Anita Bryant, TV Personality, Singer of The Orange Bird Song, and Anti-Gay Crusader Dies at 84

Anita Bryant died December 16, 2024, at 84 years old of currently unknown circumstances.

Anita Bryant Dies at 84

Woman with short, styled hair in a floral dress smiles against a purple background. — Source: Deadline

Deadline reports that Anita Bryant died December 16, 2024, at 84 years old. She was a Grammy-nominated singer, TV personality, and orange juice pitchwoman. She is most notably more famous for her anti-gay campaigns of the late 1970s.

Cover of "The Orange Bird" album featuring an illustration of a small, orange bird with green leaves as wings, surrounded by blue flowers. Text credits Anita Bryant and other contributors. — Source: DisneylandRecords.com

She became a spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Commission in 1969 and was often in commercials that featured the well-known animated Orange Bird and singing the jingle “Come to the Florida Sunshine Tree.”

A brightly colored bus with a cartoon orange character painted on its side, parked at a bus station under a shaded structure.

The creation of the Orange Bird stems back to Disney Legend and animator Bob Moore who crafted the Orange Bird for the Florida Citrus Commission in 1969.

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