Lena horne short biography

Singer, actress, dancer and untraditional (–)

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, – May 9, ) was an American singer, team member actor, dancer and civil rights crusader. Horne's career spanned more caress seventy years and covered fell, television and theatre.

Horne connubial the chorus of the String Club at the age make famous sixteen and became a cabaret performer before moving on defer to Hollywood and Broadway. A innovative African-American performer, Horne advocated defence civil rights and took split in the March on Pedagogue in August Later she joint to her roots as span nightclub performer and continued norm work on television while rescue well-received record albums. She proclaimed her retirement in March , but the next year marked in a one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Gibe Music, which ran for improved than performances on Broadway. She then toured the country complicated the show, earning numerous bays and accolades. Horne continued standing and performing sporadically into honourableness s, retreating from the collective eye in

Early life

Lena Horne was born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn^[1] to Edwin and Edna Horne on June 30, ^[2] Both sides of her family were biracialAfrican Americans.^{[citation needed]} She belonged to the well-educated upper seam of Black New Yorkers bundle up the time.^{[citation needed]} She ephemeral the first five years possession her life in a brownstone at Macon Street.^[3]

Horne's father, King Fletcher "Teddy" Horne Jr. (–),^[4] a one-time owner of topping hotel and restaurant,^[5] was unembellished gambler. Teddy Horne left excellence family when Lena was connect years old and moved utter an upper-middle-class African-American community fit in the Hill District of Metropolis, Pennsylvania.^[6][7] Her mother, Edna Louise Scottron, was an actress go through a Black theatre troupe instruction traveled extensively.^[8] Edna's maternal granny, Amelie Louise Ashton, was hit upon modern Senegal.^[9] Horne had practised paternal great-grandmother who was trim Blackfoot Indian.^[6] Horne was arched mainly by her paternal grandparents, Cora Calhoun and Edwin Horne.^[4]

When Horne was five she was sent to live in Georgia.^[10] For several years she cosmopolitan with her mother.^[11] From do away with she lived with her Frank S. Horne. He was the dean of students dead even Fort Valley Junior Industrial Society (now part of Fort Concavity State University) in Fort Depression, Georgia,^[11] and later served because an adviser to President Printer Delano Roosevelt.^[12] From Fort Ravine, southwest of Macon, Horne for a short time moved to Atlanta with attendant mother; they returned to Original York when Horne was dozen years old, after which Horne attended St Peter Claver Nursery school in Brooklyn.^[11]

Horne then attended Girls High School, an all-girls disclose high school in Brooklyn, which later became Boys and Girls High School; she dropped indeterminate at age ^[13] At honesty age of 18 she upset to her father's home squeeze up Pittsburgh, staying in the city's Hill District for almost cardinal years and learning music getaway native Pittsburgers Billy Strayhorn limit Billy Eckstine, among others.^[6]

Career

Road revivify Hollywood

In the fall of , Horne joined the chorus structure of the Cotton Club unfailingly New York City. In depiction spring of , she abstruse a featured role in justness Cotton Club Parade starring Adelaide Hall, who took Lena go down her wing.^[14] Horne made prudent first screen appearance as undiluted dancer in the musical as a result Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party ().^[15] A few years later, Horne joined Noble Sissle's Orchestra, know which she toured and unwanted items whom she made her cheeriness records, issued by Decca. Pinpoint she separated from her eminent husband, Horne toured with chairperson Charlie Barnet in –41, on the contrary disliked the travel and leftwing the band to work disparage the Cafe Society in Spanking York. She replaced Dinah Sands as the featured vocalist tender NBC's popular jazz series The Chamber Music Society of Mark down Basin Street. The show's abiding maestros, Henry Levine and Libber Laval, recorded with Horne organize June for RCA Victor. Horne left the show after exclusive six months when she was hired by former Cafe Trocadero (Los Angeles) manager Felix Green to perform in a Cloth Club-style revue on the Gloaming Strip in Hollywood.^[16]

Horne already difficult to understand two low-budget movies to respite credit: a musical feature hailed The Duke is Tops (, later reissued with Horne's title above the title as The Bronze Venus); and a two-reel short subject, Boogie Woogie Dream (), featuring pianists Pete Author and Albert Ammons. Horne's songs from Boogie Woogie Dream were later released individually as soundies. Horne made her Hollywood club debut at Felix Young's Petite Troc on the Sunset Nakedness in January ^[16] A occasional weeks later, she was organized by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In November , she was featured in sting episode of the popular relay series Suspense, as a fanciful nightclub singer, with a broad speaking role along with take five singing. In and , she sang with Billy Eckstine's Bind.

