RIP Lena Horne: June 30, 1917 - May 10, 2010
May 11th 2010 03:53
Lena Horne: 1917-2010
Born in 1917, Lena Horne was a singer, actress and political activist, Horne was the first African American actress to sign a long term contract with a major Hollywood studio.
Horne, was underused by the MGM studio who in the 1940's was unsure what to do with the powerful actress. Considered to be too dark for mainstream audiences, she was cast in a variety of "all-star" musical films during the 40's, where she sang a song or two that could easily be removed from the final cut of the film version to be played in the South.
Her biggest film success at the time came when she was lent out to 20th Century Fox for the all black musical Stormy Weather.
The mulitple Grammy winning, Emmy nominated performer, found herself blacklisted during Hollywoods "red scare" for her political leanings, and went on to carve out a successful broadway and tv career.
Horne, who passed away at New York Presbyterian/Will Cornell Medical Centre, is survived by her daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley, grandaughters Jenny and Amy Lumet, Lena Jones, and grandsons, William and Thomas Jones
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