Anita Bryant was a beauty queen and singer of the 1950s and ‘60s whose career was derailed by her high-profile crusade against LGBTQ rights.
- Died: December 16, 2024 (Who else died on December 16?)
- Details of death: Died at her home in Edmond, Oklahoma of cancer at the age of 84.
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Anita Bryant’s legacy
An Oklahoma native, Bryant began performing as a young girl, and she was crowned Miss Oklahoma when she was just out of high school in 1958. She became the second runner-up to Miss America the following year, and she launched her entertainment career on the strength of the near-win.
Bryant released her debut album in 1959, yielding a modest hit with “Till There Was You.” She charted several more hits in the early ‘60s, including “Paper Roses,” “My Little Corner of the World,” and “Wonderland by Night.” In 1961, she began traveling regularly with USO tours helmed by Bob Hope (1903–2003), entertaining U.S. troops around the world. She sang at the White House and at the 1968 conventions for both the Republican and Democratic parties.
The career highlight often most associated with Bryant was her series of TV commercials for the Florida Citrus Commission. In them, she sang “Come to the Florida Sunshine Tree” and delivered the tagline, “Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.”
In 1977, after Bryant had relocated to Miami, an ordinance was passed in Dade County, Florida, which includes the city, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Bryant began speaking out against the ordinance, founding the coalition Save Our Children as she suggested that the LGBTQ community was recruiting children. Seen from one perspective, Bryant’s crusade was successful, as it led directly to the repeal of the ordinance. However, it also had a deeply damaging effect on her career.
Many spoke out against Bryant’s coalition and mocked her, including a notorious incident in which she was pied in the face at an Iowa news conference. Her detractors organized a boycott against orange juice, and she was lampooned on “Saturday Night Live,” in the movie “Airplane!” and in song lyrics by such artists as David Allan Coe, Dead Kennedys, and Jimmy Buffett (1946–2023). A planned variety show was axed after the sponsor pulled out, and after 11 years, her contract with the Florida Citrus Commission was allowed to expire.
After dropping out of the public eye for a time, Bryant attempted to revive her singing career. She later founded Anita Bryant Ministries International.
Full obituary: The New York Times
