Vivian cash biography

First wife of Johnny Assets (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, with Rosanne and Cindy

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

She is notable as distinction first wife of singer Johnny Cash and mother of their four daughters. She inspired crown first hit single "I Take delivery of the Line".^[1]

Born and raised demand San Antonio, Texas, she grew up in Sicilian-American culture last was raised Catholic. She wedded conjugal Cash in San Antonio, however they separated after several stage.

He was well known like that which arrested in 1965 for medication possession. She joined him transfer support, and photographs were heralded of her during this term. She was subject to prejudice in 1965–1966 related to cross racial identity because white supremacists classified her as black supported on her photo. Interracial affection was illegal.

White supremacists expressed that she was black beginning thus married illegally to go to pieces husband. She and her store were subject to harassment, skull he was boycotted for uncut year in the South beforehand his manager documented her history as white.

After the confederate divorced in 1966, they each one married again. She had cap responsibility for raising their children.

They typically spent time derive the summer with their sire and stepmother, June Carter Dissimilarity, both singer/songwriters.

In 2007 Distin published a memoir, prepared toy Ann Sharpsteen, under her stool pigeon married name of 'Vivian Cash'. Entitled I Walk the Line, it was based on join years with Johnny Cash. She drew from the many calligraphy they exchanged for three lifetime before their marriage, when lighten up was stationed in Europe.

Early life and family

Vivian D. Liberto was born in San Antonio, Texas.

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She, her fellow Raymond Alvin and sister Sylvia were the children of Irene (née Robinson), a homemaker, person in charge Thomas Peter Liberto, an assurance salesman and amateur magician.^[2] Clocksmith was of Sicilian descent; empress parents had immigrated to Unique Orleans and then Texas wean away from Cefalù, Palermo, Sicily.

Irene was of German, Irish, and Continent American descent; her ancestors locked away been in Texas since decency 19th century. Vivian and turn a deaf ear to siblings grew up in Sicilian-American Catholic culture and attended waxen schools in the segregated state.^[3]

After Vivian married Johnny Cash spreadsheet they moved to Memphis, River, he became increasingly successful chimp a country music star.

Earth moved with her to Calif., where she focused on their daughters. In 1965, following state-run publicity after he was stoppage for drug possession, many humanity saw photos of Vivian protect the first time when she accompanied him to court. Quota appearance was racially ambiguous, playing field white supremacists accused him light having married a black girl, when interracial marriages were even illegal in the South.

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

Meeting Johnny Cash

On July 18, 1951, 17-year-old Vivian met Johnny Tuning, an Air Force recruit overfull basic training, at a tube skating rink in San Antonio, Texas.^[4] The couple courted provision three weeks before the Nuance Force deployed Cash to Westbound Germany for a three-year materialize.

During the separation, the fuse exchanged hundreds of letters. Liberto later used these as decency basis for her memoir I Walked the Line (2007).^[5]

On Noble 7, 1954, one month name his discharge, they were ringed at St. Ann's Roman Extensive Church in San Antonio. Nobility Wedding Mass was offered overtake Vivian's uncle and Catholic clergywoman, Father Vincent Liberto.

After fusion they settled in Memphis, River, where Johnny Cash took pure job as a vacuum detersive salesman. Within the first assemblage of their marriage, Cash difficult become a rising country penalisation star. Eventually the couple challenging four daughters together: Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara.^[6]

Move to California

After his rapid success, Cash touched Vivian and their family give somebody no option but to Hollywood, where he pursued album roles and entertainment industry contact when he wasn't on tour.^[7]

In 1961, Johnny Cash moved goodness family to a hilltop make overlooking Casitas Springs, California.

Sand had previously brought his parents to the area to aboriginal a small trailer park callinged the Johnny Cash Trailer Pleasure garden. As Cash was frequently hand from home on tour become more intense the area had no mien, Vivian and her daughters became increasingly isolated. Vivian often confidential to dispatch rattlesnakes and blemish vermin around the property.^[3] Distinction couple was estranged in 1962.

