In one of the musical's most stirring numbers she sang "Forgotten Man," a war widow's lament, along with several other cast-mates. Freeman F. Moten and Ida Mae Norman, Etta was five years old when it was realized that she possessed a fine singing voice. She spent the next several years traveling extensively with her husband, and they made many trips to Africa, including ones in which they served as part of official U.S. delegations to independence celebrations or presidential inaugurations for newly black-ruled nations like Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia. Barnett was born on September 2, 1824 in Nicholas County, West Virginia. She died at the age of 102, having recently celebrated her hundredth birthday, at which singer Harry Belafonte paid tribute to her as a pioneer. In her we found another dimension to being black in our time. She was best known for her signature role of “Bess” in Porgy and Bess. Barnett passed away on month day 1939, at age 75 at death place, Rhode Island. She died on January 2, 2004, at the age of 102. Her father was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister and her mother was a schoolteacher. At the time, African-American women were relegated to roles as domestic servants, and her appearance was a notable one. Her surviving daughter, Sue Ish, said that her mother never trumpeted her achievement on the Hollywood screen as a black female who did not appear in a maid or "mammy" costume. Etta Moten Barnett (1901-), actress, singer, and radio personality, was born in Weimar, Texas, and earned a B.A. Barnett was born Etta Moten on November 5, 1901 in Weimar, Texas. Her hundredth birthday celebration was held in Chicago in 2001, and festivities surrounding the day included an award presented by Halle Berry at the Chicago International Film Festival for its tribute, "Black Women in Film—From Etta to Halle." [1] She created new roles for African-American women on stage and screen. In 2001, Barnett’s life was the subject of Papa’s Child: The Story Of Etta Moten Barnett, a play by Useni Eugene Perkins that was presented in Chicago by the city’s ETA Creative Arts Foundation. Barnett was born on November 5, 1901, in Weimer, Texas. "It was not even a solo," noted her Times of London obituary, for "she shared the song with a number of white singers but that was the point: until then black actresses had been largely restricted to background roles as maids and eye-rolling, overweight nannies. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Etta 'Minnie' BARNETT (1864 - Unknown) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days How do we create a person’s profile? His father, William Barnett, Sr. had served as a Pennsylvania regiment captain during the War of 1812 and was recognized as a pioneer of West Virginia and Ohio. Biography. Born in Weimar, Texas in 1901 to a minister father and schoolteacher mother, Barnett began singing as a child and by her teens was already a performer. On this day in 1934, Barnett became the first African-American woman to perform inside the White House. On February 5, 1901, she married Freeman F. Moten, who was 25 or 26, here in Colorado County. and its Licensors ... Barnett was born on November 5, 1901, in Weimer, Texas. She made a considerable impact, singing ‘My Forgotten Man’, a song that vividly evoked Depression-era emotions and which she later sang at The White House for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Career: Member of the Jackson Jubilee Singers, Kansas, c. 1917–18 and c. 1924–31, and of the Eva Jessye Choir, New York City, after 1931; stage actor, 1931–52; film actor, 1932–52; hosted radio program "Etta Moten Sings" in the 1930s and a program for WMAQ/NBC, Chicago, in the 1960s; visited several African countries as part of official U.S. delegations in the 1950s and '60s. Born in Inverness, Mississippi on April 23, 1931 to the late Melvin Vernon Phillips and Ethel Lelah Pace Phillips, Etta grew up on Wolf Lake outside of Yazoo City, Mississippi. She was an African American vocalist and theater artist. In subsequent decades she worked in many areas, most connected to the African American community in Chicago. In 1949/50 she was a student at Northwestern University School of Speech. Born in Inverness, Mississippi on April 23, 1931 to … Ebony, October 1997, p. 54; December 2001, p. 62; March 2004, p. 30. A meeting in Los Angeles with the respected African American actor Clarence Muse resulted in an audition for Warner Brothers. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time because we had young producers and direc-tors in Hollywood who wanted to change it.'". His occupation was occupation. Her father was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister, her mother taught school, and Barnett's earliest performing experiences were in the choir at her father's church. 25, Thomson Gale, 2005. Notable Black American Women, Book 1, Gale, 1992. In 1934, she married Claude A. Barnett, head of the Chicago-based Associated Negro Press. She rose to fame in the 1930s and was one of the most admired African-American entertainment personalities of her era. She attracted even more attention with her appearance in Flying Down To Rio (1933), in which she played a gaudily-dressed Brazilian entertainer, singing ‘The Carioca’, which received an unsuccessful Oscar nomination as Best Song. In that same year, actress Halle Berry presented her with an award at the Chicago International Film Festival’s tribute, ‘Black Women In Film - From Etta to Halle’. She was active well into her seventies in various civic and cultural organizations in the city, including the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Field Museum, the DuSable Museum, and the South Side Community Arts Center. She went on to host her own radio show out of San Francisco, "Etta Moten Sings," and discussed with composer George Gershwin the possibility of starring in his new opera, Porgy and Bess, which blended European traditions with African-American musical forms. All Rights Reserved Etta Moten was born in Weimar, Texas, the only child of a Methodist minister, Rev. She died of pancreatic cancer two days after the disease was diagnosed. Etta Barnett was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 1887 to Myers Barnett and Theresa Barnett. b. Etta Moten, 5 November 1901, Weimar, Texas, USA, d. 2 January 2004, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Barnett went on the road with it, but in the end the Bess soprano part did harm her voice, and she underwent surgery to remove a throat cyst in 1947. Her family moved to Los Angeles where Freeman advanced his ministerial career. Barnett’s last significant singing performance was a 1952 concert in Denmark. She was 88. Etta Moten Barnett [b.1901 – d.2004] Born in Weimar, Texas. Widowed in 1967, Barnett spent the remainder of her years in Chicago. "She was given credit for changing it," Ish told Jet, "but Mother said, 'I didn't change it. She sang and acted in Broadway plays (Porgy and Bess), Hollywood films (Gold Diggers of 1933), and … She was 88. Barnett was born on November 5, 1901, in Weimer, Texas. In 1915 the family moved to the Kansas City area. Barnett married Etta LEVINE (born LAPINER). The marriage ended after six years, and Barnett's parents cared for the little girls so that she could enter the University of Kansas at Lawrence, where she was one of 150 blacks on a 6,000-student campus. November 5, 1901–January 2, 2004. Biography[edit source] Early years[edit source] Etta Moten was born in Weimar, Texas, the only child of a Methodist minister, Rev. She was a member of First AME Church and Topps Club. Etta Moten Barnett (November 5, 1901 – January 2, 2004) was an American actress and contralto vocalist, who was identified with her signature role of "Bess" in Porgy and Bess. Etta Mae Barnett died on Sunday, November 24, 2019 at St. Dominic Hospital. Born in Weimar, Texas, Mrs. Barnett was the only daughter of a minister and began singing in the church choir at an early age. "She gave black people an opportunity to look at themselves on a big screen," said Belafonte, according to the Times of London, "as something beautiful when all that was there before spoke to our degradation.". She started singing as a child in the church choir. The only child of the Rev. Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. Along the way, the Barnetts amassed one of the most important collections of African art in private hands. Freeman F. Moten, and a teacher, his wife, Ida Norman Moten. John Perry Barnett was born on month day 1764, at birth place, Virginia, to Henry J. They had 3 children: Samuel (Sammie) LEVINE and 2 other children. Barnett's first professional theater role came in Fast and Furious, a black-centered musical that had a two-night run in 1931. Etta and husband Claude Barnett, founder of the Negro Associated Press, served as US representatives to the independence celebrations of Ghana and several other African countries. In 1900, she was an 18 year old washerwoman living with her widowed mother and her younger sister. This time, the opera was a critical and commercial hit, and ran for months. Etta Moten Barnett was an American actress and contralto vocalist. Etta Moten Barnett. When it closed in California later in 1932, she decided to audition for some screen roles. She was 88. James W. Barnett, born about 1856, Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio, and died 1946, possibly in California. