JThomo🇫🇷🇩🇪🇪🇺Dec 17, 2022
Sharon Gibson Morgan

Singer Josephine Baker was the toast of Paris. She was a spy for the French Resistance during WWII & secured passports for Jewish citizens fleeing Nazi territory.

Her marriage to a Jewish businessman drew the attn. of Hermann Göring, who poisoned her. Members of the Fr. Resistance rescued her; she recovered.

She was awarded the Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre & the Rosette of the Resistance. In 2021, she was inducted into Panthéon, France's hallowed tomb of heroes. #BlackFriday

Dec 17, 2022 at 12:53amWeb
Show thread@MikesDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 one of the most beautiful ever.
Show threadJDN 6Dec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3
epic life story 🥰
Show threadSara DDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3
LOVE Josephine Baker! Please tell me why she's never been the subject of a major motion picture?! She's endlessly fascinating and you haven't even scratched the surface of what she got up to.
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganDec 17, 2022

@Sarandipt
I know--but there's just so many characters. 😀

While there are no major motion pictures about her life, Josephine Baker was portrayed by Lynn Whitfiled in the TV movie, The Josephine Baker Story (1991).

More recently, there is the TV documentary, Josephine Baker: The Story of an Awakening (2018).

A major film treatment about her certainly would be worth the time. 😀

Show threadsqueak toyDec 17, 2022
@Sarandipt @SharonGibson3 The Josephine Baker Story was a major HBO production in the early 1990s. I recommend you hunt down a copy and watch it - it is FANTASTIC.
Show threadSara DDec 18, 2022
@squeak_toy @SharonGibson3
I’ll try it out, but she deserves a HUGE award-winning blockbusting movie. She also deserves to have her story retold multiple times in multiple ways as an iconic character.
Show threadUnprecedented 2023Dec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 👏🏽👏🏽
Show threadDennis JernbergDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 She's one of my heroes. I even have an LP of her music (in French of course).
Show threadhorrowfideDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3
highly recommend this children's book about josephine to anyone with kids (chronicle books, 2014)
it's a beautifully written and wonderfully illustrated account of her life, it should be in every school library in the world. 💪
Show threadSteven Sokulski Dec 17, 2022
@horrowfide @SharonGibson3 Thank you for sharing! Just ordered a copy.
Show threadhorrowfideDec 17, 2022
@sokulski @SharonGibson3
i'm sure you'll love it, it's a wonderful book!
Show threadThe Mad PianessDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 Madame. Salud.
Show threadCatherine McKenzie CampbellDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 Thanks for this! The International Spy Museum has a copy of the sheet music she used to send coded data & I’ve been fascinated by her ever since.
Show threadccountDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lLly_oHvSo
Josephine Baker - J`ai Deux Amours (1953)

YouTube
Show threadTransitBikerDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 Baker biopic when?
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganDec 17, 2022

@TransitBiker

There are two TV movies based on her life:

Josephine Baker: The Story of an Awakening (2018)
https://amz.run/6EhM

The Josephine Baker Story
TV Movie, HBO (1991)
https://amz.run/6EhK

Josephine Baker: The Story of an Awakening (TV Movie 2018) ⭐ 7.6 | Documentary, Biography, History

52m

IMDb
Show thread@VivianCreekmoreDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 I don't remember when, where, or how but I became interested in the French Resistance as a tween. The heroism was beyond belief.
Show threadAndy LowryDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3
I was aware of her existence as a singer and entertainer, but had no idea about all the other important history you've mentioned. Thank you for intriguing me; now I'll get the pleasure of discovering more of the depths of Baker's life. Hats off!
Show threadAlisilversmithDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 I just read the most wonderful biography of her 🥰
Show threadJessica CravenDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 this is amazing thank you.
Show threadニルス・スキニールDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 But White United Statesians still treated her almost as bad as the Nazis.....
Show threadMeganDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 For those wanting to know more, one of my favourite podcasts, You're Dead To Me, did an episode on her, would highly recommend!
Show threaddarylDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3
Show threadTAIDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 all the garbage and rehashed mess being made. This begs to be made into a docu series or major film. You know why it hasn't been, they don't want to give people any real life ideas that inspire, embolden us to be the best selves we can be. We might know how powerful we can be in making a better world, be better to each other. Instead we get messages that instill fear. This needs to be made.
Show threadRhinos Worry Me has movedDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3
I'm eagerly awaiting the upcoming "De La Resistance" series about her...
Show threadPhungo2008Dec 17, 2022

@SharonGibson3

Josephine Baker was also a pilot in the French armed forces.