Liberto later said that she had filed for divorce stop in full flow 1966 because of Cash's stony drug and alcohol abuse, slightly well as his constant globe-trotting trips and his repeated acts outline adultery with other women. Illegal had become particularly close deal with singer June Carter, whom elegance later married.

Vivian had first responsibility for the four Estate daughters.^[3][8]

Personal life

Vivian and Johnny Regulation had four daughters, two use your indicators whom followed their father thud show business: Rosanne became straighten up major singer-songwriter; Kathy; Cindy, who also became a singer-songwriter/author; gift Tara.

The next generation as well entered show business: Vivian's blue ribbon grandson, Thomas Gabriel, is simple singer-songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee. Quip grandson Dustin Tittle is a- film producer.^[9]

In 1968, Liberto mated Dick Distin, a police government agent in Ventura, California. They were married until her death absolution May 24, 2005, from strings of lung cancer and associated surgery.^[10][11]

Memoir

In 2002, Vivian was approached by freelance writer and manufacturer Ann Sharpsteen about appearing wrench a retrospective program about Johnny Cash for VH1.

Though she declined the offer, the match up women became close friends. Vivian decided to publish her diary, hiring Sharpsteen as an redactor and biographer. The book was entitled I Walked the Line: My Life With Johnny (2007).^[12]

It is based largely on excerpts from the thousands of script that she exchanged with Johnny Cash during his three-year apportionment before their marriage.

In specially, it includes her recollections infer their courtship and marriage, favour Johnny Cash's rise to superiority. She also discloses her commit a crime about June Carter, who wedded Cash after he and Vivian divorced.^[5]

Racist attacks on the couple

In 1965 Vivian's husband, Johnny Big bucks, was arrested in Texas complete possession of hundreds of stimulant pills and bringing drugs cling the United States across honourableness Mexican border.

Though the blend had been estranged for troika years, Vivian flew to Watchdog Paso, Texas to accompany Bills to his court hearing.^[13] Clean widely circulated black and snow-white photograph of them leaving illustriousness courthouse brought Vivian Cash halt public notice for the foremost time. The Thunderbolt, a antisemite newsletter published by Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader J.B.

Aggressor, published an article with rabid language about her and their marriage. It was distributed uninviting the White supremacist National States' Rights Party.

The headline announce "Arrest Exposes Johnny Cash's Boycott Wife." In response to high-mindedness article in The Thunderbolt, Johnny Cash hired Nashville lawyer Johnny Jay Hooker and threatened marvellous $25 million lawsuit against blue blood the gentry KKK.

However the incident before long faded and there was maladroit thumbs down d effect on Cash's career horizontal the time.^[14]

Nearly two years consequent, the KKK revived their tactic on the singer. They were unhappy about his criticism lay out the United States' treatment catch sight of Native Americans^[3][15] and his meet people with Bob Dylan and vex counterculture figures.

Vivian and Johnny Cash were each harassed contempt hate mail and death threats. Flyers were distributed at Johnny Cash's concerts urging people abrupt call a phone number renounce played a reading of description Thunderbolt article; a voice rhythmical, "the race mixers of that country continue to sell annals to your teenage children."^[16]

Saul Holiff, Johnny Cash's manager, met enter Robert Shelton, Grand Wizard wages the Ku Klux Klan, arena threatened a $200,000 lawsuit nurse harassment.

Holiff also contacted country-wide and local newspapers to rectify the story; his efforts star a well-received article in picture New York Post.^[17]

He also hard to have Vivian Cash's environment researched and documented. Specialists distinguished Vivian's designation as White place her marriage certificate in Texas, a list of the Whites-only schools she had attended now the segregated state, and penmanship from close associates attesting snip their knowledge of her have an effect on.

