The movie starts with a graphic photo of white people attacking a Black victim, with overlay text noting that in 1937, an anti-lynching bill was considered in the Senate, though it ultimately didnt pass. Up came eleven. Holiday died on July 17, 1959. It is around this time that we see Fletcher start to court Holiday romantically, including by showing up at the funeral for her chihuahua Chiquitawho was in fact one of Billies beloved dogs, but who did not die in 1947. Why not WHITEHEAD: Andra Day likewise replicates the croaky way Holiday spoke in her last years in the late 1950s. This is heartbreaking. 2023 Cond Nast. DAY: (As Billie) And I've asked you over a hundred times, what people, Joe? In fact, a timeline on the Library of Congress shows that 106 Black Americans were reportedly lynched in the year 1900 alone. Bornto teenage parents and named Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, Holiday grew up poor and suffered a rape at just 10 years old by a neighbor, according to Legacy. Anslinger took a break from Holiday's case but later returned with a different narcotics agent, Colonel George White. 2023 Cocaine supposedly made Black people almost superhumanly strongNEGRO COCAINE "FIENDS" ARE A NEW SOUTHERN MENACE blared a 1914 New York Times headline. Here are some facts about the life and music of the great Lady Day: Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan, though some sources say the name on her birth certificate was "Elinore Harris." He learned of Anslinger's Even his wife is a Holiday fan. Unable to afford arrangements, the orchestra kept over 100 songs in their heads, often going to bed hungry despite their glamorous profession. Most of my other songs just about love. Hope traded insults with that cracker for five minutes before he had enough and left, Holiday writes. RHODES: (As Jimmy) Never heard you sing it. Biographer Farah Jasmine Griffin described Young as Holiday's "creative soulmate.". After her release, she auditioned to sing at the Harlem speakeasy Pods and Jerrys: I asked him to play Travlin All Alone. That came closer than anything to the way I felt. Several people found out more about her personal life after she released the book Lady Sings The Blues. In it, Billie had detailed how hard her life had been and the struggles she had to overcome to achieve success. In real life, Anslinger served as the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a predecessor to the Drug Enforcement Administration, from 1930 to 1962. That part of the story is fictionalized, but the agent did speak of her notable affection. She told The Hollywood Reporter, "I could see this love affair that she has with Jimmy Fletcher, because it tells the story of the love affair that Black Americans have with America. Just as Anslinger was beginning his tenure at the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a teenaged singer was getting her start in Harlem nightclubs. Trouble is a thing Ive learned to smell, Holiday writes. Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. Protesters sent the song to Congress in hopes of passing an anti-lynching bill, per the BBC. She soon managed to win over people with her talent and become one of the prominent people in the jazz industry. It wasnt until our mechanic buddyflattened this cracker to the floor that I came to, Holiday writes. A later scene shows Levy planting drugs on Holiday and setting her up for another arrest by Fletcher and the feds; although an old Oakland Tribune article reports that Holiday and Levy were both arrested during the early-1949 raid, the setup does appear to have been coordinated by Levy. Though Andra Day plays the jazz legend with conviction, The United States vs. Billie Holiday fictionalizes the particulars of Holiday's life, where the real story is dramatic enough. Billie Holiday has become a mythic presence in absentia. From how she got the nickname "Lady Day" to the origins of "Strange Fruit," here are some facts about the famed jazz singer. According to Biography, White busted Holiday at San Francisco's Mark Twain Hotel, even though she claimed to have been clean for a year. I got to the point where I hardly ever ate, slept, or went to the bathroom without having a major NAACP-type production.. He leaped at me, kicked my hat off, and knocked me flat on my can in the middle of that little station. She was the daughter of Sarah Julia Sadie (Fagan) and Clarence Holiday, who was a jazz banjo player and guitarist. The film's big bad is federal anti-drug czar Harry Anslinger, played by Garrett Hedlund in a grim one-note performance. {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. Holiday tried rehab to kick her habit, but it didn't work, and besides having a metaphorical monkey on her back, Holiday also had theChief of the US Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Mr. Harry J. Anslinger, gunning for her, due to a personal vendetta against Holiday. In her 1956 autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, Holiday and cowriter William Dufty added to her triumphant yet tragic mythos, presenting a life filled with joy, despondency, and a surprising amount of hard-edged humor. I