Lena Calhoun Horne was born on 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, ultimately, divorced while she was still a toddler. Her mother left later in order to find work in the acting field and Lena was left in the care of her grandparents.
When Lena was seven, her mother returned and the two traveled the state where she was enrolled in numerous schools. For a time, Lena was, also, enrolled in schools in Florida, Georgia, and Ohio. Later she was to return to Brooklyn.
She quit school when she was 14 and got her first stage job, dancing and later singing at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem when she was 16. The Cotton Club was a theater in which black performers played before white audiences. (The Cotton Club was immortalized in the film of the same name in 1984.) She was in good hands at the club, especially when people such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington took her under their wing and helped her over the rough spots in the world of show business.
Before long, Lena's singing was playing before packed houses. If Lena Horne had never made a movie, her music career would have been enough to have left her a legend in the entertainment industry, but films were icing on the cake. After a few appearances on Broadway, Hollywood did come calling.
At 21 years of age, Lena played in her first film on the silver screen entitled THE DUKE IS TOPS. It would be four more years before she appeared in another. When she did it was PANAMA HATTIE playing a singer in a nightclub.
By now, Lena had signed with MGM, but unfortunately, for her, the movies were filmed so that her scenes could be cut out when they were shown in the South. At that time, the South had ridiculous notions about race. Movie executives feared a loss of revenue if a black performer appeared in them in a role other than a servant or other minor occupation. Lena did not want to appear in any stereotyped role and who could blame her.
In 1943, MGM loaned Lena to Fox Studios for the role of Selina Rogers in the all-black musical, STORMY WEATHER. The film did very well at the box-office. Her song by the same name became a big hit on the musical charts.
In 1943, Lena appeared in CABIN IN THE SKY, which is regarded as one of the finest performances of her career. She played Georgia Brown opposite Ethel Waters and Eddie Anderson in the all-black production.
Rumors have it that Lena and Miss Waters just did not get along well. No one was really sure what the disagreement was all about. That was not the only feud. Other cast members sniped at one another. 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. The film went a long way in showing the talent that existed among the black members of the Hollywood establishment, especially Lena.
Afterwards, Lena's musical career flourished while her movie career stagnated. Minor roles in films such as BOOGIE-WOOGIE DREAM, WORDS AND MUSIC, and MANTAN MESSES UP did little to advance her in the world of film. This was owed to the idiotic attitudes of the day. Even during her music career, she was denied rooms at the very hotels in which she sang!
After MEET ME IN LAS VEGAS in 1956, Lena left films to concentrate on music and the stage. She returned, in 1969, as Claire Quintana in DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER.
After an additional nine years, Lena appeared one last time on the big screen in the all-black musical called THE WIZ in 1978 where she played Glinda the Good. That's not to say she left films altogether.
She did make two television appearances in 1994 in "A Century of Women" and "That's Entertainment! III".
Had it not been for the prevailing racial
attitudes of the time, it's fair to say that Lena's career could have been much bigger than what it was,
perhaps, the number one entertainer of all time. She is that talented and beautiful ----and still singing!
Look in on these very nice photographs of Lena Horne
Lena Pic 1
Lena Pic 2
Lena Pic 3
Lena Pic 4
Lena Pic 5
Lena Pic 6
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Another big thanks to Vivian Perez and Francine Cole for the photos they supplied me with. They have done a great job in keeping this site going.
© 1999 Denny C. Jackson dejackso@iglou.com
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