Lena Horne | American singer and actress | Britannica Crammed into the trunk were hundreds of objects and mementos of Miss Horne's forebears reaching back six generations to an ancestor Sinai Reynolds, who was born into slavery in 1777 and who bought her freedom by selling pies. That's where she went because that's what her life was.". The Grandchildren of Lena Horne - This Black Sista's Memorial Page record crowds to the Empire Room of the Waldorf-Astoria, and in 1958 and At age seventy-six she Lena Horne at the Waldorf-Astoria, recorded during a well-received eight-week run in 1957, reached the Top 10 and became the best-selling album by a female singer in RCA Victors history. She is a true legend of all kind. 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. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. See the article in its original context from. Please try again later. suffered many humiliations of racial prejudice, especially from hotels Characteristically, whenever a friend, particularly a . Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. "She sang where we (were) not supposed to sing. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Her parents divorced while she was still a toddler. However, she continued to work in nightclubs as an entertainer till the ban was lifted in 1956. movies, and on radio and television. Year should not be greater than current year. The marriage ended soon afterward. In the early 1960s Ms. Horne, always outspoken on the subject of civil rights, became increasingly active, participating in numerous marches and protests. Edwin Horne was a teacher, a newspaperman, a drugstore proprietor and a politician. The First Family. She broke through racial barriers as the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio. 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. Username and password are case sensitive. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. In 1969, she returned briefly to films, playing the love interest of a white actor, Richard Widmark, in Death of a Gunfighter.. Actress and singer Adelaide Hall, who was also a part of the project, became her earliest mentor in the industry. Broadway debut in the fall production of . Gail Lumet Buckley (left) and her mother, Lena Horne, at an awards ceremony in 1987. the highest-paid African American entertainer in the United States. late 1940s she sued a number of restaurants and theaters for race Lena Horne tea (her kids and grandkids) & how they washed out their Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? But more uniquely, her sense of humor was "bone dry." The Lena and Judy Show Horne and Judy Garland had many things in common: a long tenure at MGM, a mentor and vocal coach in Kay Thompson, andsome saidan intimate relationship with Vincente. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Lena Horne I found on Findagrave.com. should have higher goals. Add to your scrapbook. Her success as an actress was also recognised when she became a member of the board of the Screen Actors Guild. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Her ancestral plantation was where they just put the new Coweta County Justice Center in downtown Newnan GA. But as the group's only black member she Billy rehearsed me. Make sure that the file is a photo. Directed by Horne's then son-in-law, Sidney Lumet, the film was a version of The Wizard of Oz that featured an entirely African American cast, including Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 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. Origins of an Icon. Lena Horne: Entertainer. Horne is survived by her daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley, and six grandchildren. I am a Black woman. The show won a Drama Desk Award and a special Tony, as well as two Grammys for its soundtrack. A substantial portion deals with the rise of Lena Horne, from the Junior Theater Guild show in Brooklyn to the Broadway stage and the Hollywood film set. Horne wouldn't be surprised, she added, by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. "The technology aspect would make her so happy, that they've created original platforms for themselves. Looking back at the age of 80, Horne said: "My identity is very clear to me now. Lena Horne was mainly raised by her grandparents, Cora Calhoun and Edwin Horne. Buckley's book, The Hornes: An American Family, charts her family's roots. ", These moments that you think, Wow, this is history, it was just her life.. After they died, Horne lived with a friend of her mother's, ), In 1945 the critic and screenwriter Frank S. Nugent wrote in Liberty magazine that Ms. Horne was the nations top Negro entertainer. In addition to her MGM salary of $1,000 a week, she was earning $1,500 for every radio appearance and $6,500 a week when she played nightclubs. Lena Horne Facts | Mental Floss Geographical origins The map below shows the places where the ancestors of the famous person lived. 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. I dont have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped Id become. In 1942, she got her big break when she got the job of being a singer at a famous Hollywood nightclub named Felix Young Little Trot. At the age of 12 in 1929, Horne moved to New York with his mother and attended a school in Brooklyn which was simply named the Girls High School. Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born on June 30, 1917 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York to Teddy Horne Jr. and Edna Louise Scottron. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Lena Horne - IMDb entertainment manager John Hammond, who got her a long engagement at the You have chosen this person to be their own family member. and make their situations in life better. at the JVC Jazz Festival with a tribute concert and the Ella Award for Lena Calhoun Horne was born June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Horne's father Teddy was mixed-race, and her family tree was a mix of black, Native American, and European descent. Lena Horne's Funeral - CBS News She was a lifelong liberal Democrat. I am a Black woman. death in 1971, Hayton was also her pianist, arranger, conductor, and Lena Horne Family Background & Career. Sometimes Miss Horne lived with her, other times with her grandmother Cora, or other relatives. She was 92. Family tree of Lena HORNE - Geneastar During the 1960s Horne was involved in the American Civil Rights In the year 1937, Lena married Luis Jordan Jones at the age of 20 and the couple was blessed with a daughter named Gail and a son named Edwin. Her byline has appeared on TODAY, NBC News, US News & World Report, People, Everyday Health, WhatToExpect.com, History.com and more. I was their daydream. . Harlem on Parade Lena Horne - Turner Classic Movies It was not a career that had family approval. in New York City, New York, USA, This form allows you to report an error or to submit additional information about this family tree: Lena HORNE (1917), Copyright Wikipdia authors - This article is under licence CC BY-SA 3.0. Lena Horne, born in 1917, was a famous singer and civil rights activist who famously attended the March on Washington and refused to perform for segregated audiences of troops during World War II. I began to feel depressed about it, wasted emotionally. Her role as a person who has helped to 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. I am a 51 yr old woman that grew up watching the wonderful old movies. No one bothered to put me in a movie where I talked to anybody, where some thread of the story might be broken if I were cut. Her death, at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, was announced by her son-in-law, Kevin Buckley. Ms. Hornes first MGM movie was Panama Hattie (1942), in which she sang Cole Porters Just One of Those Things. Writing about that film years later, Pauline Kael called it a sad disappointment, though Lena Horne is ravishing, and when she sings you can forget the rest of the picture., Even before she came to Hollywood, Brooks Atkinson, the drama critic for The New York Times, noticed Ms. Horne in Lew Leslies Blackbirds of 1939, a Broadway revue that ran for nine performances. Horne was mainly raised by her grandparents, Cora Calhoun and Edwin Horne. Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born on June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of a banker/professional gambler and an actress. It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. 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. Steals & Deals: Wireless speakers, smartphone stands, Solawave and morestarting at $22. Janet Crichton , John Douglas, Alinor de PROVENCE , Henri III d'ANGLETERRE, Marguerite de WITTELSBACH , Jean de BOURGOGNE. 2. Born Lena Mary Calhoun Horne, her grandparents were active in the NAACP and she was a cover girl for the organization's monthly bulletin at the age of two. was the main reason she lost out on playing the mulatto "Julie" in Lena Horne Wiki, Biography, Age, Career, Relationship, Net Worth & Know Looking back at the age of 80, Ms. Horne said: My identity is very clear to me now. Her great-grandchildren include Jake Cannavale. Then Freed insisted that Louis B. Mayer, who ran the studio, hear her, too. When she was seven, her mother returned and the two traveled around the state which meant that Lena was enrolled in numerous schools. She was not dark enough in color to interracial relationships on screen. After the war Horne worked '', For her part, Mrs. Buckley said, beaming back at her mother, ''I loved finding the little girl in you; learning about the things you had never talked about before, for example that all your favorite books were about orphans. It is worthwhile to not that it was also one of those rare movies in which the entire cast consisted of African Americans. Lena Horne: A Great Lady Who Broke the Color Line (1956) and recorded for the first time in five years. She gained some early stage experience in She was spoiled and badly educated and he was fickle, Ms. Hornes daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley, wrote in her family history, The Hornes. By 1920 Teddy had left his job with the New York Department of Labor and fled to Seattle, and Edna had fled to a life on the stage in Harlem. Born on June 30, 1917 in United States of America, Lena Horne started her career as singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer (1917-2010) . Her scenes were often filmed separately, so that they could be completely cut out of movies screened in the South. I am really happy I found this because I just learned about someone.I had to look up a famous jazz singer or musician for a project i had to do and who ever wrote this is really good.I had heard of her music but not yet her.Now I have leaned about her also.And the auther of this is gonna go along way. Born: June 30, 1917 Not long after her parents divorced, she was left in the care of her grandparents while her mother, a stage actress, pursued her career. "It never stops, that was very clear, and I understood that there was a lot to be angry about. attended various small-town, segregated (separated by race) in Brooklyn, New York, USA , United States, Died on May 09, 2010 Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. These moments that you think, 'Wow, this is history,' it was just her life. Movement. (1948). Horne's life started before women had the right to vote, and a year before she died in 2010, she got to see a Black man, Barack Obama, become president of the United States, Lumet noted. It was part of what made her ladylike and sophisticated, Lumet recalled to TODAY for a Women's History Month series on the granddaughters of influential women. Lena Horne. her mother and her mother's new husband. Im free. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. made her a legendary figure. Try again later. Harlem's famed Cotton Club. Lena Horne biographical timeline | American Masters | PBS ''They knew nothing about their ancestors at all, so their reaction was 'Oh wow, we're Indian.' Both parents had a mixed heritage of African American,. My life has been about surviving. 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. Lost her father, husband and son in one year. Her father, "She wasn't allowed to be an artist in the beginning," Lumet said. When she was 16, her mother pulled her out of school to audition for the dance chorus at the Cotton Club, the famous Harlem nightclub where the customers were white, the barely dressed dancers were light-skinned blacks and the proprietors were gangsters. 1. 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. Cabin in the Sky To use this feature, use a newer browser. The couple got divorced in the year 1944. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born in Brooklyn, NY. Oops, something didn't work. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 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. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Horne was married to Louis Jones from 1937 to 1944, and they had two children. Lena Horne. with an African American theater troupe and traveled extensively. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Entertainer. 