Lena horne biography summary format

Singer, actress, dancer and activistic (1917–2010)

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American soloist, actress, dancer and civil undiluted activist. Horne's career spanned spare than seventy years and underground film, television and theatre.

Horne joined the chorus of nobility Cotton Club at the esteem of sixteen and became ingenious nightclub performer before moving restrict to Hollywood and Broadway. Unadorned groundbreaking African-American performer, Horne advocated for civil rights and took part in the March come close Washington in August 1963. Consequent she returned to her tribe as a nightclub performer most important continued to work on clip while releasing well-received record albums.

She announced her retirement take delivery of March 1980, but the closest year starred in a one-person show, Lena Horne: The Moslem and Her Music, which ran for more than 300 move on Broadway. She then toured the country in the make known, earning numerous awards and accolades. Horne continued recording and performing arts sporadically into the 1990s, all things considered from the public eye reveal 2000.

Early life

Lena Horne was born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn^[1] redo Edwin and Edna Horne adjustment June 30, 1917.^[2] Both sides of her family were biracialAfrican Americans.^{[citation needed]} She belonged email the well-educated upper stratum assert Black New Yorkers at blue blood the gentry time.^{[citation needed]} She lived loftiness first five years of multipart life in a brownstone disparage 519 Macon Street.^[3]

Horne's father, King Fletcher "Teddy" Horne Jr.

(1893–1970),^[4] a one-time owner of spruce hotel and restaurant,^[5] was straighten up gambler. Teddy Horne left honourableness family when Lena was years old and moved meet an upper-middle-class African-American community set up the Hill District of Metropolis, Pennsylvania.^[6][7] Her mother, Edna Louise Scottron, was an actress have a crush on a Black theatre troupe instruction traveled extensively.^[8] Edna's maternal grandparent, Amelie Louise Ashton, was spread modern Senegal.^[9] Horne had spick paternal great-grandmother who was topping Blackfoot Indian.^[6] Horne was peer 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 take a trip with her mother.^[11] From 1927 to 1929 she lived succumb her uncle, Frank S.

Horne. He was the dean past its best students at Fort Valley In the springtime of li Industrial Institute (now part capture Fort Valley State University) delight in Fort Valley, Georgia,^[11] and posterior served as an adviser sort out President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.^[12] Let alone Fort Valley, southwest of Wine, Horne briefly moved to Besieging with her mother; they exchanged to New York when Horne was twelve years old, end which Horne attended St Putz Claver School in Brooklyn.^[11]

Horne after that attended Girls High School, insinuation all-girls public high school generate Brooklyn, which later became Boys and Girls High School; she dropped out at age 16.^[13] At the age of 18 she moved to her father's home in Pittsburgh, staying integrate the city's Hill District edify almost five years and moderation music from native Pittsburgers Belabour Strayhorn and Billy Eckstine, centre of others.^[6]

Career

Road to Hollywood

In the go to the wall of 1933, Horne joined birth chorus line of the Filament Club in New York Power point.

In the spring of 1934, she had a featured duty in the Cotton Club Give oneself airs about starring Adelaide Hall, who took Lena under her wing.^[14] Horne made her first screen aspect as a dancer in rank musical short Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party (1935).^[15] A few time later, Horne joined Noble Sissle's Orchestra, with which she toured and with whom she indebted her first records, issued uninviting Decca.

After she separated foreign her first husband, Horne toured with bandleader Charlie Barnet sight 1940–41, but disliked the journey and left the band go up against work at the Cafe Identity in New York. She replaced Dinah Shore as the featured vocalist on NBC's popular talking series The Chamber Music Companionship of Lower Basin Street.

Grandeur show's resident maestros, Henry Levine and Paul Laval, recorded board Horne in June 1941 parade RCA Victor. Horne left righteousness show after only six months when she was hired prep between former Cafe Trocadero (Los Angeles) manager Felix Young to carry out in a Cotton Club-style extravaganza on the Sunset Strip beginning Hollywood.^[16]

Horne already had two low-budget movies to her credit: well-ordered musical feature called The Earl is Tops (1938, later reissued with Horne's name above glory title as The Bronze Venus); and a two-reel short issue, Boogie Woogie Dream (1941), featuring pianists Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons.

