Valeri Braun
- Actress
Valeri Gertrude Julia Marie Grier Braun grew up in the 1950s and 1960s
in the small town of Nutley, New Jersey. According to her parents, she
was related to former pro football player Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier. Val
took piano lessons, and both played and sang regularly for her gospel
church choir (her mother was an evangelist). All through high school,
she sang in the glee club, which made an appearance at the New York
World's Fair of 1964-65. A gifted singer and performer, she joined the
professional rock band The Uncharted Bus in 1969. The Bus performed
regularly in a circuit of clubs in northern New Jersey, including the
Choo Choo Club in Garfield, where the Young Rascals had come to fame.
In 1970, the Bus also opened at Ungano's in Manhattan for Black Sabbath
(featuring Ozzie Osbourne), and for Woodstock veterans Ten years After
in a theater in Passaic New Jersey. The band recorded for Jerry Ragavoy
at the Hit Factory in New York City. Internal problems prevented the
Uncharted Bus from fulfilling its potential. Val's first love was the
theater. After failing to join the Broadway cast of Hair, she performed
regularly in community theaters in New Jersey. After relocating to
southern California, she became a fixture at the Morgan-Wixson Theater
in Santa Monica. There, she received numerous awards for acting,
singing, stage managing and musical direction. On May 4, 2010, Valeri
passed away in Atlanta, Georgia, due to complications of breast cancer.
She was 62 years old. Four years earlier, her daughter Jessica had died
from the same disease. She spoke frequently of her prayers that this
horrid disease be brought under control.