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to … Although she had effectively retired from singing by the 60s, Barnett continued to have many more productive years, albeit in somewhat different areas. Subsequently, the Barnetts would represent The White House during the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations, often on trips to Africa. He married on February 28, 1884 to … At the age of 17 she wed her former teacher, Curtis Brooks, and they settled in Oklahoma and became the parents of three daughters. In 1934, Barnett became the first African American ever to perform at the White House, when Eleanor Roosevelt invited her to sing "Forgotten Man" at a birthday celebration for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Around 1914 the family settled in Los Angeles, and she joined them there. Jessye was the first African-American woman to achieve international distinction as a professional choral conductor, and recommended her talented soloist to Broadway producers. Born in Inverness, Mississippi on April 23, 1931 to the late Melvin Vernon Phillips and Ethel Lelah Pace Phillips, Etta grew up on Wolf Lake outside of Yazoo City, Mississippi. Etta Barnett family tree. Etta Mae Barnett Etta Mae Barnett died on Sunday, November 24, 2019 at St. Dominic Hospital. A year later, Barnett appeared in Zombie for its two-month run, and then went on the road with it. She was 88. Barnett’s parents raised her girls while she continued her studies at the University of Kansas where she was discovered as a singer. Etta Moten Barnett was an African American actress and contralto vocalist. Etta Moten Barnett Posted on October 4, 2013. ETTA MAE CARTER(nee Barnett)Gary, Indiana Age 94 years of Gary, Indiana was born October 7, 1915 in Opelika, AL. She attended Western University, an historically black college (HBCU) in Quindaro, Kansas, where she studied music. Etta Moten Barnett achieved several notable firsts in her long career on the New York stage and Hollywood screen. After her performing career, Barnett was active in Chicago as a major philanthropist and civic activist, raising funds for and supporting cultural, social and church institutions. Barnett's first job in Hollywood was dubbing vocals for Barbara Stanwyck in a 1932 film, Ladies of the Big House. She had a much more impressive role in the Busby Berkeley musical, Gold Diggers of 1933, when she was cast as a war widow. In 1942, she played the role of Bess in a Broadway revival of George Gershwin’s Porgy And Bess. Meanwhile, her career as a performer had continued. The on-Broadway run and a subsequent national tour lasted for three years. ... Ms Barnett was born on November 5, 1901 in Weimar, Texas. Born November 5, 1901 in Weimer, TX; died of pancreatic cancer, February 20, 2004, in Chicago, IL; daughter of Freeman F. (a minister) and Ida (a teacher; maiden name, Norman) Moten; married Curtis Brooks (a teacher), c. 1918 (divorced, c. 1924); married Claude Barnett (a publisher), 1934; children: (with Brooks) Sue, Gladys, and Etta Vee. John Thomas & Laura Etta Barnett John Thomas Barnett was born March 24, 1854 in Ironton (Zanesville), Lawrence Co., Ohio. Etta Moten Barnett blazed a trail for Black women in entertainment, changing the perception of how her race and gender were seen on-screen and stage. (1931) from the University of Kansas. Jackson - Etta Mae Barnett died on Sunday, November 24, 2019 at St. Dominic Hospital. Her appearance in Gold Diggers Of 1933 (1933) was unusual for its period in that she played the part of a widowed housewife and not one of the usual demeaning domestic servant roles then reserved for black actors. Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. She was also involved in International Woman's Year activities and events in the 1980s. By this time she had made some appearances on a university radio show and during the summer vacation she toured with the Jackson Jubilee Singers. Unfortunately, the graduation to soprano from her natural contralto necessitated by this performance ultimately damaged her voice. war; others say 1704, in Spottsylvania county, VA, now Orange Co., VA (mimi says near the Culpeper Court House0. She finished high school in Kansas City, Kansas. Gershwin reportedly wrote the role of Bess with Barnett in mind, but she was leery of taking the part because it required a soprano—a higher key of voice than her trained contralto—and she worried about the potential damage to her vocal cords; Gershwin refused to lower the key for her. Etta was born in Texas, in 1901, an only child. A true star of the Broadway musical, and a major role model and inspiration to African-American women. (called Harry) Barnett and Mary (Molly) Barnett (born Grundy). Thereafter, she restricted her performances to lecture recitals and as host for several years of I Remember When, a radio programme on WMAQ in Chicago that was networked by NBC in most states of the union. Etta, apparently their only child, was born on November 5, 1901, nine months to the day after the wedding. On October 9, 1879 he married Laura Etta Miller in Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa. On graduation, and with no more experience than this, she went to New York where she won a leading role in Zombie for a two-month Broadway run, after which the show went on a national tour. After high school, Barnett joined the Jackson Jubilee Singers, a gospel group that was popular in Kansas. 1901–2004. Etta Moten Barnett, singer, actress, activist, and philanthropist, was born on November 5, 1901, in Weimar, Texas. She joined the Methodist church choir, declaring in a 1942 interview that she could remember ‘nothing quite so wonderful as standing on that box singing hymns out over the heads of people.’ In 1915, the family moved to the Kansas City area where, when she was 17, she married Curtis Brooks. Singer and community leader Etta Moten Barnett was born on November 5th, 1901, in Weimar, Texas, the only daughter of Reverend Freeman F. Moten and Ida Norman Moten. Even so, Barnett occasionally performed at symphony concerts and at music festivals, appearing at numerous colleges and universities during tours of North and South America, and West Africa. Her father was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister, her mother taught school, and Barnett's earliest performing experiences were in the choir at her father's church. She married young and gave birth to three daughters but divorced while in school. Barnett married Sarah Jane Blue in 1848 after moving to Leesburg, Indiana. She moved to Gary as an infant. A true star of the Broadway musical, and a major role model and inspiration to African-American women. Etta Barnett passed away on November 24, 2019 at the age of 88 in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Etta Moten, 5 November 1901, Weimar, Texas, USA, d. 2 January 2004, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Brief BiographiesBiographies: Miguel Angel Asturias: 1899-1974: Writer to Don Berrysmith Biography - Grew up in the Pacific Northwest, Copyright © 2021 Web Solutions LLC. The marriage lasted until Claude Barnett’s death in 1967. Rejoining the Jackson Jubilee Singers to pay her tuition, she gained renown as a talented drama and voice student even before her 1931 graduation. She was a board member of both the Links, a service organization for African-American women, and her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Barnett headed to New York City to become a member of the Eva Jessye Choir in Harlem. By the age of ten, she was singing in the choir of her father’s church. There was no funeral, per her instructions, for she wanted the centennial birthday celebration as her fitting finale. He would later become a special assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture during President Harry S. Truman’s administration. Also in 2001, she celebrated her 100th birthday party, attended by 400 guests including Harry Belafonte, who said on that occasion: ‘She gave black people an opportunity to look at themselves on a big screen as something beautiful when all that was there before spoke to our degradation. She is a true shining star.’ In a letter, Sidney Poitier recalled watching her rehearsing in the 40s for a production of Lysistrata, and went on to write that she was ‘the most incredible, amazing, voluptuous, dignified and sensual actress to grace the Broadway stage in my lifetime.’ After this occasion, Barnett told relatives that this was enough celebration of her life and requested that no funeral be held when she died, declaring of the birthday honours, ‘You can’t top that.’ She continued living a full and vibrant life, and serving as an example to several younger generations of aspiring African American women. 75 at death place, Rhode Island to Myers Barnett and Mary ( Molly ) Barnett and Barnett. 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