Gertrude Saunders

A 1922 publicity photo of Gertrude Saunders, born on August 25, 1903 in North Carolina. She was an actress, known for Big Timers (1945), Sepia Cinderella (1947) and The Toy Wife (1938). She died in April 1991 in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Saunders is also infamously known for her affair with Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith's husband, Jack Gee.

Smith had given her husband money to produce a show for her. Jack threw together as cheap a production as possible for Bessie and decided to use the remainder of the money for personal gain—not to enrich himself financially, but to win the heart of Gertrude Saunders, a singer of striking looks and impressive past accomplishments. Ms. Saunders had starred successfully in the title role of Irvin C. Miller’s Red Hot Mama show during the 1926 season, and headed the cast of various subsequent editions, but her most successful shows had been Liza and the 1921 Sissle and Blake hit, Shuffle Along (which included Josephine Baker in the chorus line). The latter production would probably have secured Ms. Saunders’ stage future, but she made a fateful decision and allowed herself to be lured away from the original cast by an offer that never materialized. Gertrude Saunders’ bad move opened the door for the ultimate black beauty of the day, Florence Mills, who took over the role and was such a hit that she became the toast of Broadway. Ms. Mills career was cut short in November,1927, when she died at the age of 35, but the bright spotlight Gertrude Saunders so foolishly relinquished was never restored to her.

It is not known when Jack’s relationship with Ms. Saunders began, but Bessie's niece Ruby Walker Smith, thought it had gone on for some time before Jack produced her show, and that it accounted for some of his “hunting” trips. Gertrude Saunders was the antithesis of Bessie Smith, their personalities and looks contrasted sharply: Gertrude’s complexion was light, her hair long and her disposition gentle. She was also slim and quite a bit younger than Bessie. The artistic gap that separated the two was equally wide: Gertrude Saunders relied more on her looks than on her voice.

“She was the opposite of Bessie,” said Ruby (Bessie's niece), making no secret of her disdain. “She had light skin and long curly 'good' hair and a gorgeous figure, and she knew it. In fact, she thought her shit didn’t stink."

In a 1971 author Jack Albertson interviewed Ms. Saunders asking her if she had known that three thousand dollars of Bessie’s money went to back her show. “No,” she replied, emphatically, “but Jack could very well have put the money in my show without telling Bessie. Naturally he wouldn’t tell me if it was her money, he’d want to act like a big shot.” Which, of course, was exactly what he was doing.

“I don’t know how he thought he could get away with it,” said Ruby, “but he wasn’t never too bright and he didn’t know anything about show business. He should have known that you can’t keep something like that a secret, not with all them blabbermouths around. His show only lasted about five or six months, then it folded up. He couldn't get enough bookings. And,” she added acerbically, “his star wasn’t strong enough to hold it up.”

Bessie and Gertrude had two run-ins, the second left Gertrude beaten and bloody on a sidewalk and Bessie charged with assault. Afterwards, Gertrude vowed never to have anything to do with Jack again. Although she denied it, word was that she did not keep her vow.

Source: Bessie, by Jack Albertson; IMD; Frank Driggs Collection