News

Lena Horne – Jazz Icon, Civil Rights Activist, Hollywood Star

Lena Calhoun Horne was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. In her biography she stated that, on the day she was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧, her father was in the midst of a card game trying to get money to pay the hospital costs.

Her parents divorced while she was still a toddler. Her mother left later in order to find work as an actress and Lena was left in the care of her grandparents. When she was seven, her mother returned and the two traveled around the state which meant that Lena was enrolled in numerous schools. For a time she also attended schools in Florida, Georgia and Ohio. Later she returned to Brooklyn.

Lena quit school when she was 14 and got her first stage job at 16 dancing and later singing at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, a renowned theater in which black performers played before white audiences immortalized in The Cotton Club (1984)). She was in good hands at the club, especially when people such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington took her under their wings and helped her over the rough spots. Before long, her talent resulted in her playing before packed houses.

If Lena had never made a movie, her music career would have been enough to have ensured her legendary status in the entertainment industry, but films were icing on the cake. After she made an appearance on Broadway, Hollywood came calling. At 21 years of age, Lena made her first film, The Duke Is Tops (1938). It would be four more years before she appeared in another, Panama Hattie (1942), playing a singer in a nightclub. By now Lena had signed with MGM but, unfortunately for her, the pictures were shot so that her scenes could be cut out when they were shown in the South since most theaters in the South refused to show films that portrayed blacks in anything other than subservient roles to whites. Most movie studios did not want to take a chance on losing that particular source of revenue. Lena did not want to appear in those kinds of stereotyped roles and who could blame her?

In 1943, MGM loaned Lena to 20th Century-Fox to play the role of Selina Rogers in the all-black musical Stormy Weather (1943), which did extremely well at the box office. Her rendition of the title song became a major hit on the musical charts. In 1943, she appeared in Cabin in the Sky (1943), regarded by many as one of the finest performances of her career. She played Georgia Brown opposite Ethel Waters and Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson in the all black production. Rumors were rampant that she and Waters just did not get along well, although there was never any mention of the source of the alleged friction. However, that was not the only feud on that picture. Other cast members sniped at one another and it was a wonder the film was made at all. Regardless of the hostilities, the movie was released to very good reviews from the ever tough critics. It went a long way in showing the depth of the talent that existed among black performers in Hollywood, especially Lena.

Lena’s musical career flourished, but her movie career stagnated. Minor roles in films such as Boogie-Woogie Dream (1944), Words and Music (1948) and Mantan Messes Up (1946) did little to advance her film career, due mainly to the ingrained racist attitudes of the time. Even at the height of Lena’s musical career, she was often denied rooms at the very hotels in which she performed because they would not let blacks stay there. After Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), Lena left films to concentrate on music and the stage. She returned in 1969 as Claire Quintana in Death of a Gunfighter (1969). Nine years later, she returned to the screen again in the all black musical The Wiz (1978) where she played Glinda the Good Witch. Although that was her last big-screen appearance, she stayed busy in television appearing in A Century of Women (1994) and That’s Entertainment! III (1994).

Had it not been for the prevailing racial attitudes during the time when Lena was just starting her career, it’s fair to say that it would have been much bigger and come much sooner. Even taking those factors into account, Lena Horne is still one of the most respected, talented and beautiful performers of all time.

Lena Horne was an American singer, dancer, actress, and civil rights activist. Horne’s career spanned over 70 years, appearing in film, television, and theater. Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of 16 and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood.

Returning to her roots as a nightclub performer, Horne took part in the March on Washington in August 1963 and continued to work as a performer, both in nightclubs and on television while releasing well-received record albums. She announced her retirement in March 1980, but the next year starred in a one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which ran for more than 300 performances on Broadway. She then toured the country in the show, earning numerous awards and accolades. Horne continued recording and performing sporadically into the 1990s, disappearing from the public eye in 2000.

Related Posts

Elon Musk says “NO BIOLOGICAL MEN ALLOWED” in women’s sport: the tweet that sparks controversy on Twitter…

La polémica comenzó con un tuit de Musk que decía: “Es hora de proteger los deportes femeninos. Los hombres biológicos tienen derecho a competir contra las mujeres. Boicoteen…

Karoline Leavitt DIDN’T HOLD BACK on Robert De Niro, exposing the whole truth about this vile director. “Everyone deserves to know.”

Karoline Leavitt once again made the public stir when bluntly exposed Robert de Niro in a statement fully recorded by the media. No longer holding the usual restraint…

Judge Fined Leavitt $100K for Insulting Biden, 7 Minutes Later, Bondi Cuffed Him

In a dramatic turn of events that has left the political and legal communities buzzing, a judge has fined former Congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt $100,000 for allegedly insulting…

BREAKING: The Rock Declines $200 Million Role at Disney, States He Won’t Participate in “Woke Culture”

In an unexpected twist that has sent shockwaves across Hollywood, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of the industry’s most bankable stars, has reportedly declined a staggering $200 million…

The Vatican announces that Pope Francis has passed away

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died, Reuters reported. The information was announced by the Vatican in the video notice on April…

Tesla Is No Longer Elon Musk’s Most Valuable Asset

**Breaking News: Tesla Falls Behind as Musk’s SpaceX Surges Ahead** In a stunning turn of events, Tesla is no longer the crown jewel of Elon Musk’s empire, as SpaceX has officially surpassed the electric vehicle giant in value for the first time in five years. Musk’s fortune, once heavily anchored by Tesla, has shifted dramatically following a series of alarming developments. Musk’s financial landscape took a hit after he funneled over $200 million into Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, but he rebounded quickly, briefly becoming the world’s first $400 billion individual. However, Tesla’s stock has since plummeted by 50%, exacerbated by disappointing delivery numbers and concerns over Musk’s divided attention as he juggles his new role in the Trump administration. Recent reports indicate that Tesla’s revenue growth has stagnated to a mere 1% in 2024, while net income has declined for the second consecutive year. Meanwhile, shocking drops in vehicle sales have been documented across key markets, including Germany, China, and Australia. As public sentiment turns against Musk, protests have erupted at Tesla dealerships nationwide, amplifying the urgency of the situation. The turmoil doesn’t end there. Musk’s appeal of a Delaware court ruling that invalidated a lucrative pay package has further complicated his financial stability. Forbes has slashed the value of Musk’s stock options by 50%, revealing that his stake in Tesla is now worth $97.8 billion, significantly less than the soaring valuation of SpaceX. With SpaceX’s value now estimated at $147 billion—almost $20 billion more than Musk’s Tesla holdings—this shift marks a seismic change in Musk’s financial narrative. SpaceX’s revenue surged by 51% to $13.1 billion in 2024, buoyed by the booming Starlink satellite internet service. As the dust settles, it’s clear that Musk’s fortunes are in flux, and the landscape of his empire is shifting dramatically. Stay tuned as we continue to monitor these developments closely.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *