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Obituary: Lena Horne | Obituary: Lena Horne |
(40 minutes later) | |
Lena Horne: The star who blew a storm | Lena Horne: The star who blew a storm |
Lena Horne's singing career spanned more than 60 years. With her passionate voice and good looks, she became the first black sex symbol in the 1930s. | Lena Horne's singing career spanned more than 60 years. With her passionate voice and good looks, she became the first black sex symbol in the 1930s. |
She was born in Brooklyn. Her mother was an actress and her father ran a small hotel. | She was born in Brooklyn. Her mother was an actress and her father ran a small hotel. |
Horne's parents separated when she was three, and she was boarded out. She did not live with her mother again until she was 15. | Horne's parents separated when she was three, and she was boarded out. She did not live with her mother again until she was 15. |
A year later she became a chorus singer in Harlem's fashionable Cotton Club. Her mother used to chaperone her there every night. | A year later she became a chorus singer in Harlem's fashionable Cotton Club. Her mother used to chaperone her there every night. |
At 19, she ran away from home, got married and went on to raise two children. | At 19, she ran away from home, got married and went on to raise two children. |
Musical numbers edited | Musical numbers edited |
By now she had begun to sing regularly on radio and toured with Noble Sissle's orchestra in the mid-1930s, and sang with the Charlie Barnett band in the early 1940s. | By now she had begun to sing regularly on radio and toured with Noble Sissle's orchestra in the mid-1930s, and sang with the Charlie Barnett band in the early 1940s. |
After conquering New York's Cafe Society club, she was snapped up by Hollywood on the coming of sound. | After conquering New York's Cafe Society club, she was snapped up by Hollywood on the coming of sound. |
She appeared in a cluster of musicals including Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather, the title song of which became her signature tune. | She appeared in a cluster of musicals including Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather, the title song of which became her signature tune. |
The life and career of Lena Horne | |
Her mixed ancestry - she was part white, Blackfoot Indian and Senegalese - affected her career. | Her mixed ancestry - she was part white, Blackfoot Indian and Senegalese - affected her career. |
During a period when black women were cast as menials, not stars, Lena Horne found many of her numbers edited out of the versions shown in southern states. | During a period when black women were cast as menials, not stars, Lena Horne found many of her numbers edited out of the versions shown in southern states. |
The studios lightened her appearance with special white make-up. But she refused to play stereotyped roles. | The studios lightened her appearance with special white make-up. But she refused to play stereotyped roles. |
On one occasion for a film musical, she refused to be cast as an exotic Latin American. | On one occasion for a film musical, she refused to be cast as an exotic Latin American. |
"I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become," she later said. "I'm me, and I'm like nobody else." | "I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become," she later said. "I'm me, and I'm like nobody else." |
On tour, she often slept on the coach when hotels refused to rent her a room. She became active in the civil-rights movement and was blacklisted in the McCarthy era. | On tour, she often slept on the coach when hotels refused to rent her a room. She became active in the civil-rights movement and was blacklisted in the McCarthy era. |
In the 1960s she became increasingly vocal, once throwing a lamp at a fellow customer in a Beverley Hills restaurant for making a racial slur. | In the 1960s she became increasingly vocal, once throwing a lamp at a fellow customer in a Beverley Hills restaurant for making a racial slur. |
Horne also marched on Washington DC in 1963 along with 250,000 other people to hear Martin Luther King deliver his "I have a dream" speech. | Horne also marched on Washington DC in 1963 along with 250,000 other people to hear Martin Luther King deliver his "I have a dream" speech. |
Catalogue of tragedy | Catalogue of tragedy |
She was happily married for 24 years to a white man, Lennie Hayton, musical director of MGM in Paris. But this only added to her emotional pressure. | She was happily married for 24 years to a white man, Lennie Hayton, musical director of MGM in Paris. But this only added to her emotional pressure. |
By the 1950s, in musicals like Jamaica, black artists were beginning to gain acceptance. | By the 1950s, in musicals like Jamaica, black artists were beginning to gain acceptance. |
Lena Horne went on to win international fame, finding her niche giving jazz renditions to popular songs such as Honeysuckle Rose and The Lady is a Tramp. | Lena Horne went on to win international fame, finding her niche giving jazz renditions to popular songs such as Honeysuckle Rose and The Lady is a Tramp. |
For 13 months in 1971-72 she suffered a catalogue of tragedy. First she lost her father. Then her son from her first marriage died of kidney failure. Soon afterwards, Lennie Hayton had a fatal heart attack. | For 13 months in 1971-72 she suffered a catalogue of tragedy. First she lost her father. Then her son from her first marriage died of kidney failure. Soon afterwards, Lennie Hayton had a fatal heart attack. |
Shattered, she went into retirement but, after a time, friends persuaded her to resume her career. | Shattered, she went into retirement but, after a time, friends persuaded her to resume her career. |
It reached a late climax in 1981 when her one-woman show, the award-winning The Lady and her Music, based on her life and career, ran for more than a year on Broadway and, subsequently, in London. | It reached a late climax in 1981 when her one-woman show, the award-winning The Lady and her Music, based on her life and career, ran for more than a year on Broadway and, subsequently, in London. |