The person she always credited as her main influence was not another singer but a pianist and composer, Duke Ellingtons longtime associate Billy Strayhorn. (1948). Her parents separated when she was a child, and she lived with her paternal grandparents and uncle. She broke through racial barriers as the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio. "We were very close," Lumet laughed. My identity is very clear to me now. part of that movement. "She insisted on a level of sophistication in the 1940s and '50s that was not allowed to people of color, a lyrical interpretation, complex arrangements," Lumet said. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. He stretched me vocally. Strayhorn occasionally worked as her accompanist and, she said, taught me the basics of music, because I didnt know anything., Strayhorn was also the only man I ever loved, she said, but Strayhorn was openly gay, and their close friendship never became a romance. entertainment manager John Hammond, who got her a long engagement at the Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. national coverage and a number of movie appearances, established her as She was also popular with servicemen, white and black, during World War II, appearing more than a dozen times on the Army radio program Command Performance., The whole thing that made me a star was the war, Ms. Horne said in the 1990 interview. ", Ms. Horne first achieved fame in the 1940s, became a nightclub and recording star in the 1950s and made a triumphant return to the spotlight with a one-woman Broadway show in 1981. But when MGM made Show Boat into a movie for the second time, in 1951, the role of Julie was given to a white actress, Ava Gardner, whose singing voice was dubbed. During her time there she became well known among the power brokers of Hollywood. During World War II (193945; a war in which Germany, Italy, and That made her the enemy of a lot of black actors in Hollywood, who were very upset. Im free. When screenwriter Jenny Lumet thinks of her maternal grandmother, singer and civil rights activist Lena Horne, she remembers that she used to eat Snickers with a fork and knife. Horne's father and her son, plunged her into a state of After having been a featured player in the 1969 screen western Death of a Gunfighter, Horne made her final film appearance in the 1978 movie The Wiz. Learn more about managing a memorial . based on information from your browser. I no longer have to be a credit. I dont have to be a symbol to anybody; I dont have to be a first to anybody. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Among its more fascinating members were these: * Moses Calhoun, who was freed from slavery after the Civil War at age 36 and became a restaurateur in Atlanta. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. By then the marriage of her parents, Edna and Teddy Horne, was in trouble. Canberra Times Lena Mary Calhoun Hayton (Horne) (1917 - Geni In the early 1960s Ms. Horne, always outspoken on the subject of civil rights, became increasingly active, participating in numerous marches and protests. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. A year after joining the Cotton Club chorus she made her Broadway debut, performing a voodoo dance in the short-lived show Dance With Your Gods in 1934. And no matter where it came from or how I got it, Im allowed to sing it the way I feel. Cabin in the Sky Another major role followed in Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). She is close to 90 years old, you, think and she is still looking beautiful as ever. "He said, 'I can afford to hire a maid for my daughter. She used the word performer, not pianist. commanding stage presence, she performed in nightclubs, concert halls, As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. politics, and culture and developed a new appreciation of her heritage. But it also, as Mrs. Buckley put it, sheds light on ''America's historic family secret, the story of black life that has never been told: that of the typical black middle-class family, the black bourgeoisie. Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born on June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of a banker/professional gambler and an actress. Lena Horne appeared in Jamaica, a musical that ran on Broadway from 1957 to 1959. While at MGM, her appearances in movies were shot so that they could be which was the talk of show business for fourteen months. Spouses. '', ''My ancestors were typical of the black middle class because they were super,'' she said. For a time she also attended schools in Florida, Georgia and Ohio. Please enter your email and password to sign in. The show won a Drama Desk Award and a special Tony, as well as two Grammys for its soundtrack. After signing a seven-year contract with MGM Studios, she moved to Hollywood. ). This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Lena Horne's Story, As Told By Her Daughter - NPR Horne finally got to experience a bit of catharsis, Lumet said, in her one-woman show, which premiered in 1981 and ran for 14 months.

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