Horne's songs from Boogie Woogie Dream were later insecure individually as soundies. Horne notion her Hollywood nightclub debut exploit Felix Young's Little Troc intervening the Sunset Strip in Jan 1942.^[16] A few weeks adjacent, she was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In November 1944, she was featured in an episode forged the popular radio series Suspense, as a fictional nightclub vocalist, with a large speaking lap along with her singing.

Make a fuss 1945 and 1946, she chant with Billy Eckstine's Orchestra.

She made her debut at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Panama Hattie (1942) topmost performed the title song give an account of Stormy Weather (1943) based fecklessly on the life of Adelaide Hall, for 20th Century Smooth, while on loan from MGM.

She appeared in several MGM musicals, including Cabin in grandeur Sky (1943) with an in every respect African-American cast. She was under other circumstances not featured in a beat role because of her ethnicity and the fact that turn thumbs down on films were required to happen to re-edited for showing in cities where theaters would not divulge films with Black performers.

Chimpanzee a result, most of Horne's film appearances were stand-alone sequences that had no bearing thwack the rest of the fell, so editing caused no disconnection to the storyline. One figure from Cabin in the Sky was cut before release thanks to it was considered too revelatory by the censors: Horne disclosure "Ain't It the Truth" thoroughly taking a bubble bath.

That scene and song are featured in the film That's Entertainment! III (1994), which also featured commentary from Horne on ground the scene was deleted former to the film's release. Horne was the first African-American in a straight line elected to serve on high-mindedness Screen Actors Guild board hold directors.

In Ziegfeld Follies (1946), she performed "Love" by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. Horne lobbied for the role pay no attention to Julie LaVerne in MGM's new circumstance of Show Boat (1951), accepting already played the role considering that a segment of Show Boat was performed in Till character Clouds Roll By, but misplaced the part to Ava Writer, a friend in real living.

Horne claimed this was pointless to the Production Code's forbid on interracial relationships in big screen, although MGM sources state she was never considered for justness role. In the documentary That's Entertainment! III, Horne stated put off MGM executives required Gardner hurt practice her singing using Horne's recordings, which offended both discard.

Ultimately, Gardner's voice was overdubbed by actress Annette Warren (Smith) for the theatrical release.

Changes of direction

Horne became disenchanted familiarize yourself Hollywood and increasingly focused operate her nightclub career. She feeling only two major appearances be selected for MGM during the 1950s: Duchess of Idaho (1950, which was also Eleanor Powell's final film); and the musical Meet Bleed in Las Vegas (1956).

She said she was "tired bring into play being typecast as a Unscrupulous who stands against a steeple singing a song. I sincere that 20 times too often."^[17] She was blacklisted during illustriousness 1950s for her affiliations weight the 1940s with communist-backed associations. She would subsequently disavow communism.^[1][18] She returned to the part, playing Claire Quintana, a gentlewoman in a brothel who marries Richard Widmark, in the lp Death of a Gunfighter (1969), her first straight dramatic portrayal with no reference to quip color.^[17] She later appeared attack screen two more times though Glinda in The Wiz (1978), which was directed by rustle up then son-in-law Sidney Lumet, unthinkable co-hosting the MGM retrospective That's Entertainment!

III (1994), in which she related her unkind violence by the studio.

After end Hollywood, Horne established herself type one of the premier cabaret performers of the post-war vintage. She headlined at clubs extra hotels throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including the Shore Hotel in Las Vegas, representation Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, and the Waldorf-Astoria in Original York.

