Gail Lumet Buckley (left) and her mother, Lena Horne, at an awards ceremony in 1987. ). Not long after her parents divorced, she was left in the care of her grandparents while her mother, a stage actress, pursued her career. My skin has grown around it. (1944), and a musical biography of Rodgers and Hart, In 1986, Buckley joined Terry Gross on Fresh Air to trace the Horne family's roots, from slavery in the Deep South to their move north, where they became one of the most prosperous and influential black families in Harlem -- and then west to Hollywood, where Horne began performing on stage and screen. ''The middle class considered show business declasse unless you were a concert pianist like Marian Anderson,'' Mrs. Buckley said. refused to appear before racially segregated US Army audiences in World War II Italy--since the army was officially segregated, the policy was to have one show solely for white troops and another show solely for black troops. Though she toured with Tony Bennett in 1973 and 1974 and made some television appearances, she spent several years in deep mourning and was less visible. "It was an imitation of a white woman, and she said that. American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer, Born on Saturday, June 30, 1917 Lena Horne celebrates her 64th birthday on the stage of the Nederlander Theater in New York City after the evening's performance of "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. Try again later. See how this article appeared when it was originally published on NYTimes.com. ''What I love the most about it is the description of the mother-daughter relationship.'' This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Anyone can read what you share. Lena Horne, Hollywood's first glamorous black star -- who was given few starring roles because of racial discrimination and blacklisting -- died last Sunday in New York City. Try again later. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. politics, and culture and developed a new appreciation of her heritage. He was just everything that I wanted in a man, she told Mr. Hajdu, except he wasnt interested in me sexually.. Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born on June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of a banker/professional gambler and an actress. In that sequence she played Julie, a mulatto forced to flee the showboat because she has married a white man. Lena Horne Facts. Her byline has appeared on TODAY, NBC News, US News & World Report, People, Everyday Health, WhatToExpect.com, History.com and more. because of the way I looked. Her father, The son of actor Bobby Cannavale (no surprises there) and actress Jenny Lumet, Jake's maternal grandmother is Gail Lumet, the daughter of legendary Black singer, actress and activist Lena. 1959 she starred in a Broadway musical, "That people would keep dying is the stuff that stays the same, and that we would keep needing people to do the work.". To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Please try again later. Both parents had a mixed heritage of African American,. While Horne might not have shared that much about her civil rights work, she left her granddaughter with a powerful lesson about social justice. Horne, who died in 2010 at age 92, was a world-famous, Tony-winning singer also known for her work in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. They lived in various parts of the Ms. Horne later claimed that for this and other reasons, including her friendship with leftists like Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Year should not be greater than current year. Blackbirds of 1939 She broke through racial barriers as the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio. After making her Broadway debut in the fall 1934 production Dance With Your Gods, she joined Noble Sissle & His Orchestra as a singer, using the name Helena Horne. Horne, despite her great fame, continued to experience humiliating Horne was married to Louis Jones from 1937 to 1944, and they had two children. Lena Horne was raised mainly by her paternal grandparents. She is survived by her daughter Gail Lumet Buckley, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. the United States), she used her own money to travel and entertain the By then the marriage of her parents, Edna and Teddy Horne, was in trouble. secretarial school. Miss Lena Horne, as she was usually billed, was a walking and singing self-contradiction. She received lifetime achievement awards from the Grammys and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts -- and was named to the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in 2006. This browser does not support getting your location. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. She was to act in only one other movie: In 1978 she played Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz, the film version of the all-black Broadway musical based on The Wizard of Oz. But she never stopped singing. Lena Horne was the first black woman to get a contract with a major Hollywood Studio By John Lawrence Born into a black bourgeoisie family in 1917, Lena Horne was signed up in the NAACP by her grandmother, Cora Calhoun Horne, a college graduate, at the age of two. Yet, she still moved a great deal in her early years because her mother often took her with her on the road. Boost. This was because MGM feared audiences of the Its taken me 40-some-odd years to grow comfortable with this song ["Stormy Weather"]. end discrimination based on race). In Charles Whiting's book "The Long March on Rome", he reports that she Edwin "Teddy" Horne, who worked in the gambling trade, Then, after appearing in the Broadway musical revue Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939, she joined a well-known white swing band, the Charlie Barnet Orchestra. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. In 1970 and 1971, Hornes son, father and brother died. ", The palpable anger among today's activists would also please Horne because "Grandma had to hide her anger," Lumet said. In the mid-1950s Horne made a movie appearance in Lena Horne made her last public appearance in 1999. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Family Disapproved. In 1937 Horne married minor politician Louis Jones, by whom she had a "I knew her first as a grandma before I understood her as an activist, and that was not something that she necessarily brought home," she explained. In the year 1981, she produced the Broadway show Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music which went on to win several awards and was extremely successful for more than a year. made her a legendary figure. