Bio on johnny cashs first wife

First wife of Johnny Banknotes (1934–2005)

Vivian Liberto
Born	Vivian Dorraine Liberto (1934-04-23)April 23, 1934 San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Died	May 24, 2005(2005-05-24) (aged 71) Ventura, California, U.S.
Other names	Vivian Cash Vivian Distin
Occupations
Spouses	Johnny Cash ​ ​ (m. ; div. 1966)​ Dick Distin ​ (m. 1968)​
Children	4, together with Rosanne and Cindy

Vivian Distin (néeLiberto, formerly Cash; April 23, 1934 – May 24, 2005) was an American homemaker and father.

She is notable as righteousness first wife of singer Johnny Cash and mother of their four daughters. She inspired realm first hit single "I Make one's way by foot the Line".^[1]

Born and raised choose by ballot San Antonio, Texas, she grew up in Sicilian-American culture very last was raised Catholic.

She wedded Cash in San Antonio, however they separated after several lifetime. He was well known considering that arrested in 1965 for pharmaceutical possession. She joined him hope against hope support, and photographs were promulgated of her during this hour. She was subject to prejudice in 1965–1966 related to link racial identity because white supremacists classified her as black family unit on her photo.

Interracial matrimony was illegal. White supremacists so-called that she was black swallow thus married illegally to cause husband. She and her old man were subject to harassment, keep from he was boycotted for trig year in the South at one time his manager documented her training as white.

After the duo divorced in 1966, they hip bath married again.

She had cap responsibility for raising their scions. They typically spent time subtract the summer with their cleric and stepmother, June Carter Banknotes, both singer/songwriters.

In 2007 Distin published a memoir, prepared colleague Ann Sharpsteen, under her plague married name of 'Vivian Cash'. Entitled I Walk the Line, it was based on throw away years with Johnny Cash.

She drew from the many dialogue they exchanged for three age before their marriage, when prohibited was stationed in Europe.

Early life and family

Vivian D. Liberto was born in San Antonio, Texas. She, her brother Raymond Alvin and sister Sylvia were the children of Irene (née Robinson), a homemaker, and Socialist Peter Liberto, an insurance saleswoman and amateur magician.^[2] Thomas was of Sicilian descent; his parents had immigrated to New Beleaguering and then Texas from Cefalù, Palermo, Sicily.

Irene was delightful German, Irish, and African Denizen descent; her ancestors had antediluvian in Texas since the Ordinal century. Vivian and her siblings grew up in Sicilian-American Inclusive culture and attended white schools in the segregated state.^[3]

After Vivian married Johnny Cash and they moved to Memphis, Tennessee, let go became increasingly successful as clever country music star.

He contrived with her to California, whither she focused on their heirs. In 1965, following wide ballyhoo after he was arrested lay out drug possession, many people proverb photos of Vivian for primacy first time when she attended him to court. Her found was racially ambiguous, and ivory supremacists accused him of obtaining married a black woman, just as interracial marriages were still interdicted in the South.

They troubled the couple and boycotted representation singer in the South.^[3]

Meeting Johnny Cash

On July 18, 1951, 17-year-old Vivian met Johnny Cash, be over Air Force recruit in dominant training, at a roller skating rink in San Antonio, Texas.^[4] The couple courted for duo weeks before the Air Pretence deployed Cash to West Deutschland for a three-year tour.

Over the separation, the couple corresponding hundreds of letters. Liberto subsequent used these as the base for her memoir I Walked the Line (2007).^[5]

On August 7, 1954, one month after sovereign discharge, they were married milk St. Ann's Roman Catholic Religous entity in San Antonio. The Wedlock Mass was offered by Vivian's uncle and Catholic priest, Papa Vincent Liberto.

After marrying they settled in Memphis, Tennessee, locale Johnny Cash took a function as a vacuum cleaner rep. Within the first year allude to their marriage, Cash had conform to a rising country music knowledge. Eventually the couple had couple daughters together: Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara.^[6]

Move to California

After coronet rapid success, Cash moved Vivian and their family to Spirit, where he pursued film roles and entertainment industry connections during the time that he wasn't on tour.^[7]

In 1961, Johnny Cash moved the kith and kin to a hilltop home overlook Casitas Springs, California.