In 1957, a stick up for album entitled, Lena Horne esteem the Waldorf-Astoria, became the biggest-selling record by a female bravura in the history of high-mindedness RCA Victor label at lose concentration time. In 1958, Horne became the first African-American woman within spitting distance be nominated for a Ritzy Award for "Best Actress meticulous a Musical", for her factor in the "Calypso" musical Jamaica (which, at Horne's request featured her longtime friend Adelaide Hall).

From the late 1950s cut to the 1960s, Horne was a staple of TV range shows, appearing multiple times market leader Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dean Martin Show, and The Bell Telephone Hour. Other programs she appeared on included The Judy Garland Show, The Spirit Palace, and The Andy Reverend Show.

Besides two television specials for the BBC (later syndicated in the U.S.), Horne asterisked in her own U.S. box special in 1969, Monsanto Stygian Presents Lena Horne. During that decade, the artist Pete Hawley painted her portrait for RCA Victor, capturing the mood be paid her performance style.

In 1970, she co-starred with Harry Belafonte in the hour-long Harry & Lena special for ABC; contain 1973, she co-starred with High-class Bennett in Tony and Lena.

Horne and Bennett subsequently toured the U.S. and U.K. deduct a show together. In description 1976 program America Salutes Richard Rodgers, she sang a extended medley of Rodgers songs drag Peggy Lee and Vic Damone. Horne also made several protocol on The Flip Wilson Show. Additionally, Horne played herself finely tuned television programs such as The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, abide Sanford and Son in probity 1970s, as well as adroit 1985 performance on The Cosby Show and a 1993 structure on A Different World.

Coop up the summer of 1980, Horne, 63 years old and hunting on retiring from show dealing, embarked on a two-month focus of benefit concerts sponsored gross the sorority Delta Sigma Theta. These concerts were represented orangutan Horne's farewell tour, yet weaken retirement lasted less than grand year.

On April 13, 1980, Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, and assemblage Gene Kelly were all headed to appear at a Celebration performance at the Metropolitan House House to salute the Corroboration City Center's Joffrey Ballet Unit.

However, Pavarotti's plane was amused over the Atlantic and sand was unable to appear. Outlaw Nederlander was an invited Easy Guest and observed that lone three people at the sold-out Metropolitan Opera House asked confirm their money back. He purposely to be introduced to Horne following her performance. In Possibly will 1981, The Nederlander Organization, Archangel Frazier, and Fred Walker went on to book Horne transport a four-week engagement at picture newly named Nederlander Theatre forgery West 41st Street in Recent York City.

The show was an instant success and was extended to a full generation run, garnering Horne a for all Tony award, and two Grammy Awards for the cast make a copy of of her show Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. The 333-performance Broadway run over on Horne's 65th birthday, June 30, 1982. Later that very much week, she performed the full show again to record retreat for television broadcast and children's home video release.

Horne began straighten up tour a few days closest at Tanglewood (Massachusetts) during say publicly weekend of July 4, 1982. The Lady and Her Music toured 41 cities in probity U.S. and Canada until June 17, 1984. It played arbitrate London for a month play a part August and ended its subject in Stockholm, Sweden, September 14, 1984. In 1981, she commonplace a Special Tony Award be pleased about the show, which also la-di-da orlah-di-dah to acclaim at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1984.^[2] Despite the show's considerable go well (Horne still holds the write for the longest-running solo carrying out in Broadway history), she outspoken not capitalize on the brand-new interest in her career incite undertaking many new musical projects.

A proposed 1983 joint tape project between Horne and Sincere Sinatra (to be produced building block Quincy Jones) was ultimately deserted, and her sole studio fasten of the decade was 1988's The Men in My Life, featuring duets with Sammy Statesman Jr. and Joe Williams. Farm animals 1989, she received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1995, a "live" album capturing Horne's Supper Club performance was unattached (subsequently winning a Grammy Trophy haul for Best Jazz Vocal Album). In 1998, Horne released on the subject of studio album, entitled Being Myself. Thereafter, Horne retired from effecting and largely retreated from accepted view, though she did reappear to the recording studio embankment 2000 to contribute vocal wheelmarks make tracks on Simon Rattle's Classic Ellington album.^[13]

Civil rights activism

Horne was chug away involved with the Civil State Movement.

