LENA HORNE
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| All Photos: Lena-Horne.com |
ena Mary Calhoun Horne was born in Brooklyn, New
York on June 30, 1917. Growing up Lena bounced around from state-to-state with
her mother, an unsuccessful aspiring actress. At age fourteen she left school and
by sixteen she danced her way into Harlem’s Cotton Club as a chorus dancer. She
also pursued singing and took lessons and after several years she found herself
singing jazz for Sissle’s Society Orchestra.
From mid-to-end of the 1930’s era, Horne would get married,
perform on Broadway and appear in her first movie role (The Duke Is Tops). She toured as lead singer for The Charlie
Barnett Band, an all white band, but had to leave each club after her
performances. Horne would soon leave the tour due to traveling and this racial
prejudice.
In the early 40’s- a divorce and two children
later- she found herself back to singing and performing in nightclubs. At
twenty-four she recorded her first record with jazz greats clarinetist Artie Shaw
and trumpeter Henry Allen and soon-to-follow radio series. Horne became a sought
after singer, pinup girl and movie star. When Hollywood called, she inked a seven
year deal with MGM, being the highest paying African-American actress/singer of
that time. Her career soared and she graced magazine covers and more movies
followed. She made her MGM debut singing the title song of Stormy Weather.
In 1942, she played lead role in Cabin in the Sky and this is where she
met Lennie Hayton, a white pianist, arranger and conductor for MGM. In 1943 she
appeared in three films: I Dood It, As
Thousands Cheer, and Stormy Weather. The next several years Lena appeared
in film musicals and secretly married her second husband (Lennie Hayton) in
1947.
During
World War ll, performing for the troops, seeing
black soldiers forced to sit in the back, she would leave the stage to walk to
the back where they were seated to perform for them. Lena was becoming more and
more visual as a black activist, participating in marches and rallies. She was
heavy in politics, working with Eleanor Roosevelt to pass anti-lynching laws.
Horne was very outspoken about the stereotypical roles for African Americans
women. She refused to “pass” as Latin to get more mainstream roles. She was even
asked by production managers and studio executives to apply dark makeup to make
her light-skin tone appear darker. Due to her active role in politics etc. she
was Blacklisted in Hollywood and soon found it hard to get work. This ban last
into the mid-50’s, she was taken off the list and given her first speaking part
in ‘Meet Me in Las Vegas’ (1956) and
appeared on many television shows throughout the 1950’s.
After suffering a lot of heartache
in 1970-due to losing her father, husband (then separated), and son (all within
12 months from each other)- she temporarily withdrew from show business. She appeared
briefly in films, taking small roles. Who could forget her performance in 1978’s
“The Wiz” as Glinda the Good Witch.
This singer, dancer, actress and civil rights activist has won countless awards for her efforts in the
African American community. The
Kennedy Center Awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in the Arts (receiving an honorary doctorate from Howard University, the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP and an Image Award among others). As it is properly due. Mrs. Horne lived to the age of 92 years old, gone but never forgotten. SALUTE!
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