I based this sketch off the 1933 National Chicle Sky Birds trading card set.

Show threadGnoppsDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 She did great music too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksLgUPOsses
Joséphine Baker - La Conga Blicoti

YouTube
Show thread(((JaneinNJ)))Dec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 Great recently published book on her spy work. https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/damien-lewis/agent-josephine/9781541700666/
Agent Josephine

The New Yorker, Best Books of 2022 Booklist, Best Books of 2022 Singer. Actress. Beauty. Spy. During WWII, Josephine Baker, the world's richest and most...

PublicAffairs
Show threadJR 🐸🎃Dec 17, 2022
@JaneinNJ @SharonGibson3 👀
Show threadXiaolasseDec 17, 2022

@SharonGibson3 We visited her castle, Chateau Milandes back in 2016. Lovely place in - arguably - the most beautiful region of France, the Dordogne Valley. Well worth a visit.

https://www.milandes.com/en/the-castle/

#Travelling #Wanderlust #Dordogne

The Castle | Le Château et jardins des Milandes

Le Château et jardins des Milandes
Show threadB-Sizzle Dec 17, 2022

@SharonGibson3 HBO did a movie or mini series on her years ago.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102167/

Tells you how old I am. Fascinating story. She was a real hero. 👍

The Josephine Baker Story (TV Movie 1991) ⭐ 7.1 | Biography, Drama, History

2h 10m | R

IMDb
Show threadY956Dec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3 genuine badass. I named a kid after her
Show threadPlebs TribuneDec 17, 2022
@SharonGibson3
Show threadGHARDec 18, 2022
@SharonGibson3 she fought racism in a fight when your fight ended a person’s career.
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganDec 18, 2022

@Saba

She certainly did. Baker was one of the speakers at the 1963 March on Washington.

In her speech, one of the things Baker said:

I have walked into the palaces of kings and queens and into the houses of presidents. And much more. But I could not walk into a hotel in America and get a cup of coffee, and that made me mad.

Show threadGHARDec 18, 2022
@SharonGibson3 Lena Horne basically said the same thing after a block buster sell out in Las Vegas. The hotel wanted her to come back. Her response was. « When I can walk through the front door. »
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganDec 18, 2022

@Saba

Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe were friends.

When Monroe learned Fitzgerald couldn't get a gig at the Mocambo in L.A., she made a deal with the manage. During Fitzgerald's run, she'd sit up front & bring other celebrities.

On opening night, Monroe brought along Frank Sinatra & Judy Garland. Fitzgerald's run was a hit & the owner added another week to her contract.

https://tinyl.io/7Xm3

Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe: Inside Their Surprising Friendship

The Hollywood starlet and jazz singer had a bond that defied the odds during a time of racial prejudice.

Biography
Show threadCiferDec 18, 2022
@SharonGibson3 I hadn't heard about the poisoning thing - one more facet of an incredible life! Is there somewhere I can read up on it?
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganDec 18, 2022

@Teskariel

Here's an NY Times article, which mentions it. https://tinyl.io/7Xk2

Remembering Josephine

Papich, Stephen: Remembering Josephine revd by Ishmael Reed; illus

Show threadCiferDec 18, 2022
@SharonGibson3 Awesome, thank you!
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganDec 18, 2022
@Teskariel
You're welcome. 😀
Show threadderzeitreisendeDec 18, 2022
@SharonGibson3 Reality writes the best stories. What a life!
Show threadAngu Walters African PaintingsDec 19, 2022
@SharonGibson3
The Banana Dance!
Josephine had a hard time in St Louis because of racists but when she got to Paris with a group of touring performers she sat down in a café and a white waiter said to her, "Oui madame," and she was so overwhelmed at being treated with a modicum of respect that she decided to stay in France forever.
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganDec 19, 2022

@artcameroon

Well, that will do it. 🙂