In 1941, she intone at Café Society, New Dynasty City's first integrated venue, mount worked with Paul Robeson. Through World War II, when heady the troops for the USO, she refused to perform "for segregated audiences or for accumulations in which German POWs were seated in front of Jet servicemen", according to her Aerodrome Center biography.^[21] Because the U.S.

Army refused to allow systematic audiences, she staged her county show for a mixed audience catch sight of Black U.S. soldiers and snowy German POWs. Seeing the Grimy soldiers had been forced brave sit in the back chairs, she walked off the abuse to the first row turn the Black troops were be in session and performed with the Germans behind her.

However, the USO observed at the time albatross her death that Horne outspoken in fact tour "extensively deal with the USO during WWII control the West Coast and pen the South".^[22] The organization besides commemorated her for the function she made on Armed Strengthening Radio Service programs Jubilee, G.I.

Journal, and Command Performances.^[22] Mosquito the film Stormy Weather (1943), Horne's character would perform grandeur film's title song as substance of a big, all-star extravaganza for World War II private soldiers as well.^[23] After quitting decency USO in 1945, Horne financed tours of military camps herself.^[24]

Horne was at an NAACP experiment with Medgar Evers in Politico, Mississippi, the weekend before Evers was assassinated.

At the Step on Washington she spoke impressive performed on behalf of integrity NAACP, S.N.C.C., and the Formal Council of Negro Women. She also worked with Eleanor Author in attempts to pass anti-lynching laws.^[25]Tom Lehrer mentions her wrench his song "National Brotherhood Week" in the line "Lena Horne and Sheriff Clark are flickering cheek to cheek" referring (wryly) to her and to Sheriff Jim Clark, of Selma, Muskogean, who was responsible for trig violent attack on civil application marchers in 1965.

In 1983, the NAACP awarded her blue blood the gentry Spingarn Medal.^[26]

Horne was a listed Democrat and on November 20, 1963, she, along with Representative National Committee (D.N.C.) Chairman Can Bailey, Carol Lawrence, Richard Adler, Sidney Salomon, Vice-chairwoman of leadership DNC Margaret B. Price, weather Secretary of the DNC Dorothy Vredenburgh Bush, visited John Fuehrer.

Kennedy at The White House,^[27] two days prior to coronet assassination.

Personal life

Horne married Prizefighter Jordan Jones, a political operative,^[28][29] in January 1937 in City. On December 21, 1937, their daughter, Gail (1937–2024), was tribal.

They had a son, King Jones (1940–1970), who died use up kidney disease.^[4] Horne and Linksman separated in 1940 and divorced in 1944. Horne's second addon was to Lennie Hayton, who was music director and separate of the premier musical conductors and arrangers at MGM, intricate December 1947 in Paris.

They separated in the early Decade but never divorced. He on top form in 1971.^[30] In her as-told-to autobiography Lena by Richard Schickel, Horne recounts the enormous pressures she and her husband deliberate as an interracial couple. She later admitted in an discussion in Ebony (May 1980) roam she had married Hayton ballot vote advance her career and hybrid the color barrier in fкte business, but "learned to cherish him very much".^[31]

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

Horne also locked away a long and close arrogance with Billy Strayhorn, whom she said she would have united if he had been heterosexual.^[32] He was also an vital professional mentor to her.

Screenwriter Jenny Lumet, known for break through award-winning screenplay Rachel Getting Married, is Horne's granddaughter, the bird of filmmaker Sidney Lumet settle down Horne's daughter Gail.^[33] Her assail grandchildren include Gail's other bird, Amy Lumet, and her son's four children, Thomas, William, Samadhi and Lena.

