Anita Jane Bryant (born March 25, 1940, in Barnsdall, Oklahoma) is an American singer. She is widely known for her strong views against homosexuality, and for her prominent campaigning in the mid-1970s to prevent gay equality, specifically her successful move to repeal a local ordinance in Miami, Florida that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Bryant is a member of a conservative church congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Barnsdall is a city located in Osage County, Oklahoma. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the genre of popular music. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Barnsdall is a city located in Osage County, Oklahoma. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code. ... Miami redirects here. ... Sexual orientation refers to an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, or affectional attraction toward others,[1] usually conceived of as classifiable according to the sex or gender of the persons whom the individual finds sexually attractive. ... The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based Christian denomination that consists of numerous agencies including six seminaries, two mission boards and a variety of other organizations such as: the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, which can act for the SBC ad interim between annual meetings...

Early life and career

Bryant's belief in God and the Bible had their roots in her childhood. She was initially declared dead at childbirth in her grandparents' tiny frame house in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, but her grandfather would not accept that the baby was dead. When the doctor told her grandfather to get him a pan of ice water, the new grandfather lost no time and the newborn Anita survived.^{[citation needed]} Barnsdall is a city located in Osage County, Oklahoma. ...

Her grandfather taught her as a baby to sing when she was six months old.^{[citation needed]} Soon after her sister Sandra was born, her mother and father divorced. Her father went in the Army and her mother went to work, taking her children to live with their grandparents temporarily. When Anita was two years old, her grandfather taught her to sing Jesus Loves Me. Bryant was singing onstage on local fairgrounds in Oklahoma at age six. She sang occasionally on radio and television, and was invited to audition when Arthur Godfrey's talent show came to town. Her father at first refused to allow her to go on Godfrey's show, relenting only when he was told his daughter had exceptional talent, and it would be a sin not to share it. This page is a candidate to be copied to Wikisource. ... For other uses, see Oklahoma (disambiguation). ... In this CBS publicity photo of Arthur Godfrey Time, vocalist Patti Clayton is seen at the far right and Godfrey sits in the foreground. ...

Bryant became Miss Oklahoma in 1958 and was a second runner-up in the 1959 Miss America beauty pageant at age 19, right after graduating from Tulsa's Will Rogers High School.
Jennifer Berry holding the Miss America crown. ... For the patriotically-themed comic book superheroines, see Miss America (comics). ... A beauty contest, or beauty pageant, is a competition between people, based largely, though not always entirely, on the beauty of their physical appearance. ... Will Rogers High School, located on 3909 E. 5th Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was built by Tulsa Public Schools in 1938 and designed by Joseph R. Koberling, Jr. ...

In 1960, she married Bob Green (Robert Einar Green), a Miami disc jockey, with whom she eventually raised four children, including Gloria and Robert Jr. (Bobby). For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ...

 Song samples:

"Paper Roses"

"Little Things Mean a Lot"

Her three biggest pop hits were: "Till There Was You" (1959); "Paper Roses" (1960) (successfully covered 13 years later by Marie Osmond); and "In My Little Corner of the World" (1960). She placed a total of eleven songs in the Top 100, plus some in the "Bubbling Under" chart. Image File history File links Anita_Bryant_-_Paper_Roses. ... Image File history File links Anita_Bryant_-_Little_Things_Mean_a_Lot. ... Till There Was You is a song written by Meredith Willson for his 1957 musical play The Music Man, and which also appeared in the 1962 movie version. ... Paper Roses is a 1973 Country Pop by Marie Osmond. ... Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959 in Ogden, Utah) is an American actress, singer, and a member of the show business family, The Osmonds. ...

There were several albums on the Carlton and Columbia labels. The 1959 Carlton LP Anita Bryant contained "Till There Was You", "Do-Re-Mi" (from The Sound Of Music), and other show tunes. The 1963 Columbia Greatest Hits LP contained both Carlton and Columbia songs, including "Paper Roses" and "Step by Step, Little by Little". In 1964 came The World of Lonely People, containing, in addition to the title song, "Welcome, Welcome Home" and a new rendition of "Little Things Mean a Lot" arranged by Frank Hunter. Do Re Mi is a theater musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and book by Garson Kanin. ... For other uses, see The Sound of Music (disambiguation). ...

