Anita Bryant | |
|---|---|
 From Billboard, January 1971 | |
| Born | Anita Jane Bryant March 25, 1940 Barnsdall, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1956–2016[a] |
| Spouses | Bob Green
(m. 1960; div. 1980)Charlie Dry
(m. 1990; died 2024) |
| Children | 4 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels | |
Anita Jane Bryant (born March 25, 1940) is a retired American singer and anti-gay activist. She had three top 20 hits in the United States in the early 1960s.[2] She was the 1958 Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant winner, and a brand ambassador from 1969 to 1980 for the Florida Citrus Commission.[3]
From 1977 to 1980, Bryant was an outspoken opponent of gay rights in the U.S. In 1977, she ran the "Save Our Children" campaign to repeal a local ordinance in Miami-Dade County, Florida, that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Her involvement with the campaign was condemned by gay rights activists. They were assisted by many other prominent figures in music, film, and television, and retaliated by boycotting the orange juice that she promoted. Though the campaign ended successfully with a 69% majority vote to repeal the ordinance on June 7, 1977 (Dade County restored the ordinance in 1998), it permanently damaged her public image, and her contract with the Florida Citrus Commission was terminated three years later. This, as well as her later divorce from Bob Green, damaged her financially.[4] Bryant never regained her former prominence and has filed for bankruptcy twice. She lives in her home state of Oklahoma, runs the Oklahoma City-based Anita Bryant Ministries International, and works with a host of charities and non-profits.[5]
- ^ "Governor Opens Mansion For Annual Christmas Party". OKC Friday. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ "Anita Bryant". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "Notes on People: Orange Juice Contract Runs Dry for Anita Bryant". The New York Times. September 2, 1980. p. B6. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- ^ Tobin, Thomas C. (April 28, 2002). "Bankruptcy, ill will plague Bryant". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
- ^ "Edmond Life & Leisure". edmondlifeandleisure.com. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
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