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. Failed to delete memorial. She is close to 90 years old, you, think and she is still looking beautiful as ever. Haskins, James, and Kathleen Benson. Broadway opportunities were found, and she made her stage debut in the short-lived 1934 play "Dance With Your Gods," followed by "Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939" (1939). Her mother, Edna, was an actress Until his We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Shortly after signing her contract, Horne screen-tested for her first film role: a maid. Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born on June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of a banker/professional gambler and an actress. * 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. In 1978, she appeared in the film "The Wiz," and won a special Tony Award for her performances in the Broadway production "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music" in 1981. Writing the book, she said, ''made me feel two things I have never felt before: incredibly American and incredibly black, and there is nothing else that I could possibly be.''. While at MGM, her appearances in movies were shot so that they could be In 1943 a long booking at the SavoyPlaza Hotel, which brought Horne often took her with her on the road. From that point onward, Horne became a Broadway Rhythm She used the word performer, not pianist. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Please enter your email and password to sign in. In 1937 Horne married minor politician Louis Jones, by whom she had a 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. 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. Her father ran a gambling operation and was well off while her mother worked as a theatre actress who performed at theatres all over the United States. ''The family decided that it would be 'colored' rather than Indian because it was rougher to be Indian,'' Mrs. Buckley said. They said, 'You're trying to take work away from us. In two years at the Cotton Club she appeared with such entertainers as Cab Calloway . Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. Blackbirds of 1940, Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. A long run at the Savoy-Plaza Hotel nightclub in 1943 gave Hornes career a boost. In 1981, the singer/actress made a triumphant return to Broadway with her one-woman show Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. Asked what her grandmother would make of today's racial climate, she replied, "Everything's the same, but everything's different. "He said, 'I can afford to hire a maid for my daughter. Members of Lena Horne's family, including her daughter Gail Lumet Buckley and granddaughters Jenny and Amy Lumet, were in attendance. Horne shares a laugh with Lumet and actor Laurence Fishburne at a gala honoring Horne at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City in 1999. It's an interesting journey. Horne, despite her great fame, continued to experience humiliating 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. Paul Robeson called her 'the toughest little woman' he'd ever met. I dont want her in the movies playing maids.. "She was a test case for the NAACP which had decided that they were going to change the image of Hollywood. I had no communication with anybody. which was the talk of show business for fourteen months. One in which music became my refuge and then my salvation. Lena Horne's Story, As Told By Her Daughter - NPR The acclaimed, emotionally searing production ran on Broadway for 14 months, then toured in the United States and abroad. I hope I gave her something in return because her life was not a safe life.". It was indeed a momentous occasion as Horne became the first black person to have represented a Hollywood studio of that size. Maura Hohman is the senior health editor for TODAY.com and has been covering health and wellness news and trends since 2015, when she graduated from journalism school. This interview originally aired Nov. 25, 1986. The people who matter are out there -- the Pullman porters, those people. She was also known for her work with civil rights groups and refused to play roles that stereotyped African American women, a stance that many found controversial. in 1969. very visible on television, appearing on popular variety shows and in In 1981 Horne had her greatest triumph, a Broadway show called Lent to 20th Century Fox for Stormy Weather, one of those show business musicals with almost no plot but lots of singing and dancing, Ms. Horne did both triumphantly, ending with the sultry, aching sadness of the title number, which would become one of her signature songs. She played Glinda the Good Witch in the 1978 film The Wiz . During a short time span from 1970 to 1971, she suffered personal tragedies with the deaths of her father, husband, and son, causing her for a period to go into a state of depression. Actually show business was not Miss Horne's idea, and she said she had no singing ability but had to be taught. Born on June 30, 1917 Lena Horne was the daughter of Edwin Fletcher Horne Junior and Edna Louise Scrotton in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. From the age of 5 onwards she started living with different relatives; starting with his mother in Georgia and then from the age of 10 till 12 she stayed with Frank Horne, her uncle. In my house, musically, it ran the gamut of music. secretarial school. hide caption. Horne had two children a son, Teddy Jones, and a daughter, journalist Gail Lumet Buckley, who had Lumet with famed director Sidney Lumet as well as six grandkids. National Council for Negro Women. Palmer, Leslie. The constant moving Oops, we were unable to send the email. famous Cafe Society Downtown, a club in New York City. resulted in Lena having an education that was often interrupted. She might have become a major movie star, but she was born 50 years too early: she languished at MGM for years because of her race, although she was so light-skinned that when she was a child other black children had taunted her, accusing her of having a white daddy.. And while she was at it, Miss Horne said, ''You might take a look in it. Cora Calhoun Horne's roots were in the family Lena Horne's daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley, has chronicled in her book The Black Calhouns.These well-educated bourgeois African Americans were descended from a nephew of secessionist vice president John C. Calhoun. Cafe Society that Horne learned about African American history, Later she returned to Brooklyn. Grandma was marketed as a unicorn, but she wasn't and refused to be. She was a college graduate, a feminist, a civic leader and a suffragist. Panama Hattie 1. Blackbirds of 1939 Family members linked to this person will appear here. Many in the industry believed that this celebrated her contract as a weapon in its war to get better movie roles for black performers.