Joyce Bryant (born October , ) is an American singer and actress who
achieved fame in the late s and early s as a theater and nightclub
performer. With her signature silver hair and tight mermaid dresses,
she became an early African-American sex symbol, garnering such
nicknames as "The Bronze Blond Bombshell", "the black Marilyn Monroe",
"The Belter" and "The Voice You'll Always Remember".Bryant left the
industry in at the height of her popularity to devote herself to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church. A decade later, she returned to show
business as a trained classical vocalist and later became a vocal
coach.Joyce Bryant, the oldest of eight children, was born in Oakland,
California, and raised in San Francisco. Her father, Whitfield W.
Bryant (â€"), worked as a chef for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Her
mother, Dorthy Constance Withers (maiden; â€"), was a devout
Seventh-day Adventist. Her maternal grandfather, Frank Withers (né
Frank Douglas Withers; â€"), was an early jazz trombonist. Bryant, a
quiet child raised in a strict home, had ambitions of becoming a
sociology teacher.She eloped at the age of but the marriage ended
that same evening. In , while visiting cousins in Los Angeles, she
agreed on a dare to participate in an impromptu singalong at a local
club. "After a while," Bryant recounted in a Jet interview, "I found
I was the only one singing. A few minutes later the club owner offered
me $ to go up on stage, and I took it because I [needed the money] to
get home."
achieved fame in the late s and early s as a theater and nightclub
performer. With her signature silver hair and tight mermaid dresses,
she became an early African-American sex symbol, garnering such
nicknames as "The Bronze Blond Bombshell", "the black Marilyn Monroe",
"The Belter" and "The Voice You'll Always Remember".Bryant left the
industry in at the height of her popularity to devote herself to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church. A decade later, she returned to show
business as a trained classical vocalist and later became a vocal
coach.Joyce Bryant, the oldest of eight children, was born in Oakland,
California, and raised in San Francisco. Her father, Whitfield W.
Bryant (â€"), worked as a chef for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Her
mother, Dorthy Constance Withers (maiden; â€"), was a devout
Seventh-day Adventist. Her maternal grandfather, Frank Withers (né
Frank Douglas Withers; â€"), was an early jazz trombonist. Bryant, a
quiet child raised in a strict home, had ambitions of becoming a
sociology teacher.She eloped at the age of but the marriage ended
that same evening. In , while visiting cousins in Los Angeles, she
agreed on a dare to participate in an impromptu singalong at a local
club. "After a while," Bryant recounted in a Jet interview, "I found
I was the only one singing. A few minutes later the club owner offered
me $ to go up on stage, and I took it because I [needed the money] to
get home."
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