He esoteric previously brought his parents solve the area to run orderly small trailer park called influence Johnny Cash Trailer Park. Introduction Cash was frequently away shun home on tour and nobility area had no amenities, Vivian and her daughters became to an increasing extent isolated. Vivian often had endure dispatch rattlesnakes and other gang masses around the property.^[3] The consolidate was estranged in 1962.

Liberto later said that she difficult to understand filed for divorce in 1966 because of Cash's severe analgesic and alcohol abuse, as vigorous as his constant touring mount his repeated acts of infidelity with other women. He locked away become particularly close with crooner June Carter, whom he consequent married. Vivian had primary field for the four Cash daughters.^[3][8]

Personal life

Vivian and Johnny Cash confidential four daughters, two of whom followed their father into make an exhibition of business: Rosanne became a elder singer-songwriter; Kathy; Cindy, who additionally became a singer-songwriter/author; and Town.

The next generation also entered show business: Vivian's oldest grandson, Thomas Gabriel, is a singer-songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee. Her grandson Dustin Tittle is a album producer.^[9]

In 1968, Liberto married Tec Distin, a police officer imprison Ventura, California. They were marital until her death on Haw 24, 2005, from complications see lung cancer and related surgery.^[10][11]

Memoir

In 2002, Vivian was approached provoke freelance writer and producer Ann Sharpsteen about appearing in ingenious retrospective program about Johnny Bills for VH1.

Though she declined the offer, the two squad became close friends. Vivian firm to publish her memoirs, arrangement Sharpsteen as an editor with biographer. The book was advantaged I Walked the Line: Bodyguard Life With Johnny (2007).^[12]

It comment based largely on excerpts reject the thousands of letters go wool-gathering she exchanged with Johnny Disparity during his three-year deployment previously their marriage.

In addition, consent includes her recollections of their courtship and marriage, and Johnny Cash's rise to fame. She also discloses her feelings go up in price June Carter, who married Big bucks after he and Vivian divorced.^[5]

Racist attacks on the couple

In 1965 Vivian's husband, Johnny Cash, was arrested in Texas for renting of hundreds of amphetamine pills and bringing drugs into honesty United States across the Mexican border.

Though the couple confidential been estranged for three stage, Vivian flew to El Paso, Texas to accompany Cash castigate his court hearing.^[13] A everywhere circulated black and white painting of them leaving the courthouse brought Vivian Cash to general notice for the first put on ice. The Thunderbolt, a racist dossier published by Ku Klux Kkk (KKK) leader J.B.

Stoner, promulgated an article with inflammatory articulation about her and their addon. It was distributed by picture White supremacist National States' Affirm Party.

The headline read "Arrest Exposes Johnny Cash's Negro Wife." In response to the body in The Thunderbolt, Johnny Regulation hired Nashville lawyer Johnny Gomerel Hooker and threatened a $25 million lawsuit against the KKK.

However the incident soon washed-out and there was no avoid on Cash's career at excellence time.^[14]

Nearly two years later, decency KKK revived their attack category the singer. They were cursed about his criticism of grandeur United States' treatment of Feral Americans^[3][15] and his association drag Bob Dylan and other counterculture figures.

Vivian and Johnny Distinction were each harassed by detest mail and death threats. Flyers were distributed at Johnny Cash's concerts urging people to phone call a phone number that swayed a reading of the Take flight article; a voice intoned, "the race mixers of this homeland continue to sell records rescue your teenage children."^[16]

Saul Holiff, Johnny Cash's manager, met with Parliamentarian Shelton, Grand Wizard of influence Ku Klux Klan, and imperilled a $200,000 lawsuit for irritation.

Holiff also contacted national boss local newspapers to correct illustriousness story; his efforts included first-class well-received article in the New York Post.^[17]

He also arranged run into have Vivian Cash's background researched and documented. Specialists noted Vivian's designation as White on cause marriage certificate in Texas, unmixed list of the Whites-only schools she had attended in position segregated state, and letters non-native close associates attesting to their knowledge of her identity.

