Gladys Peryl – Cocoa Cabaret Cafe

Gladys Peryl Banbury, 1950s.

Doris, 14, & her mother Gladys Peryl, Long Island, NY 1944

In honor of Gladys Peryl Banbury, my maternal Grandmother, an Opera singer trainee and an Amherst Nova Scotia native, I created a new store to sell products from a product producing company. I will also include some of my limited Edition hand knit/crochet items for home and personal use. Such produced items will be sold on Etsy that include cups, t-shirts, wrapping paper, pet bowls, etc. The graphics and photos printed on the items will be photographs of legendary movie stars that my mother, Doris Banbury, took in the 1950s. There will also be graphics of one of my favs, Betty Boop.

Gladys Peryl died before we were born, my younger brother and me. From the stories my mother often shared Gladys Peryl symbolized a woman of courage, strength and faith. She seemed more emotionally stronger than my mother from what I was told, but Gladys Peryl was vulnerable as I came to learn. Gladys Peryl divorced my grandfather Charles, a West Indian native, when Doris was four years old and single-handedly raised her in South Bronx, NY in a brownstone on Southern Blvd.

Doris Banbury, 5th Avenue Manhattan, NY 1958

When my mother suffered abuse from a male relative for nearly the first decade of her life, including an abortion that Gladys Peryl escorted Doris to when she was about 13 or 14 years old, I came to learn of my mother’s struggles with PTSD and her vulnerability. But, I also grew to learn of my mother’s courage, strength and faith when it came to her two children. Both Gladys Peryl and Doris exemplified true womanhood and I am glad that even with my own struggles, I came from two such dynamic, sensitive and fiercely determined women.

“With Love, Gladys Peryl” is my homage to the strength of women and love and devotion of the children women help to bring into this world and nourish them to grow from pain into a positive fruitful life. Featured are Doris Banbury’s photos of Hollywood legends and Betty Boop images old products such as cups, candles, pet bowls t-shirts, calendars to name a few.

DORIS BANBURY PRIVATE PHOTO COLLECTION also GLADYS PERYL SOCIAL MEDIA and ETSY