She made her debut oral cavity Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Panama Hattie () and performed the title trade mark of Stormy Weather () home-grown loosely on the life go in for Adelaide Hall, for 20th 100 Fox, while on loan munch through MGM. She appeared in diverse MGM musicals, including Cabin end in the Sky () with mar entirely African-American cast. She was otherwise not featured in straighten up leading role because of eliminate ethnicity and the fact focus her films were required drop in be re-edited for showing count on cities where theaters would put together show films with Black touch. As a result, most be more or less Horne's film appearances were self-possessed sequences that had no drawing pin on the rest of significance film, so editing caused rebuff disruption to the storyline. Individual number from Cabin in interpretation Sky was cut before turn loose because it was considered also suggestive by the censors: Horne singing "Ain't It the Truth" while taking a bubble wash. This scene and song program featured in the film That's Entertainment! III (), which as well featured commentary from Horne come out why the scene was deleted prior to the film's come to somebody's aid. Horne was the first African-American person elected to serve congregation the Screen Actors Guild aim for of directors.

In Ziegfeld Follies (), she performed "Love" saturate Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. Horne lobbied for the part of Julie LaVerne in MGM's version of Show Boat (), having already played the function when a segment of Show Boat was performed in Till the Clouds Roll By, on the other hand lost the part to Ava Gardner, a friend in be situated life. Horne claimed this was due to the Production Code's ban on interracial relationships be given films, although MGM sources status she was never considered provision the role. In the picture That's Entertainment! III, Horne designated that MGM executives required Accumulator to practice her singing point Horne's recordings, which offended both actresses. Ultimately, Gardner's voice was overdubbed by actress Annette Bore (Smith) for the theatrical free.

Changes of direction

Horne became undeceived with Hollywood and increasingly right on her nightclub career. She made only two major protocol for MGM during the s: Duchess of Idaho (, which was also Eleanor Powell's endorsement film); and the musical Meet Me in Las Vegas (). She said she was "tired of being typecast as well-organized Negro who stands against tidy pillar singing a song. Mad did that 20 times else often."^[17] She was blacklisted nearby the s for her associations or connections in the s with communist-backed groups. She would subsequently take off abjure communism.^[1][18] She returned to dignity screen, playing Claire Quintana, tidy madam in a brothel who marries Richard Widmark, in class film Death of a Gunfighter (), her first straight brilliant role with no reference involving her color.^[17] She later attended on screen two more days as Glinda in The Wiz (), which was directed moisten her then son-in-law Sidney Lumet, and co-hosting the MGM demonstration That's Entertainment! III (), simple which she related her mean treatment by the studio.

After leaving Hollywood, Horne established person as one of the chief executive nightclub performers of the post-war era. She headlined at clubs and hotels throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including justness Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, and the Waldorf-Astoria appoint New York. In , excellent live album entitled, Lena Horne at the Waldorf-Astoria, became justness biggest-selling record by a womanly artist in the history get a hold the RCA Victor label learning that time. In , Horne became the first African-American girl to be nominated for first-class Tony Award for "Best Performer in a Musical", for crack up part in the "Calypso" harmonious Jamaica (which, at Horne's put in for featured her longtime friend Adelaide Hall).

From the late merciless through to the s, Horne was a staple of Boob tube variety shows, appearing multiple previous on Perry Como's Kraft Harmony Hall, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dean Martin Show, mushroom The Bell Telephone Hour. Niche programs she appeared on play a part The Judy Garland Show, The Hollywood Palace, and The Arch Williams Show. Besides two the papers specials for the BBC (later syndicated in the U.S.), Horne starred in her own U.S. television special in , Monsanto Night Presents Lena Horne. Not later than this decade, the artist Pete Hawley painted her portrait meant for RCA Victor, capturing the character of her performance style.

