Clarence Avant Birthday Highlights
Birth Name Clarence Alexander Avant
Place Of Birth Climax, United States Age 92 years old
Birth Date February 24 1931
Clarence Avant Facts
Child Star? no Occupation Music Executive, Film Producer, Entrepreneur, Composer Education & Qualifications Dudley High School
Current Partner Jacqueline Avant Children Nicole Avant, Alexander Devore Avant Parents Gertrude Avant
About Clarence AvantBorn on February 25, 1931, Clarence Alexander Avant is an American music executive, film producer, and entrepreneur.He ascended through the ranks of Black Entertainment Television (BET) to become a behind-the-scenes giant in management, deal-making, and problem-solving. Clarence Avant is also known as ‘The Black Godfather.’Billboard commemorated Avant’s 75th birthday in its February 2006 edition. The 90-year-old music executive was born into poverty in Depression-era North Carolina and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. He was trained by the late Joe Glaser, the famed manager of Louis Armstrong, after entering the music business in New York in the ’50s. Sussex Records, Venture Records Inc., Motown Records, and Tabu Records are just a few of the record labels he’s worked with. He is most well-known for producing pop songs.Clarence Avant Net Worth, Earnings, & Spending HabitsWhat is Clarence Avant’s net worth?The net worth of Clarence Avant is estimated to be around $50 million. He rose to prominence after being dubbed ‘The Black Godfather.’ He has also worked with a number of record labels.How much does Clarence Avant earn per year?Clarence Avant earns around $2 million per year. His principal sources of revenue come from his career as a music executive and film producer and also through his businesses, acting, and brand collaborations.Height, Age, & Physical AttributesHow tall is Clarence Avant?Clarence Avant is 5 ft 7 in (172 cm) tall.How old is Clarence Avant?Born on February 25, 1931, Clarence Avant is 91 years old as of 2022.Childhood And EducationClarence Avant was the oldest of eight children born in Climax, North Carolina. Until ninth grade, he went to a one-room school in Greensboro, North Carolina. For his freshman and sophomore years, Mr. Avant attended Dudley High School in Greensboro before moving to New Jersey as a teenager in 1947. Avant worked as a stock clerk at Macy’s and for a law directory in New Jersey.Family, Romance, And RelationshipsWho is Clarence Avant’s partner?Mr. Clarence Avant married Miss Jacqueline’ Jackie’ Alberta Gray in 1967. Miss Jacqueline Avant was born March 6, 1940 in Jamaica, Queens, New York. They have two children together. Miss Nicole Avant was born on March 6, 1968, and Alexander Du Bois Avant, the couple’s son, was born on August 3, 1971.Career And Professional HighlightsIn the ’50s, Clarence Avant worked as a manager at Teddy Powell’s Lounge in Newark, New Jersey. Avant went on to manage jazz singers Sarah Vaughan, Luiz Bonfa, Kim Weston, Wynton Kelly, Curtis Fuller, Freddie Hubbard, Pat Thomas, rock and roll legend Tom Wilson, with whom Avant formed the Wilson Organization that included Jazz musician Jimmy Smith, Jazz producer Creed Taylor, and Lalo Schifrin. Avant founded Avant Garde Enterprises, Inc. in New York on November 7, 1962.Clarence Avant created Venture Records Inc., the first partnership between an African-American musician and a record company, on October 2, 1967, in California. Former Motown composer, music producer, and A&R department head William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson led Venture Records Inc. Avant moved from Manhattan to Beverly Hills in the fall of 1967 to work for Venture Records Inc., a label and joint venture owned by MGM Records, which he worked for until MGM Records shut the company and joint venture in 1969.During this period, Al Bell, a record producer, composer, and executive, requested Avant’s help to sell Stax Records to Gulf+Western, whom he had met through the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers (NATRA). On May 29, 1968, the sale was completed for $4.3 million, with Avant getting 10% of all debentures. Avant and Al Bell were associate producers of Douglas Turner Ward’s ‘The Reckoning’, which was staged at St. Mark’s Playhouse in New York in partnership with The Negro Ensemble Company in August 1969.The music executive remained in Los Angeles after Venture Records Inc. collapsed and formed Sussex Records on December 18, 1969. The company went out of business in June 1975 because of a $48,000 federal tax lien. The IRS seized and auctioned off its assets. Sussex Records signed the soft rock band Gallery, made up of Bill Withers and Dennis Coffey, which was distributed by Buddah Records from 1970 to 1974. The documentary, ‘Searching For Sugar Man’, mentioned Sussex Records.Avant-Garde Broadcasting, founded on August 6, 1971, purchased the first African-American owned FM radio station in metropolitan Los Angeles from Trans America Broadcasting Corp on March 3, 1973, paying $321,000 for the license of KTYM-FM in Inglewood, California. Urban National forced Avant-Garde Broadcasting into bankruptcy on November 20, 1975 when it failed on promissory notes and warrants worth roughly $400,000.Best Known For…In the ’50s, Clarence Avant’s career started when he was in his early twenties. He first managed jazz organists Jimmy Smith and Little Willie John. In 1969, he also founded Sussex Records, which saw success with ‘Scorpio’ by Dennis Coffey, which became a Top Ten song. In 2019, Netflix broadcast a documentary on Avant and his life’s work that featured many renowned people who nicknamed him ‘The Black Godfather.