When Cleothy Bright was born on 12 January 1913, in Tennessee, United States, his father, James Henderson Bright, was 45 and his mother, Julia Ann Lewis, was 37. He married Jane Vonette Hensley. He lived in Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, United States in 1961. He registered for military service in 1942. He died on 27 September 1973, at the age of 60, and was buried in Berry Highland West Memorial Park, Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, United States.