Anita Bryant, a former beauty queen and singer who gained notoriety in the 1970s for her anti-gay activism, died on December 16 at 84.
According to an obituary published in the Oklahoman, the one-time Miss Oklahoma died at her home in Edmond, Oklahoma, surrounded by her family and friends.
After appearing on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand,” and landing chart with hits “Till There Was You,” “Paper Roses,” “In My Little Corner of the World,” she became a frequent guest on Bob Hope’s holiday tours for U.S. troops abroad.
In 1968 Bryant, who was known for her rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” sang at both the Republican and the Democratic national conventions. She later sang at Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1973 funeral.
She performed at the Super Bowl in 1971 and cohosted the Orange Bowl Parade for nine years. She was also spokesperson for Coca-Cola as well as for Florida orange juice.
As gay rights came to the forefront in the 1970s, Bryant, then a spokesperson for Florida oranges, became a vocal opponent of the movement. In 1977, she organized a “Save Our Children” movement to repeal a Miami-Dade County ordinance that secured protection for teachers despite sexual orientation.
Gay rights activist Harvey Milk successfully argued against a similar California proposition that would have prevented gay and lesbian educators to teach in public schools. She appears in archival footage in the 2008 Gus Van Sant biopic, “Milk,” which starred Sean Penn as the slain activist.
In October 1977, she famously received a banana cream pie to the face from gay activist Tom Higgins at a promotional stop in Des Moines, Iowa. Bryant quipped at the time, “at least it’s a fruit pie.”
She is survived by her four children, two stepdaughters, and seven grandchildren and their spouses.