In 1969 she became a spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Commission, and nationally televised commercials featured her singing "Come to the Florida Sunshine Tree" and stating the commercials' tagline: "Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine". In addition, during this time, she also did advertisements for Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Holiday Inn, and Tupperware. The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ... Kraft Foods Inc. ... This article is about the hotel chain. ... Tupperware logo A Tupperware storage container. ...

She sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" during the graveside services for Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973, and performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl III in 1969. Cover of the 1862 sheet music for The Battle Hymn of the Republic The Battle Hymn of the Republic is an American patriotic anthem written by Julia Ward Howe in November 1861 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862 that was made popular during the American Civil... LBJ redirects here. ... Date January 12, 1969 Stadium Miami Orange Bowl City Miami, Florida MVP Joe Namath, Quarterback Favorite Colts by 18 National anthem Anita Bryant Coin toss Tom Bell Referee Tom Bell Halftime show America Thanks with Florida A&M University Attendance 75,389 TV in the United States Network NBC Announcers...

Political campaigning

Save Our Children

In 1977, Dade County, Florida (now Miami-Dade County) passed a human-rights ordinance sponsored by Bryant's former good friend Ruth Shack, that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Anita Bryant led a highly publicized campaign to repeal the ordinance. The campaign was waged based on what was labeled "Christian beliefs regarding the sinfulness of homosexuality and the perceived threat of homosexual recruitment of children and child molestation." Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Miami-Dade County (formerly known as Dade County and many times referred to as simply Miami) is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. ... Human rights refers to the supposed basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. ... A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code. ... Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Ethnocracy Anti-discriminatory Affirmative action in the United States Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity... Sexual orientation refers to an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, or affectional attraction toward others,[1] usually conceived of as classifiable according to the sex or gender of the persons whom the individual finds sexually attractive. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Homosexual recruitment is a term used for the idea that homosexuals (usually gay men) actively target impressionable individuals (usually youth) for homosexual indoctrination to persuade them towards homosexual self-identification, or alternatively, that there is a widespread conspiracy to subvert appropriate values by promoting homosexuality as a valid normal sexual... Bad Touch redirects here. ...

Her view was that "What these people really want, hidden behind obscure legal phrases, is the legal right to propose to our children that theirs is an acceptable alternate way of life. [...] I will lead such a crusade to stop it as this country has not seen before." The campaign was called 'Save Our Children', the start of an organized opposition to gay rights that spread across the nation. Jerry Falwell went to Miami to help her. This article is about the medieval crusades. ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... This article is about Jerry Falwell, Sr. ...

Bryant made the following statements during the campaign: "As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children" and "If gays are granted rights, next we'll have to give rights to prostitutes and to people who sleep with St. Bernards and to nail biters." On June 7, 1977, Bryant's campaign led to a repeal of the anti-discrimination ordinance by a margin of 69 to 31 percent. Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: St. ... is the 158th day of the year (159th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ...

The gay community retaliated against Bryant by organizing a boycott on orange juice. Gay bars all over North America took Screw Drivers off of their drink menus and replaced them with the "Anita Bryant" which was made with Vodka and Apple Juice. Sales and proceeds went to gay political activists to help fund their fight against Bryant and her anti-homosexual views.

Victory and defeat

A boycott was organized against the Florida Citrus Commission, who used Bryant in advertising

In the aftermath, legislation was passed outlawing adoption by gays and lesbians in the state of Florida and Bryant led several more campaigns around the country to repeal local anti-discrimination ordinances. Her success led to a proactive effort to pass landmark anti-homosexual legislation in California that would have made pro- or neutral statements regarding homosexuals or homosexuality by any public school employee cause for dismissal. Grass-roots liberal organizations, chiefly in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, sprang up to defeat the initiative. Days before the election, the California Democratic Party (wary of appearing pro-gay) opposed the proposed legislation, causing it to go down to narrow defeat at the polls. Image File history File links Button. ... Image File history File links Button. ... Legal status of gay adoption in Europe (map needs to be changed; UK, Norway, Iceland see text). ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... The term public school has three distinct meanings: In the USA and Canada, elementary or secondary school supported and administered by state and local officials. ... Look up liberal on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Liberal may refer to: Politics: Liberalism American liberalism, a political trend in the USA Political progressivism, a political ideology that is for change, often associated with liberal movements Liberty, the condition of being free from control or restrictions Liberal Party, members of... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Bay Area redirects here. ... The California Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California. ...