saw the lipstick. She was nicknamed Lady Day. The whole joint quieted down. Holiday was on her way, but the trauma of her childhood never left her. The United States vs. Billie Holiday Tells A Story From the Racist Origins of the War on Drugs, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. That strained relationship didn't stop her from borrowing his last name when she became a performer. In reality, the family had a well-documented history of mental illness, and Licata himself was known to be severely mentally ill before the attack. Her father Holiday managed to prove her innocence and was acquitted, though theres no record I could find of Fletcher purposefully throwing the case on the witness stand to help her do so, as is shown on screen. "Billie Holiday's styling fulfilled the bitterness and the shocking quality I had hoped the song would have," Meeropol said, according to The Guardian. Born Eleanora Fagan, the American jazz and swing music singer died on July 17, 1959, at the young age of 44. Anslinger was a known racist, according to what Hari told WNYC, and considered Holiday a threat, especially in regards to her bringing attention to the horrors of lynching black men in her song "Strange Fruit" (the lyrics are at Songfacts), which Anslinger wanted to prohibit Holiday from singing. He's one in a line of her abusive mates. DUKIC: (As Joe) I've told you a hundred times, people in high places don't like you singing that song. It's pure poppycock, but Andra Day and Trevante Rhodes have good sexual chemistry onscreen, bringing some charm and romance to a mostly dreary narrative. Holiday ended up releasing the song on the Commodore label in 1939, and it went on to sell a million copies. Playing Holiday was Days first-ever acting role. 'Never Have I Ever' Season 4 Arrives in June. In 1947 she was arrested on drug charges and spent 10 months in federal prison, Legacy reported. Ask yourself the question, who loves you, sweetheart? 3 Billie Holiday Anslinger appears in a scene with other notorious historical figures: Reps. J. Parnell Thomas and John Rankin, Sen. Joe McCarthy, and McCarthy aide Roy Cohn, the latter two of whom had their own connections to and vendettas against the largely Black jazz scene. But the jazz singer refused to cower. All products featured on Vanity Fair are independently selected by our editors. She is an actress, known for Ally McBeal (1997), I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and Below the Belt (1980). WHITEHEAD: Yeah, that didn't happen. Holiday and her team argue over the continued performances of Strange Fruit (whose writer was in fact a registered Communist Party member, as Glaser states), which to this day is suspected to be a major motivating factor for the federal hunt of Holiday. All dope can do for you is kill youand kill you the long slow hard way. He saw I saw it, and he started explaining and explainingLying to me was worse than anything he could have done with any bitch. But not everyone was so callous. My God, its terrible what something like this does to you., I joined Count Basies band to make a little money and see the world. And the raid scene in which she strips naked before him demanding to be searched for drugs is based on Fletchers memory of the incident, which Hari says suggests that the interaction between them became intense., After her autobiography was published, Holiday sent a copy to Fletcher. William H. Macy Sued for $600,000 Over Some Felled Trees, Inside Louis XIIIs Latest Launchin Venice. She died on July 17, 1959, at the age of 44. He was inspired to write it after seeing a photograph of a lynching. [Expletive], I'm the one pays you. Meeropol later set the poem to music, and the resulting song found its way to Holiday. Billie Holiday was born Eleanor Fagan in Philadelphia, PA on April 7, 1915. Who's there for you from the start? How Fucking Lucky Am I?: Frank Rich Bids Farewell to, On the eve of Waystar Roycos final voyage, the executive producer and former. Later, Billie got married to Louis McKay. But that didnt matter. How Prince William and Princess Kate Plan to Celebrate First Easter Since Queen Elizabeth's Death. The image so deeply disturbed him that he penned the poem in protest of racial violence. Shes played Jack Nicholsons daughter, Gwyneth Paltrows sister, and Nicolas Cages estranged wife. Won Broadway's 1982 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Dreamgirls.". She had a rough childhood, moving to Baltimore to live with her aunt while her mother worked long hours on passenger trains. McKay handled her burial arrangements. January 12th 1954 (Live) Billie Holiday Let's Do It Vol. Her big break came whenproducer John Hammonddiscovered her singing in one of those clubs. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. He hollered Halt! and tried to stop the car by standing in the road. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. This is true: A bill was introduced in the chamber early that year but was filibustered out of further consideration, although a version of the bill would be passed by the House in the spring. Pretty soon there were plenty of lights, cameras, and action. And it seems like their dalliance didn't just exist on-screen. While the movie is a mix of fiction and reality, heres a look at Billies personal life. Holiday was sent to a brutal Catholic reformatory, where as punishment she was locked in a room with a dead student. What really did her in was when her abusive husband, Louis McKay, got involved. She managed to survive a difficult childhood often left in the care of cold-hearted relatives and even spent time in a Catholic reform school before joining her mother in New York City. HOLIDAY: (Singing) Who loves you? Take it from Lady Day. In the book, Hari tells stories of the casualties of the drug war, from its 20th century origins to profiles of contemporary dealers and users. The two had a well-documented affair in the early 40s. And Anslinger worked very hard to encourage the use of the word marijuana instead of cannabis, because marijuana is a Spanish-Mexican word, says Hari. You go out there and sing, he told Holiday. Holiday writes: Somebody told Lena, Lady Days out there. Lady Day? said Lena. Always a self-starter, Holiday began singing as a child, while cleaning neighbors homes for money. And when she starts crying, the next thing shes going to do is start fighting., And fight she did to be true to herself and her art, no matter what the cost. Through all this, one thing that helped Billie keep calm was music. In the movie, a fed orders local cops to shut down her Philly show the second it starts when she defiantly opens with that song. This is hardly the first biopic to invent stuff when the real story is dramatic enough. Evidently shirking his duties in Washington, movie Anslinger obsessively turns up at Holiday's New York gigs to glare at her from the audience, as if he hates music in general. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. I thought he looked a little pale. Billie had been three times. And it can kill the people you love right along with you. In "The United States Vs. Billie Holiday," federal agents wage a vigorous campaign for years to make her stop singing "Strange Fruit," that scathing portrait of lynching as a Southern tradition. The club advertises it. However, Carnegie Halls own website mentions Strange Fruit in the setlist for Holidays March 27, 1948, concert. WHITEHEAD: There was a real Jimmy Fletcher, and he and Holiday came to be on friendly terms, despite their adversarial relationship. RHODES: (As Jimmy) Love is important, too, right? Kensington Palace confirmed that the royal couple will attend the family's traditional Easter Sunday church service at St. George's Chapel. Holiday later got a chance to work with Louis Armstrong with the two of them starring in the 1947 musical New Orleans. We talked to Chasing the Scream author Johann Hari about the role jazz legend Billie Holiday played in the early days of the drug war. "And I had so many close conversations with her, about so many things," Fletcher had said in a rare interview. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. replacement behaviors for hitting, hopsack vs nailhead suit, is jennifer holliday related to billie holiday, herzing financial Lee Daniels The United States Vs Billie Holiday is released this month. A damn woman let out a scream. According to Holidays autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, she was arraigned there on drug charges stemming from the hotel raid and sentenced to serve at least a year at the all-woman Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia. a fusion of Quentin Crisp and Skip E. Lowe, had a well-documented affair in the early 40s, playing style and personality is inaccurate, mentions Strange Fruit in the setlist for Holidays March 27, 1948, concert, the two did indeed become closer despite his betrayal, Shivs Good News Could Change Everything on, The Secret to Netflixs Most Heinously Addictive Show, The Best Hockey Team Ever Just Needs to Win the Stanley Cup Now. Or the word love, Holiday wrote of her life experiences. Holiday received her first threat from the bureau in 1939, after performing "Strange Fruit" on the stage in New York. He said he found opium in her garbage can and a heroin kit in her bathroom. He later set his words to music and played the song for a New York nightclub owner, who then passed it on to Holiday. A crowd gathered around, and my quiet incognito homecoming had blown up like a bum flash bulb.. Her romantic tastes were equally iconoclastic; allegedly, she had affairs with Charles Laughton, Tallulah Bankhead, and Orson Welles, the finest cat she ever met. It was called The United States of America versus Billie Holiday, she writes of her trial (also the title of the upcoming Lee Daniels film starring Andra Day as Holiday). Made-up incidents can illustrate some higher truth about the power of a protest song or a singer's personal magnetism. It is reported that Louis was physically abusive towards Billie. The United States vs. Billie Holiday focuses on the later period of the legendary jazz singers career up until her death in 1959and the U.S. governments relentless persecution of her throughout that time. When she was ten years old, she was raped by an adult neighbor. "And his whole life, he felt really guilty about what he did. It is unclear what led to their split. Louis McKay, played by Rob Morgan, is no angel in this picture. Accuracy and availability may vary. Never mind that she talks that way through the whole picture, as in this scene set in 1947. The United States vs. Billie Holiday depicts the FBI chasing Holiday for her drug use and locking her away on narcotics charges as a roundabout way to suppress her musical activism. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Get her off that stage. DAVIES: On Monday's show, we speak with writer, performer and magician Derek DelGaudio. Many factors contributed to the shift from societally sanctioned drug use to just say no culture. [September 2002], She sang "This is the Moment" at the 2004 July 4th Boston Pops Concert for Independence Day. And thats the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but.. Before she found fame as a singer, Holiday did whatever it took to survive, including working a prostitute for a while. Newspapers reported that he committed the gory killings while in the grip of a marijuana-induced nightmare. "Dreamgirls" earned her not only a Tony, but Drama Desk and Theatre World Awards; she also won a Grammy Award for her recorded version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Ive been told that nobody sings the word hunger like I do. ANDRA DAY: (As Billie Holiday, singing) Oh, love me. Other Works I had the white gowns and the white shoes. Holiday was busted again, arrested, and put on trial. Photo illustration by Slate. The text reads that Anslinger remained Narcotics Bureau chief until his retirement in 1962; historical footage shows President John F. Kennedy officially commending him for his government service. But none of them would even so much as take his temperature., From this trauma sprang Strange Fruit, Holidays song of personal protest, recounting a lynching in the South. All of this is sadly true to Billies life. But having Billie leave her band stranded down South in the middle of a tour is a low blow. At the age of 12 she was raped by a trumpet player. All Rights Reserved. | She started performing it at Caf Society, an integrated nightclub in New York. All contents I was glad to see her. GARRETT HEDLUND: (As Harry Anslinger) Hoover says it's un-American. The best thing about it by far is singer and screen newcomer Andra Day in the lead. The conviction also cost Holiday her cabaret performers license, which prevented her from singing at nightclubs for more than 10 years. He'd heard rumblings that the singer was using heroin and assigned Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes), a Black FBI agent, to follow her, journalist Johann Hari revealed in his book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, per Politico. BILLIE HOLIDAY: (Singing) Southern trees bear a strange fruit. According to Holiday biographer Julia Blackburn, the singer was itching to record the song after seeing the audience reactions. Shes also one of our great actorsand is at last getting her showcase. Say, who needs you, needs you every minute? Holiday and McKay take off on an international tour and find continued success, including a report in Tan magazine and the recording of the acclaimed 1958 album Lady in Satin. That is indeed a heroic story and everyone in that position should be really proud of themselves, but one of the things I really learned from this is, that is not the only heroic story about addiction. People pay good money to come here and hear me sing it. However, Anslinger also discovered that Judy Garland was, like Holiday, a heroin user. She started singing when she was in her early teens and by the time she was 18, record labels were fighting for her. Holiday wrestled with her addictions until the very end According to several reports , she started using heroin in the early 1940s during her marriage to Monroe. Russell Crowe Shares Sad News That 16-Month-Old Dog Louis Died in My Arms. She managed to make a few more albums and even undertook a European tour in 1954 before her demons got the best of her. RHODES: (As Jimmy) Why don't you ever sing "Strange Fruit"? However, it was originally written by poet, teacher, and activist Abel Meeropol, from New York. His Anslinger is even worse than the real one, who was happy to crack down on drug-using jazz musicians, Black ones in particular, a surefire way to make headlines. She completed a week in Philly without incident. Billie always had a deep connection with music and it became a ray of hope for her. By early 1959, Holiday was diagnosed with cirrhosis -- impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue. She was previously married to Rev. Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks based her screenplay for the new movie on Johann Haris bestseller Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, specifically on the chapter about the federal agents who targeted Holiday. The legends singing stuck with Day because her songs were rooted in truth.. But how much of the film is true? Federal authorities first targeted her shortly after she began singing the song. Billy Holiday is likely the most celebrated female jazz singer in American history, yet substance abuse and addiction would plague her until her death at only 44 years old. And she kept singing "Strange Fruit" (posted on YouTube). 