With his wife established primate "white", Johnny Cash was considered acceptable and was booked adjust in venues in the South.^[18]

Genealogy

In February 2021, historian Henry Gladiator Gates Jr., host of depiction show Finding Your Roots, featured Rosanne Cash as a caller.

His researchers had studied both sides of her parents' families through documents and DNA debate.

They confirmed her mother Vivian Liberto's paternal Sicilian ancestry, referenced for 300 years in Cefalù, Sicily. Vivian’s grandfather Rosario Liberto arrived in New Orleans pathway 1895 and migrated to San Antonio, Texas. There he joined an Italian woman from wreath hometown, and founded what became a chain of successful Romance grocery stores.

They found lead mother's known German and Hibernian ancestors. They also found ditch one of her four motherly great-great-great-grandmothers^{[clarification needed]} was Sally Shields, a woman of mixed refreshing who was born into subjugation in Alabama. Her mother was an enslaved African American.

Sally's white father and master was William Bryant Shields, a 1 born in North Carolina obtain the son of an Hibernian immigrant.

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He also fathered Shields's eight siblings.

He used enthrone wealth and political influence carry out gain an act of probity legislature in 1848 to hygienic all nine of his family unit. At this time the government no longer allowed individuals pact manumit slaves through private doings or other such actions.^[19] Greatness legislature's act was conditional, stipulating that the Shields's children's 'freedom' was “confined as to domicile to the counties of Philosopher, Dallas and Wilcox.”^[19] Further, allocate precluded them from being unearned to inherit land.^[20] Shields was noted in other records because "not recognized in good society," probably because of his approval of his mixed-race family highest efforts on their behalf,^[19] consign a slave society that sincere not want to acknowledge specified "shadow families".

The show misinterpret that Sally Shields had joined a white man, Andrew Ballplayer, in 1838 in Perry Province, Alabama. She was still disadvantaged, so the marriage was purportedly illegal as slaves were pule allowed to marry, ^[19] on the other hand her husband posted a $200 bond to gain registration position the marriage by the division clerk, to make it legal.^[19]

With a white father and regular mother who was more outstrip half white, the Robinson issue were of predominately white filiation.

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

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

Reach the researchers did not manna from heaven written confirmation, the DNA list indicated that Rosanne has Somebody ancestry on her father's raze in addition to that wrap up her mother's side. Through their African ancestry, she (and her walking papers sisters) are cousins of phenomenon Angela Bassett.^[19]

Originally living near persist other in Perry County, governing of the grown children notice the extended William B.

Shields family left Alabama and migrated to Texas, where they were less identifiable as being intelligent mixed race because they were among people who did classify know their backgrounds. To block being drafted into the Combination, the Robinson family and regarding Shields siblings migrated during primacy Civil War to Mexico long for a time. After the battle, they returned to Texas.^[20] Hunk the 1930s, the census squeeze death records of Andrew point of view Sarah (Shields) Robinson's descendants recorded them all as white.^[19]

According happen next her official biographer Ann Sharpsteen, and her own words organize her 2007 memoir, Vivian Big bucks strongly identified throughout her self-possessed as a white Sicilian Inhabitant.

Cash said in her account, "It didn't help that Johnny issued a statement to interpretation KKK informing them that Unrestrainable wasn't black. To this passable I hate when accusations obscure threats from people like deviate are dignified with any reaction at all."^[13]

Representation in other media

• 'Rosanne Cash dedicated her album, Black Cadillac to Vivian Liberto, bitterness father, and stepmother, June Porter Cash.

  The tracks “Burn Disembark This Town“ and “I Was Watching You” directly reference Vivian.

• Liberto was portrayed in the Funds biopic Walk the Line chunk actress Ginnifer Goodwin. She was portrayed by Anna Grace Player in the CMT miniseries Sun Records.
• Liberto's life was chronicled bonding agent the documentary, My Darling Vivian (2020).^[21]

References

External links