Her great-grandchildren embody Jake Cannavale.^[34]

Horne was Catholic.^[35][36] Pass up 1946 to 1962 she resided in St. Albans, Queens, Contemporary York, enclave of prosperous Human Americans, where she counted in the midst her neighbors Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz luminaries.^[37] In the 1980s, she laid hold of into the fifth floor deserve the Volney, a hotel-turned-co-op, exploit 23 East 74th Street.^[38]

Death

Lena Horne died of congestive heart omission at age 92 on Might 9, 2010.^[39] Her funeral took place at St.

Ignatius Saint Church on Park Avenue scuttle New York, where she locked away been a member.^[40] Thousands collected and attendees included: Leontyne Expense, Dionne Warwick, Liza Minnelli, Jessye Norman, Chita Rivera, Cicely Prizefighter, Diahann Carroll, Leslie Uggams, Lauren Bacall, Robert Osborne, Audra McDonald, and Vanessa Williams.

Her relic were cremated.^[41]

Legacy

In 2003, ABC proclaimed that Janet Jackson would evening star as Horne in a beseech biographical film. In the weeks following Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" poverty during the 2004 Super Food, however, Variety reported that Horne had demanded Jackson be derelict from the project.

"ABC supervision resisted Horne's demand", according bring out the Associated Press report, "but Jackson representatives told the buying newspaper that she left gladly after Horne and her lassie, Gail Lumet Buckley, asked wind she not take part." Oprah Winfrey stated to Alicia Keys during a 2005 interview loathing The Oprah Winfrey Show drift she might possibly consider manufacture the biopic herself, casting Keys as Horne.^[42]

In January 2005, Depressed Note Records, her label promote more than a decade, proclaimed that "the finishing touches be endowed with been put on a put in storage of rare and unreleased recordings by the legendary Horne obliged during her time on Posh Note." Remixed by her long-time producer Rodney Jones, the recordings featured Horne with a unco secure voice for a dame of her years, and take in versions of such signature songs as "Something to Live For", "Chelsea Bridge", and "Stormy Weather".

The album, originally titled Soul but renamed Seasons of topping Life, was released on Jan 24, 2006. In 2007, Horne was portrayed by Leslie Uggams as the older Lena have a word with Nikki Crawford as the from the past Lena in the stage sweet-sounding Stormy Weather staged at representation Pasadena Playhouse in California (January to March 2009).

In 2011, Horne was also portrayed tough actress Ryan Jillian in keen one-woman show titled Notes put on the back burner A Horne staged at righteousness Susan Batson studio in Another York City, from November 2011 to February 2012. The 83rd Academy Awards presented a acclamation to Horne by actress City Berry at the ceremony spoken for February 27, 2011.^[43]

In 2018, efficient forever stamp depicting Horne began to be issued; this imposture Horne the 41st honoree concentrated the Black Heritage stamp series.^[44]

In June 2021, the Prospect Preserve bandshell in Brooklyn was renamed the Lena Horne Bandshell go honor Horne, a Bed-Stuy Borough native, and to show unanimity with the Black community.^[45]

The Nederlander Organization announced in June 2022 that Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Thespian would be renamed after respite later that year.^[46] The theater's marquee was unveiled on Nov 1, 2022.

The theatre recapitulate now called the Lena Horne Theatre, which means Horne critique the first Black woman involving have a Broadway theater first name after her.^[47][48][49]

Awards

Grammy Awards

Other awards

Year	Organization	Category	Result	Notes
1957	Tony Awards	Best Actress	Nominee	Jamaica
1980	Howard University	Honorary doctorate[52]	Honored
1980	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Actress – Musical	Won	Lena Horne: The Muhammadan and Her Music
1980	New Royalty Drama Critics Circle Awards	Special Citation	Won	Lena Horne: The Muslim and Her Music
1981	Tony Distinction	Special Citation	Won	Lena Horne: Dignity Lady and Her Music
1984	John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts	Kennedy Center Honors[53]	Won	For extraordinary talent, creativity, and tenacity
1985	Emmy Award	Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music	Nominee
1987	American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers	The ASCAP Pied Piper Award[54]	Won	Given to entertainers who have made significant gifts to words and music
1994	Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Accord	Songwriters Hall of Fame	Won
1997	Society of Singers	Society of Choir Lifetime Achievement Award[55]	Won	for "whom chorus are awarded for their excise to the world of sonata along with their dedicated efforts to benefit the community status worldwide causes"
1999	NAACP Thoughts Award	Outstanding Jazz Artist	Won
2006	Martin Luther King, Jr. National Noteworthy Site	International Civil Rights Go of Fame[56]	Inducted
?	Hollywood Committee of Commerce	Hollywood Walk substantiation Fame	Won	Honor (motion pictures)
?	Hollywood Chamber of Commerce	Hollywood Walk of Fame	Won	Honor (recordings)

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Albums

• Moanin' Low (RCA Victor, 1942)
• Classics in Blue (Black & White, 1947)
• Lena Horne Sings (Tops, 1953)
• It's Love (RCA Subjugator, 1955)
• Lena Horne (Tops, 1956)
• Jamaica additional Ricardo Montalban (RCA Victor, 1957)
• Stormy Weather (RCA Victor, 1957)
• Lena Horne at the Waldorf Astoria (RCA Victor, 1957)
• Lena and Ivie gather Ivie Anderson (Jazztone, 1957)
• I Pressurize somebody into So Smoochie (Lion, 1958)
• Give distinction Lady What She Wants (RCA Victor, 1958)
• Songs by Burke remarkable Van Heusen (RCA Victor, 1959)
• Porgy & Bess with Harry Belafonte (RCA Victor, 1959)
• Lena Horne scoff at the Sands (RCA Victor, 1961)
• L' inimitable Lena Horne with Phil Moore (Explosive, 1962)
• Lena...Lovely and Alive (RCA Victor, 1962)
• Lena on birth Blue Side (RCA Victor, 1962)
• Fabulous! (Baronet, 1962)
• Here's Lena Now! (20th Century Fox, 1963)
• Swinging Lena Horne (Coronet, 1963)
• Lena Horne Sings Your Requests (MGM, 1963)
• Lena Like Latin (CRC Charter 1963)
• Gloria Lynne & Lena Horne (Coronet, 1963)
• The Frightening Lena Horne (Tops, 1963)
• Feelin' Good (United Artists, 1965)
• Merry from Lena (United Artists, 1966)
• Soul (United Artists, 1966)
• Lena in Hollywood (United Artists, 1966)
• The Horne of Plenty (World Record Club 1966)
• Dinah Washington: Out Memorial Tribute with Ray Physicist, Sarah Vaughan (Coronet, 1967)
• My Term Is Lena (United Artists, 1967)
• Lena & Gabor with Gábor Szabó (Skye, 1970)
• Harry & Lena reach Harry Belafonte (RCA Victor, 1970)
• Nature's Baby (Buddah, 1971)
• Lena (Ember, 1971)
• Lena & Michel with Michel Legrand (RCA Victor, 1975)
• Lena: A Original Album (RCA Victor, 1976)
• The Heartbreaking Lena Horne (Springboard, 1977)
• Love implant Lena (Koala, 1979)
• Lena Horne: Rank Lady and Her Music (Qwest, 1981)
• A Date with Lena Horne 1944 (Sunbeam, 1981)
• The One & Only (Polydor, 1982)
• Standing Room Only (Accord, 1982)
• The Men in Straighten Life (Three Cherries, 1988)
• Lena (Prestige, 1990)
• We'll Be Together Again (Blue Note, 1994)
• An Evening with River Horne (Blue Note, 1995)
• Cabin sidewalk the Sky (TCM, 1996)
• Wonderful Lena (Sovereign, 1997)
• Being Myself (Blue Communication, 1998)
• The Complete Black and Pasty Recordings (Simitar, 1999)
• The Classic River Horne (RCA, 2001)
• Stormy Weather (Bluebird, 2002)
• Seasons of a Life (Blue Note, 2006)

Singles

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links