Josephine Baker
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Biography
Child performer of the Harlem stage who graduated to black Broadway and then conquered Europe with her effervescent--and mildly salacious--music hall act. At the peak of her success and popularity (she was for a time the highest-paid entertainer on the continent), the cooey-voiced, sometimes banana-clad Baker appeared in a series of films, including a silent short ("La Folie du jour" 1927, her debut), two silent features and several sound films. Of the latter the stand-outs are "Zouzou" (1934), in which she starred opposite Jean Gabin and which was superbly directed by Marc Allegret, and the equally delightful "Princess Tam Tam" (1935), which indirectly highlights the flamboyant construction of her stage image.
Having broken through the color barrier on both professional and personal levels was not lost on Baker, who served as an entertainer, ambulance driver and information courier for the French Resistance during WWII. Periodic returns to the United States reminded her, however, that old prejudices die hard, as she later endured snubs and accusations from those who had once been her friends. Through it all Baker kept active, and was still performing at the time of her death in 1975.
The year 1989 saw a resurgence of interest in the expatriate star, largely fueled by the publication of two biographies: "Jazz Cleopatra" by Phyllis Rose and "Josephine Baker" by Patrick O'Connor. Though some have criticized Baker in the past for the exhibitionism of her topless dancing and for what they consider her trading in on exotic stereotypes of people of color, Baker has been reevaluated by writers who have situated her quest for success (necessarily conducted for a time outside her native America) in its historical perspective and who respect her bubbling humor and genuine talent, her vivacious, self-mocking, uninhibited sensuality, and the courage and dignity of her career and personal struggles. In 1987 a British documentary, "Chasing a Rainbow" was made about her life, and in 1991 HBO produced "The Josephine Baker Story" starring Emmy-winner Lynn Whitfield.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Life Events
1914
Debut as nightclub singer, Harlem, New York, at age eight
1922
Worked as a chorus girl in Broadway's first black musical, "Shuffle Along"
1925
Arrived in Paris with La Revue Negre and became an overnight sensation with her "Danse Sauvage" number
1926
Met Pepito Abatino and introduced her famous topless "Banana Dance" as a headliner at the Folies Bergere
1927
First film appearance in silent French short, "La folie du jour"
1928
Embarked on a year-long tour of European capitals
1930
Recorded six songs for Columbia Records in Paris, including "J'ai Deux Amours/I Have Two Loves"
1936
Returned to America to appear in the "Ziegfeld Follies" with Fanny Brice and Bob Hope, resulting in scathing reviews and breakup with Abatino
1942
Erroneous reports of Baker's death surfaced; entertained WWII troops
1943
Carried secret messages through enemy lines; became French Resistance fighter
1951
Returned to America and opened at Copa City in Miami, performing only before integrated audiences
1951
Refused dinner service at New York's Stork Club on the basis of her race on same night columnist (and fan) Walter Winchell was at the club; told incident to press, incriminating all the guests (including Winchell, who then began a press campaign against her, labelling Baker a communist), career seriously harmed
1963
Toured America and joined civil rights march on Washington, DC
1969
Had first heart attack; lost her French estate, Les Milandes, to creditors
1973
Gave last US music hall performance at the Palace Theatre, NYC
Videos
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