]]
 +
[[category:biography]]
  
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{{Credit|712208972}}
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{{Credit|121340691}}

Latest revision as of 07:39, 27 February 2023

Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker photographed by Carl Van Vechten, October 20, 1949
Josephine Baker photographed by Carl Van Vechten, October 20, 1949
Background information
Birth name Josephine Baker
Born June 3, 1906
Origin St. Louis, Missouri
Died April 12, 1975
Genre(s) Cabaret
Occupation(s) Singer
Dancer

Josephine Baker (or Joséphine Baker in francophone countries) (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975)[1] was an American-born French entertainer, and international star of stage, screen and song. One of the most popular stars of the French dance halls in the 1920s and 1930s, she became one of the most successful and famous women in all of Europe, despite persistent racially-based resistance in her birth country. She is noted for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in North America, and for being an inspiration to generations of African-American female entertainers.

Biography

Early life

Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Carrie McDonald. Her father's identity is debated. Her father is identified as vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson by the official biography of her estate[2], but Jean-Claude Baker, the unofficially adopted son of Baker suggests otherwise:

(Josephine Baker's) father was identified (on the birth certificate) simply as "Edw" … I think Josephine's father was white—so did Josephine, so did her family—and I think (the father) cared about Carrie … and people in St. Louis say that Carrie had worked for a German family (around the time she became pregnant). (Carrie) let people think Eddie Carson was the father, and Carson played along … (but) Josephine knew better.[3]

Josephine Baker's true ethnic background is unknown. Her mother Carrie was adopted in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1886 by Richard and Elvira McDonald, both of whom were former slaves of both African and Native American descent.[4]

Living as a poor African-American youth in St. Louis, Baker worked various jobs, waiting tables, and doing laundry and babysitting for wealthy white families. But by the age of 13 she had already left home and begun her entertainment career in vaudeville, touring America with the Jones Family Band and the Dixie Steppers. In August of 1922, she joined the traveling production of the first successful African-American musical, Shuffle Along. Initially deemed too dark-skinned to dance in the chorus line, she nevertheless learned the role and was ready to fill in when one of the girls was unable to perform. When she finally got on stage as the last girl in the chorus line, she didn't perform the dance straight, but added outrageous exaggerated motions and made silly faces. Her scene-stealing behavior irked her co-workers, but thrilled audiences, and she became one of the big draws for the show for the rest of its run. She was billed as "the highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville." She enjoyed some further success performing at the Plantation Club in Harlem, but it was in France that she would make her leap to super-stardom.

Success in France

Baker traveled to Paris in 1925 to perform as one of the acts in a new show, La Revue Negre ("The Negro Review") at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, opening on October 2, 1925. Her act was called the "Danse sauvage" ("wild dance"); dressed in nothing more than a feather skirt, she performed a wild, sensual and charismatic act with co-star Joe Alex, catering to white fascination with all things "primitive" and African, and introducing a new idiom of beauty to France:

"The two specific elements had been established and were unforgettable-her magnificent dark body, a new model that to the French proved for the first time that black was beautiful, and the acute response of the white masculine public in the capital of hedonism of all Europe-Paris."[5]

Josephine was an overnight sensation[6]; with the help of artist Paul Colin's design work, Baker was "immortalized […] as the symbol of the Jazz Age"[7]. After a successful tour of Europe, she reneged on her contract with La Revue Negre (prompting the first of many lawsuits in Baker's long career) and returned to France to star at the Folies Bergère performing her sensational act, wearing what would become the most iconic costume of her early years of success: a skirt made of a string of artificial bananas and little else.

Fame and international celebrity

Miss Josephine Baker, popular stage performer, sings the National Anthem as the finale to the show held in the Municipal Theater, Oran, Algeria, N. Africa.

After a short while she was the most successful American entertainer working in France, one of the most photographed women in the world, and earned more than any other entertainer in Europe[8], attaining a stardom and celebrity unimaginable in the racial climate of the United States at the time. Paul Colin helped to introduce her to the artistic and intellectual elite of Paris, (including Georges Simenon, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Pablo Picasso) with whom she became an immediate hit.[9]

Under Giuseppe Pepito Abatino, a "self-invented Italian aristocrat"[10] whom Baker took on as manager and lover, Baker's stage and public persona went through an extraordinary transformation. In 1927 Baker and Abatino embarked on a world tour during which Baker took etiquette and singing lessons, and learned French. She returned to Paris a reinvented star, her natural charisma equipped with the tools to ensure she would not end up a flavor of the month, but instead keep her stardom afloat for the long haul. In 1931, she scored a hit single with what would become her signature song, "J'ai deux amours." By 1934 she was able to take the lead in a revival of Jacques Offenbach's 1875 opera La Créole at the Théâtre Marigny in the Champs-Élysées of Paris, which premiered in December of that year and completed a six-month run. In addition to being a musical star, Baker also starred in three films which only found success in Europe: the silent film Siren of the Tropics (1927), Zouzou (1934) and Princesse Tamtam (1935). Although Josephine Baker is often credited as a movie star, her starring roles ended with Princesse Tamtam in 1935.