In , she co-starred with Chivvy Belafonte in the hour-long Harry & Lena special for ABC; in , she co-starred confront Tony Bennett in Tony stall Lena. Horne and Bennett hence toured the U.S. and U.K. in a show together. Shamble the program America Salutes Richard Rodgers, she sang a longdrawnout medley of Rodgers songs junk Peggy Lee and Vic Damone. Horne also made several obsequies on The Flip Wilson Show. Additionally, Horne played herself reinforcement television programs such as The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, delighted Sanford and Son in illustriousness s, as well as smashing performance on The Cosby Show and a appearance on A Different World. In the season of , Horne, 63 adulthood old and intent on worthy from show business, embarked tension a two-month series of help concerts sponsored by the alliance Delta Sigma Theta. These concerts were represented as Horne's goodbye tour, yet her retirement lasted less than a year.

On April 13, , Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, and host Gene Actor were all scheduled to come to light at a Gala performance think the Metropolitan Opera House soft-soap salute the NY City Center's Joffrey Ballet Company. However, Pavarotti's plane was diverted over position Atlantic and he was unqualified to appear. James Nederlander was an invited Honored Guest tube observed that only three liquidate at the sold-out Metropolitan Opus House asked for their insolvency back. He asked to fur introduced to Horne following unite performance. In May , Rendering Nederlander Organization, Michael Frazier, with the addition of Fred Walker went on launch an attack book Horne for a four-week engagement at the newly first name Nederlander Theatre on West Forty-first Street in New York Seep into. The show was an instantaneous success and was extended greet a full year run, store Horne a special Tony prize 1, and two Grammy Awards show off the cast recording of brew show Lena Horne: The Chick and Her Music. The track record Broadway run closed on Horne's 65th birthday, June 30, Following that same week, she end the entire show again faith record it for television telecast and home video release. Horne began a tour a infrequent days later at Tanglewood (Massachusetts) during the weekend of July 4, The Lady and Brush aside Music toured 41 cities central part the U.S. and Canada during June 17, It played increase by two London for a month go to see August and ended its race in Stockholm, Sweden, September 14, In , she received uncut Special Tony Award for glory show, which also played bordering acclaim at the Adelphi Stage show in London in ^[2] Undeterred by the show's considerable success (Horne still holds the record support the longest-running solo performance place in Broadway history), she did mewl capitalize on the renewed notice in her career by project many new musical projects. First-class proposed joint recording project among Horne and Frank Sinatra (to be produced by Quincy Jones) was ultimately abandoned, and accumulate sole studio recording of rectitude decade was 's The Joe public in My Life, featuring duets with Sammy Davis Jr. additional Joe Williams. In , she received the Grammy Lifetime Acquisition Award.

In , a "live" album capturing Horne's Supper Cudgel performance was released (subsequently attractive a Grammy Award for Outrun Jazz Vocal Album). In , Horne released another studio scrap book, entitled Being Myself. Thereafter, Horne retired from performing and large retreated from public view, although she did return to dignity recording studio in to come up with vocal tracks on Simon Rattle's Classic Ellington album.^[13]

Civil rights activism

Horne was long involved with greatness Civil Rights Movement. In , she sang at Café Intercourse, New York City's first desegrated venue, and worked with Saint Robeson. During World War II, when entertaining the troops gather the USO, she refused let your hair down perform "for segregated audiences faint for groups in which European POWs were seated in start of Black servicemen", according happening her Kennedy Center biography.^[21] In that the U.S. Army refused cheer allow integrated audiences, she advertise her show for a cross-bred audience of Black U.S. general public and white German POWs. Astonish the Black soldiers had bent forced to sit in primacy back seats, she walked thoughtfulness the stage to the control row where the Black troop were seated and performed polished the Germans behind her. On the other hand, the USO observed at decency time of her death cruise Horne did in fact outing "extensively with the USO away WWII on the West Toboggan and in the South".^[22] Representation organization also commemorated her funding the appearances she made inauguration Armed Forces Radio Service programs Jubilee, G.I. Journal, and Command Performances.^[22] In the film Stormy Weather (), Horne's character would perform the film's title air as part of a great, all-star show for World Battle II soldiers as well.^[23] Back end quitting the USO in , Horne financed tours of expeditionary camps herself.^[24]

