B. J. Arnau
| B. J. Arnau | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Brenda Burton June 1941 Cleveland, OH, USA |
| Died | November 1989 London, England (UK) |
| Cause of death | Brain tumor |
| Resting place | UK |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Brenda Arnau |
| Occupation | Entertainer |
| Employer | UA Records, RCA Records |
| Known for | Singer and Actor, Designer (clothing) |
| Height | 5'10" |
| Spouse(s) |
Michael Arnaud (deceased) Michael Bastow (divorced) |
| Children | Shelly Arnaud |
| Parent(s) | Betty Gwenn |
| Relatives | Brent Burton (younger brother) |
Michael Arnaud (deceased)
B. J. Arnau (June, 1941 – November, 1989) was an American-born female singer and actor active in the UK and the US from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. She is also known as Brenda Arnau.
A recently discovered 1973 newspaper article sheds new light on this mysterious lady.
She was born Brenda Burton in Cleveland, Ohio, in June 1941, and she has a younger brother (deceased). Her first husband's surname was Arnaud, which she modified to "Arnau" for her stage name. As of the date of the article, she was married to Michael Bastow (a movie art-director) and had one daughter whom she loved very much and felt it was best to protect from any negative publicity.
After considering a career as a fashion designer, Brenda worked as a telephone operator in Los Angeles, then as a go-go dancer and a hairdresser in San Francisco, before moving to Las Vegas to audition as a "showgirl." She eventually managed to land a guest-spot on Joey Bishop's TV show, and a role as a sharecropper in the movie of Finian's Rainbow (1968), but success in the USA eluded her, so she decided to try somewhere else.
Surprisingly, she began in the Far East, becoming a bit of a star on the U.S. Armed Forces Network during the Vietnam War, and performing for American troops in the war-zone. Enduring this gave her the courage to travel and spread her wings abroad. She moved to Paris with a struggle to build a successful career there, and in London which eventually made its way back to the US via the James Bond film and Benny Hill show.
While singing at London's Playboy Club in 1970, she was discovered by famed producer Kenneth Tynan, who added her to the cast of his successful West End production of Oh Calcutta, and gave her new material in it, including a scene entitled To His American Mistress. She stayed with the production for seven months. She took singing lessons which only enhanced her natural God-given talent and allowed her to make tracks for top British record producer Jonathan King, who released her singles I Want To Go Back There Again and The Big Hurt. Both got critical acclaim and cult following but neither became hits. So she left the UK on a world tour of cabaret gigs.
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