Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906, St. Louis – April 12, 1975, Paris), the legendary American-born singer, dancer, and actress. She took French citizenship in 1937, worked for the Résistance during WWII, and was subsequently awarded the Croix de guerre and the Rosette de la Résistance, and was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by the French government. She was also an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. Beloved in her adopted country, she was the only American-born woman to receive full French military honors when her funeral was held at L'Église de la Madeleine in 1975.
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| From the film "Zouzou", 1934. |
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| With dancer Serge Lifar. |
Wow, fascinating. I don't think I knew that about her life. Lovely photographs too.
ReplyDeleteLe Baker as the French called her, Josephine became the American with the French firmament.
ReplyDeleteThey say her voice improved with age, being able to belt them out in the 1960s & 70s better than she did in the 1920s. A force to be reckoned with, her efforts to improve race relations and her service in WWII speak volumes.
She once said of the Statue of Liberty, "if there's no liberty, it's just a statue." -Rj/IE
Yes, when she started out, she hadn't much of a voice at all. But at the beginning of the Thirties she received excellent vocal training. So much so, that in 1934, she sang the leading role in Offenbach's 1875 opéra comique "La créole", which had a six-month run at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris. And the training must have been truly exemplary because, yes, instead of wearing out with age, her voice just got stronger, deeper, warmer.
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