Eugene Bullard - Life in Paris

Life in Paris

Following his discharge, Bullard returned to Paris. He worked in nightclubs and eventually owned his own. He married the daughter of a French countess, but the marriage ended in divorce, with Bullard gaining custody of their two daughters. His nightclub work gained him many famous friends, including Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes and French flying ace Charles Nungesser. When World War II began in September 1939, Bullard, who spoke German, agreed to a request to spy on German agents thought to frequent his nightclub.

With the German invasion of France in May 1940, Bullard took his daughters and fled from Paris. He joined a group of French soldiers defending Orléans and suffered a spinal wound. He was able to flee to neutral Spain, and in July 1940 he returned to the United States.

Bullard spent some time in a New York hospital in and never fully recovered from his wound. Moreover, he found the fame he enjoyed in France had not followed him to the United States. He worked as a perfume salesman, a security guard, and as an interpreter for Louis Armstrong, but his back injury severely restricted him. He attempted to regain his nightclub in Paris, but his property had been destroyed during the war. He received a financial settlement from the French government, which he used to buy an apartment in New York's Harlem.