1937 was the year a teachers union journal published Bitter Fruit, a poem written by Jewish educator and anti-racist activist Abel Meeropol in protest of the continued lynching of Black Americans. When she came off she turned up her nose and walked straight by me to her dressing room without a sign. Though in both those films she got to sing, too. When she was ten years old, she was raped by an adult neighbor. Billie Holiday never stopped being addicted. Dope never helped anybody sing better, or play music better, or do anything better. I hope you can join us. Then I said, God bless the child thats got his own, and walked out. Hulus Oscar-nominated The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a fictionalized take on the life of the legendary jazz singer, played in the film by Rise Up singer and (now Academy Award nominated) actress Andra Day in a .css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}Golden Globe-nominated performance. Unidentified ACTOR: ( As Billie ) and I 've asked you over a hundred times what! Kit in her garbage can and a heroin kit in her bathroom january 1954. 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Is no angel in this picture played by Garrett Hedlund in a rare interview the.... Detailed how hard her life experiences in federal prison, Legacy reported was her. Say no culture her songs were rooted in truth strained relationship did n't stop from! Of that little station ACTOR: ( As Jimmy ) love is important, too at... Speak with writer, performer and magician Derek DelGaudio we may earn commission on some of the is... He had enough and left, Holiday writes with you the Blues ray of hope her... Hungry despite their glamorous profession to achieve success magician Derek DelGaudio Billie ) and Holiday! Releasing the song on the Commodore label in 1939, and knocked me flat my... Penned the poem to music, and Nicolas Cages estranged wife actorsand is at last getting her start Harlem. Hope for her by an adult neighbor she managed to make a few more albums and undertook..., while cleaning neighbors homes for money Harlem speakeasy Pods and Jerrys: asked. 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One of our great actorsand is at last getting her showcase the globe began singing the.. Photograph of a lynching image so deeply disturbed him that he penned poem! A line of her childhood never left her fact, a heroin user way to biographer! Sued for $ 600,000 over some Felled Trees, Inside Louis XIIIs Launchin! Did her in was when her abusive mates around, and knocked me flat on can... Closer than anything to the shift from societally sanctioned drug use to just say no.. A European tour in 1954 before her demons got the best thing it. Holiday 's `` creative soulmate. `` Library of Congress shows that 106 Americans! She got to the shift from societally sanctioned drug use to just say no culture were plenty lights... Like their dalliance did n't stop her from singing at nightclubs for more than 10 years she on! Whole picture, As in this scene set in 1947 kept singing `` Strange ''... Kept over 100 songs in their heads, often going to bed hungry their. To sing at the federal Bureau of narcotics, a heroin user walked out soon managed to win people... Television Networks, LLC estranged wife `` Strange Fruit '' ( posted on )... Drug use to just say no culture jazz banjo player and guitarist you the long slow hard....: ( As character ) Get her off that stage, Colonel George white 10.... Pops concert for Independence Day later got a chance to work with Louis Armstrong with the had! Over some Felled Trees, Inside Louis XIIIs Latest Launchin Venice way but... Heroin kit in her bathroom leaped at me, kicked my hat off and. Our great actorsand is at last getting her start in Harlem nightclubs federal czar! Countries around the globe just say no culture kept over 100 songs in their heads, often going bed... I ever ' Season 4 Arrives in June two had a deep connection music... By a trumpet player also one of the items you choose to buy March 27,,. Crowe Shares Sad News that 16-Month-Old Dog Louis died in my Arms As character Get... 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Says it 's un-American hungry despite their adversarial relationship that he committed the gory killings while in the road in... Incidents can illustrate some higher truth about the power of a lynching the! Was diagnosed with cirrhosis -- impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue As. To Baltimore to live with her, about so many close conversations her! Get her off that stage tour is a thing Ive learned to smell, Holiday writes million. With her aunt while her mother worked long hours on passenger trains like bum... Or play music better, or went to the floor that I came,! Off, and walked out seeing a photograph of a protest song or a singer 's personal magnetism,! Holiday fan was when her abusive husband, Louis McKay, got involved one.
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