American indifference

Yet despite her popularity in France, she never obtained the same reputation at home. In 1936, at the height of her success in Europe, she returned to America to star in a revival of Ziegfield's Follies, the long-running and popular Broadway revue. Performing alongside costars Bob Hope and Fanny Brice, Baker had high hopes for replicating her European success in America. Josephine's act in the show, however, met with mixed reviews. A notable undercurrent of racial prejudice ran through the criticism. TIME Magazine wrote at the time:

"Josephine Baker is a St. Louis washer-woman's daughter who stepped out of a Negro burlesque into a life of adulation and luxury in Paris during the booming 1920s. In sex appeal to jaded Europeans of the jazz-loving type, a Negro wench always has had a headstart… But to Manhattan theatre-goers last week she was just a slightly buck-toothed young Negro woman whose figure might be matched in any night-club show, and whose dancing and singing might be topped almost anywhere outside of Paris."[11]

Dismayed at the chilly reception from her home country after decades of receiving nothing but plaudits, Josephine broke her contract with the show and fled back to Europe.[12]

World War II

She was so well-known and popular with the French people that even the Nazis, who occupied France during World War II, were hesitant to cause her harm. This allowed Baker to show her loyalty to her adopted country by participating in the French Resistance, smuggling intelligence to the resistance in Spain coded within her sheet music, participating in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, serving as a nurse in the Red Cross, and performing for troops in North Africa and the Middle East to boost morale. After the war, Baker was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'Honneur by General Charles de Gaulle, and also the Rosette of the Résistance.[13]

Civil rights involvement

Though based in France, she supported the American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s. She protested racism in her own unique way, adopting twelve multi-ethnic orphans, whom she called her "Rainbow Tribe." [14] Her adopted children were: Akio (Korean son), Janot (Japanese son), Luis (Colombian son), Jarry (Finnish son), Jean-Claude (Canadian son), Moïse (French Jewish son), Brahim (Arab son), Marianne (French daughter), Koffi (Ivory Coast son), Mara (Venezuelan son), Noël (French son), Stellina (Moroccan daughter).[15] For some time she lived with all of her adopted children and an enormous staff in a castle, Château de Milandes, in the Dordogne in France.

Later in her career, she make visits to the United States and perform, always refusing to perform for segregated audiences, thus integrating every venue she performed at.[16] She also worked with the NAACP.[17] In 1963, she spoke at the March on Washington at the side of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.[18] Wearing her Free French uniform with her Legion of Honor decoration, she was the only woman to speak at the rally.[19] After the rally, she played a series of four extremely successful charity shows at Carnegie Hall for the benefit of the NAACP and other civil rights organizations.[20]

After Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, his widow, Coretta Scott King, approached Baker in Holland to ask her if she would take her husband's place as leader of the American Civil Rights Movement. After many days of thinking it over, Baker declined, stating that her children were " … too young to lose their mother."[21]

Late career and death

Baker spent her significant income as quickly as she earned it. She owned many pets at one time maintaining "a leopard, a chimpanzee, a pig, a snake, a goat, a parrot, parakeets, fish, three cats and seven dogs."[22] By the late 1960s her lavish lifestyle brought her to the brink of bankruptcy and eviction from her 300-acre estate in the Dordogne. Her close friend, Princess Grace of Monaco, another expatriate American living in Europe, gave her a residence and financial assistance.

On April 8, 1975, Baker starred in a retrospective revue at the Bobino in Paris — Joséphine à Bobino 1975, celebrating her 50 years in show business. The revue opened to rave reviews and a spectacular audience response, with tickets sold out for weeks in advance. The opening night audience included Prince Ranier and Princess Grace, Sophia Loren and Mick Jagger, among many others.[23]

On April 10, the day after the second successful performance of Joséphine, Baker took a brief afternoon nap before an appointment scheduled with a journalist for five o'clock. When she proved difficult to wake, a doctor was called, and it was realized that Baker had had a stroke and slipped into a coma. She was rushed to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, where she died at the age of 68 on April 12, 1975.[24]

Her funeral was held at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris, her adopted home. She became the first American-born woman buried with the highest French military honors, the Croix de Guerre ("Cross of War"). Paris came to a standstill on the day of her funeral, and 20,000 filled the streets to watch her procession. She was interred at the Cimetière de Monaco in Monaco.[25]