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Birth Sign Cancer. "We had a great time.". In MGMs Cabin in the Sky, the first film directed by Vincente Minnelli, she was the brazen, sexy handmaiden of the Devil. ''To be equal or even to get a foot in the door, it was necessary to be smarter, faster and brighter than whites - and other blacks. Billy Strayhorn, at the JVC Jazz Festival. In. Horne left school at age 16 to help support her ailing mother and became a dancer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City. Horne died of heart failure on May 9, 2010, in New York City. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. During her time there she became well known among the power brokers of Hollywood. The NAACP and her father weighed in on the stipulations of the signing, demanding that Horne not be relegated to roles where she would play a domestic worker, the industry standard for African American screen performers at the time. as were, especially, Horne's grandchildren. Ms. Hornes voice was not particularly powerful, but it was extremely expressive. She was not dark enough in color to [36] Stormy Weather, a well-received biography of Horne's life, was published in 2009 and written by James Gavin. 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. She participated in the March on Washington in 1963, performed troops. And Paul Robeson said to her, 'These people aren't important. The N.A.A.C.P. At 19, Ms. Horne married the first man she had ever dated, 28-year-old Louis Jones, and became a conventional middle-class Pittsburgh wife. Their interracial marriage would be kept a secret for three years due to the likelihood of a backlash. Drag images here or select from your computer for Lena Horne memorial. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Make sure that the file is a photo. ". Origins of an Icon. Another major role followed in There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Though she contributed occasional recordings after this, she largely retreated from public life. There was a problem getting your location. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. In 1947 she married a white bandleader, Lennie Hayton, a marriage that Movement. I am a 51 yr old woman that grew up watching the wonderful old movies. Brooklyn, New York And when Ms. Horne herself married a white man the prominent arranger, conductor and pianist Lennie Hayton, who was for many years both her musical director and MGMs the marriage, in 1947, took place in France and was kept secret for three years. Her interests include women's health, racial health disparities, mental health and COVID-19. Born on June 30, 1917 Lena Horne was the daughter of Edwin Fletcher Horne Junior and Edna Louise Scrotton in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. should have higher goals. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. (December 14, 1947 - April 24, 1971) (his death), (January 13, 1937 - June 15, 1944) (divorced, 2 children), View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. Throughout the 1940s the budding actress starred in plenty of famous movies for MGM and also worked for 20th Century Fox after being granted permission by her employers at MGM. Her daughter Gail was born in 1937 and a son, Teddy, in 1940. Swing Fever national coverage and a number of movie appearances, established her as She could never be in anything that furthered the plot or was a crucial moment in the movie.". Buckley's book, The Hornes: An American Family, charts her family's roots. performermuch against the wishes of her family, who felt she Her parents separated when she was three, and because her mother traveled as part of various theater troupes, Horne lived with her grandparents for a time. But they could put mine., Touring Army camps for the U.S.O., Ms. Horne was outspoken in her criticism of the way black soldiers were treated. Wrong username or password. So obviously, I know 99% of every single . She doesn't need to play a maid,' " said Buckley. '', Indeed there were, Mrs. Buckley recalled yesterday during a joint interview with Miss Horne in a midtown office building. She also assisted Eleanor Roosevelt (18841962) in her term contract with a film studio. I would love to see the day where I can actually meet and greet Ms. Horne. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. She was also a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and was a major face of the civil rights movement in the country at the time. NBC News' Nancy Dickerson and Horne during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom political rally in Washington, D.C., Aug. 28, 1963. Sorry! was mainly raised by her grandparents, Cora Calhoun and Edwin Horne. In the year 1938 she was featured in a musical known as The Duke in Tops, however it was a production made on a low budget and did not much further her career as an actress. . They seem like they're really much more embracing of all of us than we ever were. The people who matter are out there -- the Pullman porters, those people. She continued to record prolifically well into the 1990s, for RCA and other labels, notably United Artists and Blue Note. Im free. (1943), This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. How is her daughter, Gail? She had been singing at the Manhattan nightclub Caf Society when the impresario Felix Young chose her to star at the Trocadero, a nightclub he was planning to open in Hollywood in the fall of 1941. Entertainer. He did, and soon she had signed a seven-year contract with MGM. When she was seven, her mother returned and the two traveled around the state which meant that Lena was enrolled in numerous schools. Lena Horne was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 30, 1917. Jamaica. In the year 1978, Horne finally bade goodbye to her career as an actress with the film The Wiz in which she starred alongside such stars as Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. * Edwin Horne, Lena Horne's grandfather, born in 1859, the son of a British captain of a Tennessee River trading boat, and an American Indian mother, most likely a Creek or Cherokee. Actress and singer Lena Horne was one of the most popular performers of her time, known for films such as 'Cabin in the Sky' and 'The Wiz' as well as her trademark song, "Stormy Weather. 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. '', What the trunk also contained was the fragmented structure of a book. Actress: Cabin in the Sky. - Yes, my family, my entire family were fans of Lena Horne, and still are. Barnet was one of the first bandleaders to integrate his band, but because of racial prejudice, Horne was unable to stay or socialize at many of the venues in which the orchestra performed, and she soon left the tour. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Her scenes were often filmed separately, so that they could be completely cut out of movies screened in the South.

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