Anita Bryant, a former beauty queen and pop singer of the 1960s whose career led her to become a spokesperson for Florida oranges in the early ’70s and an evangelical crusader against gay rights later in that decade, died Dec. 16 at age 84, her family announced Thursday.
The family’s obituary for Anita Bryant Day, as she was known outside the public sphere, was published in her hometown newspaper, the Oklahoman, and said the singer-activist died at home last month in Edmond, Oklahoma, surrounded by family and friends.
During her heyday as a public figure, Bryant was one of the most polarizing celebrities in America, vilified by much of the show business community for campaigning against what she viewed as a gay takeover of American culture, while being embraced as a hero by many religious conservatives.
Prior to her taking those stands, she was best known for her appearances in commercials for Florida oranges that introduced the catchphrase “Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine” (and many parodies of that statement) into the popular lexicon. Those advertisements eclipsed her long-dormant career as a pop singer, even as she made the move into recording gospel music after easy-listening sounds fell out of fashion in the rock era.
Bryant’s notable public appearances in her less controversial years included singing at both the Democratic and Republican conventions in 1968, being a staple of Bob Hope’s holiday tours for overseas troops for seven straight years, singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” at the 1971 Super Bowl, and providing a musical eulogy for President Lyndon Johnson at his 1973 funeral.
In 1977, Bryant began fronting a “Save Our Children” campaign aimed at repealing an ordinance in Miami-Dade County that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The crusade was successful in getting the ordinance repealed that year by a popular vote. It was not restored until 1998. For the next three years, her activism against such regulations made her a poster girl for the religious right and the foremost public archenemy of the gay community and its allies.
Her activism extended well beyond Florida as her fame in that arena grew, and she advocated for California’s infamous Briggs Initiative, which looked to ban public school employees from making pro-gay statements, at the cost of their employment. Even former governor Ronald Reagan ultimately opposed the initiative, and once it went down to a massive defeat among voters, Bryant’s influence waned.
Her activism led to the end of any substantial career Bryant had beyond the conservative Christian community. Counteractivists began adopting catchphrases like “A day without human rights is like a day without sunshine,” and the Florida Citrus Commission finally yanked her as its brand ambassador in 1980, after an initially highly successful 11-year run.
More to come…
