Archive for January 5th, 2012

Betty Inada: A Sacramento Flapper on the Silver Screen

Betty Inada: A Sacramento Flapper on the Silver Screen

By William Burg

How did a Sacramento girl become the most popular jazz singer in Japan? The little-known story of Betty Inada began in Sacramento’s Japantown. Like many Nisei, the first generation of American-born children of Japanese immigrants, her life was caught between the traditions of her parents and the culture of their adopted country. Born on November 10, 1913, her parents named her Fumiko but gave her the nickname “Bessie,” which she disliked and later changed to “Betty.” This independence characterized her life, and by her teens she fell in love with jazz. In the 1920s, jazz was wild, disobedient music considered responsible for the downfall of American morals, but kids like Betty loved it. Adopting flapper fashions, short hair with celluloid barettes and short skirts with rolled-down stockings, Betty’s style shocked her parents and more traditional Nisei youth but made her a popular figure in the local jazz scene. Read more »