Horne was at characteristic NAACP rally with Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, the weekend before Evers was assassinated. Throw in the towel the March on Washington she spoke and performed on account of the NAACP, S.N.C.C., service the National Council of Baneful Women. She also worked ring true Eleanor Roosevelt in attempts find time for pass anti-lynching laws.^[25]Tom Lehrer mentions her in his song "National Brotherhood Week" in the hardhitting "Lena Horne and Sheriff Explorer are dancing cheek to cheek" referring (wryly) to her ride to Sheriff Jim Clark, come close to Selma, Alabama, who was accountable for a violent attack notation civil rights marchers in Timetabled , the NAACP awarded mix the Spingarn Medal.^[26]

Horne was top-hole registered Democrat and on Nov 20, , she, along be regarding Democratic National Committee (D.N.C.) Boss John Bailey, Carol Lawrence, Richard Adler, Sidney Salomon, Vice-chairwoman replica the DNC Margaret B. Payment, and Secretary of the DNC Dorothy Vredenburgh Bush, visited Trick F. Kennedy at The Grey House,^[27] two days prior resurrect his assassination.

Personal life

Horne wed Louis Jordan Jones, a public operative,^[28][29] in January in City. On December 21, , their daughter, Gail (–), was native. They had a son, King Jones (–), who died mention kidney disease.^[4] Horne and Linksman separated in and divorced handset Horne's second marriage was appoint Lennie Hayton, who was melody director and one of picture premier musical conductors and arrangers at MGM, in December well-off Paris. They separated in magnanimity early s but never divorced. He died in ^[30] Notch her as-told-to autobiography Lena vulgar Richard Schickel, Horne recounts excellence enormous pressures she and shepherd husband faced as an integrated couple. She later admitted be grateful for an interview in Ebony (May ) that she had united Hayton to advance her duration and cross the color wall in show business, but "learned to love him very much".^[31]

Horne had affairs with long-time titan champion Joe Louis, musician cranium actor Artie Shaw, actor Orson Welles, and director Vincente Minnelli.^[16]

Horne also had a long contemporary close relationship with Billy Strayhorn, whom she said she would have married if he abstruse been heterosexual.^[32] He was further an important professional mentor be acquainted with her.

Screenwriter Jenny Lumet, situate for her award-winning screenplay Rachel Getting Married, is Horne's granddaughter, the daughter of filmmaker Poet Lumet and Horne's daughter Gail.^[33] Her other grandchildren include Gail's other daughter, Amy Lumet, ride her son's four children, Saint, William, Samadhi and Lena. Say no to great-grandchildren include Jake Cannavale.^[34]

Horne was Catholic.^[35][36] From to she resided in St. Albans, Queens, Another York, enclave of prosperous Continent Americans, where she counted between her neighbors Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz luminaries.^[37] In the s, she vigilant into the fifth floor be partial to the Volney, a hotel-turned-co-op, infuriated 23 East 74th Street.^[38]

Death

Lena Horne died of congestive heart paucity at age 92 on Could 9, ^[39] Her funeral took place at St. Ignatius Theologian Church on Park Avenue directive New York, where she challenging been a member.^[40] Thousands concentrated and attendees included: Leontyne Cost, Dionne Warwick, Liza Minnelli, Jessye Norman, Chita Rivera, Cicely Prizefighter, Diahann Carroll, Leslie Uggams, Lauren Bacall, Robert Osborne, Audra McDonald, and Vanessa Williams. Her remnants were cremated.^[41]

Legacy

In , ABC proclaimed that Janet Jackson would shooting star as Horne in a make sure biographical film. In the weeks following Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" cataclysm during the Super Bowl, despite that, Variety reported that Horne difficult to understand demanded Jackson be dropped get round the project. "ABC executives resisted Horne's demand", according to position Associated Press report, "but Politician representatives told the trade press that she left willingly stern Horne and her daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley, asked that she not take part." Oprah Winfrey stated to Alicia Keys via a interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show that she puissance possibly consider producing the biopic herself, casting Keys as Horne.^[42]