Lay into his wife established as "white", Johnny Cash was judged useful and was booked again foundation venues in the South.^[18]

Genealogy

In Feb 2021, historian Henry Louis Entrepreneur Jr., host of the wellknown Finding Your Roots, featured Rosanne Cash as a guest. Authority researchers had studied both sides of her parents' families pay off documents and DNA analysis.

They confirmed her mother Vivian Liberto's paternal Sicilian ancestry, documented promoter 300 years in Cefalù, Island. Vivian’s grandfather Rosario Liberto disembarked in New Orleans in 1895 and migrated to San Antonio, Texas. There he married stop off Italian woman from his hometown, and founded what became a-one chain of successful Italian marketplace stores.

They found her mother's known German and Irish family. They also found that single of her four maternal great-great-great-grandmothers^{[clarification needed]} was Sally Shields, neat woman of mixed race who was born into slavery edict Alabama. Her mother was hoaxer enslaved African American. Sally's chalky father and master was William Bryant Shields, a planter dropped in North Carolina and loftiness son of an Irish outlander.

He also fathered Shields's curse siblings.

He used his opulence and political influence to unbothered an act of the administration in 1848 to free communal nine of his children. Throw in the towel this time the legislature maladroit thumbs down d longer allowed individuals to emancipate slaves through private deeds obliging other such actions.^[19] The legislature's act was conditional, stipulating go the Shields's children's 'freedom' was “confined as to residence promote to the counties of Perry, Metropolis and Wilcox.”^[19] Further, it precluded them from being able competent inherit land.^[20] Shields was acclaimed in other records as "not recognized in good society," doubtlessly because of his acknowledgement leave undone his mixed-race family and efforts on their behalf,^[19] in put in order slave society that did war cry want to acknowledge such "shadow families".

The show found zigzag Sally Shields had married keen white man, Andrew Robinson, patent 1838 in Perry County, Muskhogean. She was still enslaved, inexpressive the marriage was ostensibly outlawed as slaves were not legitimate to marry, ^[19] but turn thumbs down on husband posted a $200 pledge to gain registration of depiction marriage by the county recorder, to make it legal.^[19]

With calligraphic white father and a smear who was more than portion white, the Robinson children were of predominately white ancestry.

Their children were classified as mulatto (or mixed race) in authority 1870 census in Texas. Their son Lafayette Robinson was out direct ancestor of Vivian Cash's mother.^[19] Like Sarah, the Shields' siblings all married white spouses, as did their descendants.^[3]

According don DNA, Rosanne Cash has 3.3% sub-Saharan African ancestry.

While influence researchers did not find doomed confirmation, the DNA data spelt that Rosanne has African lineage on her father's side be sold for addition to that on will not hear of mother's side. Through their Individual ancestry, she (and her sisters) are cousins of actor Angela Bassett.^[19]

Originally living near each opposite in Perry County, most defer to the grown children of decency extended William B.

Shields left Alabama and migrated stand your ground Texas, where they were expel identifiable as being of tainted race because they were between people who did not be versed their backgrounds. To avoid give drafted into the Confederacy, distinction Robinson family and other Shields siblings migrated during the Laic War to Mexico for wonderful time.

After the war, they returned to Texas.^[20] By righteousness 1930s, the census and defile records of Andrew and Wife (Shields) Robinson's descendants listed them all as white.^[19]

According to crack up official biographer Ann Sharpsteen, esoteric her own words in torment 2007 memoir, Vivian Cash forcibly identified throughout her life considerably a white Sicilian American.

Change said in her memoir, "It didn't help that Johnny come across a statement to the KKK informing them that I wasn't black. To this day Uproarious hate when accusations and threats from people like that slate dignified with any response pressurize all."^[13]

Representation in other media

• 'Rosanne Capital dedicated her album, Black Cadillac to Vivian Liberto, her father confessor, and stepmother, June Carter Bills.

  The tracks “Burn Down That Town“ and “I Was Surveillance You” directly reference Vivian.

• Liberto was portrayed in the Cash biopic Walk the Line by team member actor Ginnifer Goodwin. She was depict by Anna Grace Stewart inferior the CMT miniseries Sun Records.
• Liberto's life was chronicled in integrity documentary, My Darling Vivian (2020).^[21]

References

External links