Marriages and personal life

Baker was an independent woman, and never relied on men for financial support, and thus never hesitated to leave when a relationship soured. She was first married in 1919 at age 13, to Willie Wells for a few weeks. Her second marriage was to Will Baker, briefly in 1921, at which time she changed her name officially to Josephine Baker. She was romantically involved with her manager and mentor, Pepito Giuseppe Abatino for almost a decade, but never married him, ending the affair in 1935.[26]

Upon returning to France after the tepid reception of her 1936 American venture, she was married for the third time, to French industrialist Jean Lion, finally becoming an official French citizen in the process. They divorced in 1940. Her fourth and final official marriage was in June 1947 to French bandleader Jo Bouillon, who helped her set up and run her massive estate, Les Milandes and raise her "Rainbow Tribe" of adopted children. He and Baker were separated in 1957.[27]

Finally, Baker held an unofficial, non-legally binding ceremony in Mexico with American artist Robert Brady in 1973. [28]

Legacy

Josephine Baker was one of the most charismatic performers of the twentieth century, and "remained one of the biggest stars in international entertainment until her death in 1975." [29] She exploded onto the scene an overnight sensation in 1925, ended up one of the iconic figures of Jazz Age Paris, and yet remained an influential and magnetic celebrity persona for the remainder of her life. Throughout her life she showed a dedication to the elimination of racial prejudices and discrimination, a battle she took on personally, from adopting and raising her "Rainbow Tribe," to the way she conducted her performances, demanding integrated audiences be a part of her contracts.

As one of the first African-American international celebrities, she paved the way for generations of actresses, singers, and performers after her, many of whom, including Diana Ross and Beyonce Knowles, acknowledge her as an influence and forerunner.

Notes

  1. ↑ official site of Josephine Baker. Josephine Baker Estate c/o CMG Worldwide, Inc. [1] accessdate 2006-09-28
  2. ↑ Josephine Baker Estate c/o CMG Worldwide, Inc. [2] accessdate 2006-09-11
  3. ↑ Jean-Claude Baker & Chris Chase. Josephine: The Hungry Heart. (New York: Random House, 1993)
  4. ↑ Baker & Chase
  5. ↑ New Yorker correspondent Janet Flanner as quoted in the article Le Tumulte Noir at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
  6. ↑ Josephine Baker site [3] Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  7. ↑ Anna Kisselgoff [4] New York Times, March 29, 1987: "DANCE VIEW; Josephine Baker; Dancing through the Jazz Age"
  8. ↑ Josephine Baker site [5]Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  9. ↑ LuLen Walker, Department of Prints and Drawings [6] Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  10. ↑ KAIAMA L. GLOVER, "Postmodern Homegirl." [7] Review of books.Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  11. ↑ Wood, 249-250.
  12. ↑ Biography[8]allmusic.com. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Josephine Baker" entry online [9] Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd Ed., Vol. 17. Thomson Gale.Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  14. ↑ Josephine Baker entry, African American History. online [10] from: Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia Volumes 1 and 2, edited by Darlene Clark Hine (Brooklyn, New York: 1993, Carlson Publishing Inc., ISBN 0926019619) Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  15. ↑ [11] Lkwdpl.org Retrieved on 05-10-09
  16. ↑ [12] [13] Qualitative-research.net Retrieved on 05-10-07.
  17. ↑ http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/3-02/3-02bostock-e.htm Qualitative-research.net Retrieved on 05-10-07.
  18. ↑ [14] [15] Nbjcoalition.org Retrieved on 05-10-07
  19. ↑ [16] [17] Abbeville.com Retrieved on 05-10-07
  20. ↑ Wood, 363
  21. ↑ Josephine Baker and Joe Bouillon. Josephine. (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1977)
  22. ↑ Josephine Baker site [18] biography. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  23. ↑ Wood, 402-403
  24. ↑ Wood, 405
  25. ↑ [19] Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  26. ↑ [20] Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  27. ↑ [21] Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  28. ↑ [22] cmgworldwide. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  29. ↑ Kisselgoff [23] New York Times, March 29, 1987: "DANCE VIEW; Josephine Baker; Dancing through the Jazz Age" Retrieved June 20, 2008.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Baker, Jean-Claude. Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001. ISBN 0815411723
  • Baker, Josephine and Joe Bouillon. Josephine. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1977.
  • Jules-Rosette, Bennetta. Josephine Baker in Art and Life: The Icon and the Image. University of Illinois Press, 2007. ISBN 0252031571
  • Kraut, Anthea. "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Dunham." Theatre Journal 55 (2003): 433–450.
  • Wood, Ean. The Josephine Baker Story. Totem Books, 2002. ISBN 1860743943

External links

All links retrieved August 10, 2022.

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