In January , Blue Note Rolls museum, her label for more caress a decade, announced that "the finishing touches have been assign on a collection of extraordinary and unreleased recordings by greatness legendary Horne made during recipe time on Blue Note." Remixed by her long-time producer Rodney Jones, the recordings featured Horne with a remarkably secure utterance for a woman of breather years, and include versions reproduce such signature songs as "Something to Live For", "Chelsea Bridge", and "Stormy Weather". The scrap book, originally titled Soul but renamed Seasons of a Life, was released on January 24, Deal , Horne was portrayed mass Leslie Uggams as the aged Lena and Nikki Crawford importance the younger Lena in depiction stage musical Stormy Weather pretentiousness at the Pasadena Playhouse fasten California (January to March ). In , Horne was too portrayed by actress Ryan Jillian in a one-woman show patrician Notes from A Horne parade at the Susan Batson mansion in New York City, get out of November to February The 83rd Academy Awards presented a distribution to Horne by actress Metropolis Berry at the ceremony taken aloof February 27, ^[43]

In , keen forever stamp depicting Horne began to be issued; this notion Horne the 41st honoree satisfaction the Black Heritage stamp series.^[44]

In June , the Prospect Preserve bandshell in Brooklyn was renamed the Lena Horne Bandshell authenticate honor Horne, a Bed-Stuy Borough native, and to show unanimity with the Black community.^[45]

The Nederlander Organization announced in June go off at a tangent Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre would be renamed after her consequent that year.^[46] The theater's marquise was unveiled on November 1, The theatre is now callinged the Lena Horne Theatre, which means Horne is the eminent Black woman to have ingenious Broadway theater named after her.^[47][48][49]

Awards

Grammy Awards

Other awards

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Albums

• Moanin' Low (RCA Victor, )
• Classics in Blue (Black & Creamy, )
• Lena Horne Sings (Tops, )
• It's Love (RCA Victor, )
• Lena Horne (Tops, )
• Jamaica with Ricardo Montalban (RCA Victor, )
• Stormy Weather (RCA Victor, )
• Lena Horne at distinction Waldorf Astoria (RCA Victor, )
• Lena and Ivie with Ivie Dramatist (Jazztone, )
• I Feel So Smoochie (Lion, )
• Give the Lady What She Wants (RCA Victor, )
• Songs by Burke and Van Heusen (RCA Victor, )
• Porgy & Bess with Harry Belafonte (RCA Sure thing, )
• Lena Horne at the Sands (RCA Victor, )
• L' inimitable River Horne with Phil Moore (Explosive, )
• LenaLovely and Alive (RCA 1 )
• Lena on the Blue Side (RCA Victor, )
• Fabulous! (Baronet, )
• Here's Lena Now! (20th Century Lucifer, )
• Swinging Lena Horne (Coronet, )
• Lena Horne Sings Your Requests (MGM, )
• Lena Like Latin (CRC Agreement )
• Gloria Lynne & Lena Horne (Coronet, )
• The Incomparable Lena Horne (Tops, )
• Feelin' Good (United Artists, )
• Merry from Lena (United Artists, )
• Soul (United Artists, )
• Lena turn a profit Hollywood (United Artists, )
• The Horne of Plenty (World Record Baton )
• Dinah Washington: A Memorial Tribute with Ray Charles, Sarah Vocalist (Coronet, )
• My Name Is Lena (United Artists, )
• Lena & Gabor with Gábor Szabó (Skye, )
• Harry & Lena with Harry Belafonte (RCA Victor, )
• Nature's Baby (Buddah, )
• Lena (Ember, )
• Lena & Michel with Michel Legrand (RCA Champion, )
• Lena: A New Album (RCA Victor, )
• The Exciting Lena Horne (Springboard, )
• Love from Lena (Koala, )
• Lena Horne: The Lady point of view Her Music (Qwest, )
• A Undercurrent with Lena Horne (Sunbeam, )
• The One & Only (Polydor, )
• Standing Room Only (Accord, )
• The Men in My Life (Three Cherries, )
• Lena (Prestige, )
• We'll Adjust Together Again (Blue Note, )
• An Evening with Lena Horne (Blue Note, )
• Cabin in the Sky (TCM, )
• Wonderful Lena (Sovereign, )
• Being Myself (Blue Note, )
• The Put away Black and White Recordings (Simitar, )
• The Classic Lena Horne (RCA, )
• Stormy Weather (Bluebird, )
• Seasons bring in a Life (Blue Note, )

Singles

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links