In 1998 Dade County repudiated Bryant's successful campaign of 20 years earlier, and re-authorized an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting individuals from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by a 7 to 6 margin. In 2002, a ballot initiative to repeal the 1998 law called Amendment 14 was voted down by 56% of the voters. The Florida statute forbidding adoptions by gay persons, however, remains law; in 2004, a federal appellate court upheld Florida’s adoption law against a constitutional challenge. For other uses, see Adoption (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Appeal. ...

Anita Bryant's political success galvanized her opponents. She became one of the first persons to be publicly "pied" as a political act (in her case, on television), in Des Moines in 1977; Bryant quipped, "At least it was a fruit pie", apparently making a pun on the derogatory term for a gay man, "fruit". Police authorities refused to prosecute for the assault. Gay activists organized an orange juice boycott. Many celebrities including Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Paul Williams, John Waters, Carroll O'Connor, Mary Tyler Moore, and Jane Fonda publicly supported the boycott. The story was told in the book, At Any Cost (1978). To this day, Bryant is still viewed as one of the most loathed public figures of all time by the gay community, her name being synonymous with homophobia.^[1] Pieing is the act of throwing a pie at someone. ... “Des Moines” redirects here. ... Look up Boycott in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Barbra Streisand (pronounced STRY-sand; born April 24, 1942) is an American two time Academy Award-winning singer, film and theatre actress. ... Bette Midler (born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress and comedienne, also known to her fans as The Divine Miss M. She is named after the actress Bette Davis although Davis pronounced her first name in two syllables, and Midler uses one. ... Paul Hamilton Williams (born September 19, 1940, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American composer, songwriter, and actor. ... John Waters (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, personality, visual artist and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films. ... John Carroll OConnor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an Emmy Award-winning American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades. ... This article is about the actress. ... Jane Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. ...

Career decline and bankruptcy

The fallout from her political activism had a devastating effect on her business and entertainment career. Her contract with the Florida Citrus Commission was allowed to lapse in 1979 because of the controversy and the negative publicity generated by her political campaigns and the resulting boycott of Florida orange juice.^[2] For the Wikipedia policy regarding controversial issues in articles, see Wikipedia:Guidelines for controversial articles. ...

Her marriage to Bob Green failed at that time, and in 1980 she divorced him, although he reportedly has said that his fundamentalist religious beliefs do not recognize civil divorce and that she is still his wife in God's eyes. Some observers feel that her husband pushed her to get involved in the political activism that eventually led to her downfall and loss of income. Kathie Lee Gifford, who worked as a live-in secretary/babysitter for the Greens in the early 1970s said in her autobiography that Green had a ferocious temper and could be very possessive and emotionally abusive and that Anita was not very happy. VHS box cover of Kathie Lees Rock n Tots Cafe: A Christmas Giff starring Kathie Lee Gifford, copyright 1995 Rock n Tots Joint Venture. ... For other uses, see Secretary (disambiguation). ... Day care is the care of a child during the day by a person other than the childs parents or legal guardians, often someone outside the childs immediate family. ... Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ...

Due to her divorce, many fundamentalist Christians shunned her. No longer invited to appear at their events, she lost a source of income. With her four children she moved from Miami to Selma, Alabama, and later to Atlanta, Georgia. In a Ladies Home Journal article she said, "The church needs to wake up and find some way to cope with divorce and women's problems."

In the 1980s she even renounced her anti-gay ways. In the same article in Ladies Home Journal she said that she felt sorry for all of the hateful things she had said and done during her campaign.^[3] She said that she had a more "Live and let live" attitude now. A cover of Ladies Home Journal from 1906 Ladies Home Journal is a magazine first published February 16, 1883 as a womens supplement to the Tribune and Farmer. ...

She married her second husband, Charlie Hobson Dry, in 1990, and they tried to reestablish her career in a series of small venues, including Branson, Missouri, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Commercial success was elusive, however, due to the controversy from the past; and they left behind them a series of unpaid employees and creditors. Her career decline is detailed in her book, A New Day (1992). They filed for bankruptcy in Arkansas (1997) and in Tennessee (2001). This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article is about the U.S. state of Tennessee. ...

