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IDEALIST (From p. 6)
The show was a musical history of her life simply titled, Josephine, but the production was anything but simple. Josephine was drawn onto the stage in a carriage.
She was wearing 255 yards of tulle embroidered with mother-of-pearl and studded with camellias. The affair was such a huge success, and Josephine was asked to take the show back to Paris. It opened for the readers of France Soir on March 24, 1975. They gave her a standing ovation. "Within twenty-four hours of the first show, all Paris knew Josephine was a hit. 'I've never seen anything like it, and I doubt I will again,' " marveled the producer. (Josephine p.287)
On April 8th a special gala performance was held. The packed theater included many celebrities such as Sophia Loren, Alain Delon, Jeanne Moreau, and Princess Grace. Following the performance, the crowd of distinguished guests moved to Hotel Bristol where supper was being given for three hundred people. This evening marked Josephine's fiftieth anniversary with Paris. A friend in attendance remarked,
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"As (Josephine) stood there hand in hand with Princess Grace, I couldn't' help wondering at the strange ways of destiny. Perhaps the friendship of these two Americans symbolized the coming of a better world." (Josephine, p.289) On April 10, 1975 Josephine Baker slipped into a coma and died two days later.
Jo Bouillon had once remarked about Josephine, "She's the only woman I know who reminds me of a waterfall, a bonfire, and a nightingale rolled into one." (Josephine, p.143)
Perhaps those words are a fitting epitome for this much loved entertainer, activist, and idealist. Her life was one incredible journey.
Sources used by the author: Baker, Josephine & Bouillon, Jo. Josephine. New York: Marlowe & Company, 1977. Bigelow, Barbara Carlisle, Editor. Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 3, Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993.
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