‘Charity Work’Save The Children’ was released in September 1973 by Paramount Pictures, with Avant serving as a film producer. The show combined top black entertainers’ performances with videos of people, particularly children, in varied situations, including war-torn and starving refugees.What awards has Clarence Avant won?Clarence Avant has received quite a few awards and honors over the years. The most prestigious among them was a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 7, 2016 as a recognition for his achievements in the recording industry. The star is located at 6363 Hollywood Boulevard near the stars of Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam. Apart from this, the prestigious Trustees award, given by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, was bestowed upon him. Besides these, he also received the President’s Merit award in February 2018 and the Ahmet Ertegun award. He will also soon be a part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.Clarence Avant’s Hobbies And InterestsThere is no information available regarding the hobbies and interests of Clarence Avant.Other Interesting Clarence Avant Facts And TriviaFrom Barack Obama to Diddy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Quincy Jones, all of them regard themselves as a mentor or a buddy.Clarence has long advocated for artists to own their master recordings and demands fair compensation for them.He resided in Baldwin Hills, a mostly black neighborhood in Los Angeles. The founder of Venture Records then compelled him to relocate to Beverly Hills.At their Beverly Hills home, Jacqueline Avant, the wife of famed music executive Clarence Avant, died. She was 81 years old at the time.Editorial credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com
Clarence Avant Birthday Highlights
Birth Name Clarence Alexander Avant
Place Of Birth Climax, United States Age 92 years old
Birth Date February 24 1931
Clarence Avant Facts
Child Star? no Occupation Music Executive, Film Producer, Entrepreneur, Composer Education & Qualifications Dudley High School
Current Partner Jacqueline Avant Children Nicole Avant, Alexander Devore Avant Parents Gertrude Avant
Born on February 25, 1931, Clarence Alexander Avant is an American music executive, film producer, and entrepreneur.He ascended through the ranks of Black Entertainment Television (BET) to become a behind-the-scenes giant in management, deal-making, and problem-solving. Clarence Avant is also known as ‘The Black Godfather.’Billboard commemorated Avant’s 75th birthday in its February 2006 edition. The 90-year-old music executive was born into poverty in Depression-era North Carolina and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. He was trained by the late Joe Glaser, the famed manager of Louis Armstrong, after entering the music business in New York in the ’50s. Sussex Records, Venture Records Inc., Motown Records, and Tabu Records are just a few of the record labels he’s worked with. He is most well-known for producing pop songs.
Clarence Avant Birthday Highlights
Birth Name Clarence Alexander Avant
Place Of Birth Climax, United States Age 92 years old
Birth Date February 24 1931
Clarence Avant Birthday Highlights
Birth Name Clarence Alexander Avant
Place Of Birth Climax, United States Age 92 years old
Birth Date February 24 1931
Birth Name Clarence Alexander Avant
Place Of Birth Climax, United States Age 92 years old
Birth Date February 24 1931
Birth Name Clarence Alexander Avant
Place Of Birth Climax, United States Age 92 years old
Birth Date February 24 1931
Clarence Avant Facts
Child Star? no Occupation Music Executive, Film Producer, Entrepreneur, Composer Education & Qualifications Dudley High School
Current Partner Jacqueline Avant Children Nicole Avant, Alexander Devore Avant Parents Gertrude Avant
Clarence Avant Facts
Child Star? no Occupation Music Executive, Film Producer, Entrepreneur, Composer Education & Qualifications Dudley High School
Current Partner Jacqueline Avant Children Nicole Avant, Alexander Devore Avant Parents Gertrude Avant
Child Star? no Occupation Music Executive, Film Producer, Entrepreneur, Composer Education & Qualifications Dudley High School
Current Partner Jacqueline Avant Children Nicole Avant, Alexander Devore Avant Parents Gertrude Avant
Child Star? no Occupation Music Executive, Film Producer, Entrepreneur, Composer Education & Qualifications Dudley High School
Current Partner Jacqueline Avant Children Nicole Avant, Alexander Devore Avant Parents Gertrude Avant