Anita Bryant returned to Barnsdall, Oklahoma, in 2005 for the town's 100th anniversary celebration and to have a street renamed in her honor. She returned to her high school in Tulsa on April 21, 2007, to perform in the school's annual musical revue. She now lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, and says she does charity work for various youth organizations while heading Anita Bryant Ministries International. Edmond is a rapidly growing suburban city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma in the central part of the state. ...

Singles

Please help expand this singles chart.

Charted singles

“Hot 100” redirects here. ... The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, formerly known as Top Soul Singles, Top Black Singles, and Top R&B Singles (before the hip-hop term was added in the late 1990s), is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. ... Till There Was You is a song written by Meredith Willson for his 1957 musical play The Music Man, and which also appeared in the 1962 movie version. ... Paper Roses is a 1973 Country Pop by Marie Osmond. ...

Notable Songs

• "Do-Re-Mi"
• "Wonderland by Night"
• "Step by Step, Little by Little"
• "The World of Lonely People"
• "Welcome, Welcome Home"
• "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"

Do Re Mi is a theater musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and book by Garson Kanin. ... Cover of the 1862 sheet music for The Battle Hymn of the Republic The Battle Hymn of the Republic is an American patriotic anthem written by Julia Ward Howe in November 1861 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862 that was made popular during the American Civil...

Cultural References

On Will & Grace, the character Karen Walker refers to Anita Bryant as being her enemy who fell in love with her. Will & Grace is a popular American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from 1998 to 2006. ... Karen Delaney St. ...

On Designing Women, Bryant is mentioned on more than one occasion by Suzanne Sugarbaker, referencing both her beauty pageant history, as well as her political activism. This article is about a television show. ... Suzanne Sugarbaker Goff Dent Stonecipher is a character in the television series Designing Women and the sort-of spin-off series, Women of the House. ... A beauty contest, or beauty pageant, is a competition between people, based largely, though not always entirely, on the beauty of their physical appearance. ...

On an episode of The Golden Girls, an effeminate male guest star is overcome with emotion, causing character Blanche Devereaux to comment, "you're about to go flying right outta here, aren't ya". The man replies, "well, excuse me for living, Anita Bryant!". For the Hong Kong film, see The Golden Girls (1995 film). ... Information Age 53 Date of birth 1932 Family Elizabeth and Curtis Big Daddy Hollingsworth (parents) Virginia Hollingsworth, Charmaine Hollingsworth (sisters) Tad Hollingsworth, Clayton Hollingsworth (brothers) Spouse(s) George Deveraux Children Rebecca Devereaux Janet Devereaux Doug Devereaux Matthew Devereaux Biff Devereaux Skippy Devereaux Relatives Lucas Hollingsworth (uncle) Jamie Devereaux (brother-in...

In the film Airplane!, Leslie Nielsen's character, Doctor Rumack, upon seeing a large number of passengers become violently ill, vomit, and suffer uncontrolable flatulence, says, "I haven't seen anything this bad since the Anita Bryant concert." Airplane! is an American comedy film, first released on 27 June 1980, produced, directed, and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. ... Leslie William Nielsen OC (born February 11, 1926) is a Canadian born American comedian and actor. ...

In the song, Fuck Anita Bryant, on his Nothing Sacred album, David Allan Coe expresses his feelings for Anita. “If That Aint Country” redirects here. ...

On Gilmore Girls, Lorelai says to her father that he could fill a huge gap after Anita Bryant because her father always has half of grapefruit for breakfast. (Season 2 Episode 12: Richard In Stars Hollow) Gilmore Girls is a long-running, Emmy Award winning, and Golden Globe nominated American television drama/comedy created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. ...

In the song "Manana" by Jimmy Buffett, Buffett says he hopes Anita Bryant never sings one of his songs.

Anita Bryant also narrated the infamous anti-drugs film, "Drugs Are Like That."

References

External links

• Anita Bryant Ministries International
• Florida Orange Juice Commercial (Google Video)
• Image of Anita Bryant in the 1970s (available for public use from the State Archives of Florida)
• Belated curtain call from Tulsa World article on 04-19-2007
• Readers Forum: Anita Bryant to star in Round-Up 2007 from Tulsa World article on 04-18-2007
• Celebration draws Anita Bryant back to Barnsdall from Tulsa World article on 05-28-2005
• Anita Bryant gets a pie in the face YouTube video retrieved 30 March 2008